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Peter Oberlander 1922-2008 |
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Saturday, 10 January 2009 09:50 |
 Peter Oberlander, one of the most prominent and inspiring international figures in urban and community planning, founding father of UN_HABITAT, and a key player in ICSC’s history, died in Vancouver in December 2008.
From the creation of ICSC in 1993, Peter served on the ICSC Board as the representative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In 2002, Peter and Nola-Kate Seymoar, ICSC President, formulated the idea that Canada should host the third World Urban Forum (WUF3) as a way of increasing the role that Canada plays in the work of UN-HABITAT, and persuaded Prime Minister Chretien to issue the invitation at the Johannesburg Earth Summit that year. Peter continued to promote the idea with the result that WUF3 was held in Vancouver in 2006. At his instigation, the federal government commissioned a set of working papers to explore issues that should be considered at WUF3, two of which were produced by ICSC: The Livable City and The Capable City, documenting the thinking and practice of urban sustainability in Greater Vancouver.
Born in Vienna in 1922, Professor Oberlander came to Canada in 1940, and after graduating from McGill University with a degree in architecture he became the first Canadian to obtain the PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from Harvard University. Convinced of the importance of educating urban planners in Canada, he founded the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
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Peter Oberlander with UN HABITAT's Executive Director, Mrs Anna Tibaijuka
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famous for his activist role in his home city of Vancouver. He resigned from his position as Chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission in protest over the current City Council’s support of building a freeway through the City, a significant moment in the debates that eventually led to a defeat of the proposal and the emergence of a city that is unique in its lack of freeways.
During his life he was recognized with many honours, including:
- Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of British Columbia, 1998
- Officer, Order of Canada (Urban Affairs & Housing), 2002
- Civic Merit Award, City of Vancouver, 2008
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