The new Duplexes in Vancouver have the same massing and height as many of the single detached housing all around them. Unlike the 4-6 storey mid-rise infill projects, these developments have not attracted the usually NIMBY crowd. They raise the question regarding the aesthetic of density: Is it density or the street expression of the density?

The rally against “monster homes” 25 years ago wasn’t about density or height, but rather the aesthetic of housing and the rate of change of neighbourhoods with a strongly English aesthetic. The current fight is against height and the proxy argument for density: parking woes.

So the question remains whether NIMBYism is rooted in anti-change or protection of an aesthetic.

These duplexes incorporate many of the faux heritage treatments the same crowd are defending for single family. If this is the path of least resistance, why not allow them in all RS zones.