Gerald Sutton-Brown (1911–1985) was the first Chief Planner of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

(1952–1959) and Commissioner with the Board of Administration from 1960–1973. He influenced the trajectory of

at a critical time of its development. His legacy includes the West End, increased density throughout the city and the walkways outside of

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

Coal Harbour Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline. Neighbourhoo ...

and English Bay. He was instrumental in building the Queen Elizabeth Theater and founding the Planning Institute of British Columbia. His approach blended UK's discretionary with the US's regulatory systems of development controls. He was fired in 1973 by the

TEAM A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

City Council, a decision which was opposed by the NPA and

COPE The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...

Councillors and newspaper editorials of the day. Some regarded Sutton-Brown as the most powerful person in City Hall. Born and raised in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and educated at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, Sutton-Brown served as the County Planning Officer for the County of Lancashire, the second largest County in the UK which includes the cities of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. After authoring the Preliminary Development Plan for Lancashire in July 1951 he was recruited to Vancouver and began work in October 1952. He died in 1985 in California.

References

Municipal government of Vancouver Emigrants from British Jamaica to Canada 1985 deaths Alumni of the University of Southampton 1911 births {{Vancouver-stub