Purpose

The Vancouver Special will be an interdisciplinary, student-led journal dedicated to exploring the ideas, conversations, and creative expressions shaping urban life. It will provide an enduring platform for undergraduate students to engage critically and imaginatively with the city through scholarship, lived experience, and creative inquiry.

The four main pillars of our journal are as follows:

• A platform for student research and writing
  • Showcasing essays, policy analyses, case studies, and opinion pieces.
• A creative outlet
  • Highlighting poetry, photography, visual art, and multimedia on urban life.
• A space for dialogue
  • Bringing together diverse perspectives on urban issues from across disciplines.
• A bridge between classroom and professional practice
  • Giving students tangible experience and exposure in publishing.

Vision

The Vancouver Special aims to become a cornerstone of UBC’s Urban Studies community—an annual record of student voices in Vancouver’s ongoing urban conversations. Beyond publication, it can evolve into a collaborative platform for:

• Cross-university issues with other planning programs
• Integration with faculty research clusters
• Campus events or panels on emerging urban themes
• Engagement with Vancouver’s broader civic and planning communities

By institutionalizing student authorship and editorial practice, the journal will expand the CAPACity of Urban Studies students: cultivating not only creativity and passion about cities, but a sustainable culture of shared intellectual stewardship.