Personally, I think density is the best way to keep ruining what was once a very livable city. As cities grow, the costs of providing services rises exponentially. Simply put, the revenue generated gets outstripped by demand. Infrastructure development and maintenance costs cannot be met and never can be made adequate in the face of ever rising demand. Vancouver is sliding into that situation as the City hosts ever greater numbers of people from abroad who compete with those already there for the housing stock, who place additional strain on the social system and who, ironically, tolerate the same forces that made their homelands undesirable. The reality is that growth will diminish the standard of living for existing as well as new Vancouverites and there is nothing to be done about it.