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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1515520
8 P o r t r ai t : A l ai n a M i c h e ll e B C B U S I N E S S . C A M A R C H 2 0 24 LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO Anyone can write about real estate in this province and get eyeballs. BCers seek out insanely priced houses on realtor.ca with the same glee that horror movie fans feel as they await the next hot indie slasher pic. We read articles about price increases in Vancouver like we eat junk food, telling ourselves never again but inevitably heading back once more. I'm biased, but in the mess that can be Vancouver real estate coverage, there's no one I'd rather have steer us through the rubble than Frances Bula. This issue, Bula takes a month off her regular real estate column to pen our cover feature, "Vancouver 2050" (p.22). The piece imagines what the city and its surround- ing region might look like 50 years from now as rapid transit links massive business districts and storefront and online shop- ping experiences come together to make up the face of retail. Bula is incredibly well-connected, and her superb prose, keen observance of trends and institutional knowledge of Vancouver combine to create a story that I believe no one else in the province could have or would have written. We continue looking forward with "Innovation Station" (p.41), in which we highlight five tech companies you (probably) haven't heard of that are each making an outsized impact. Luckily, we were able to recruit James Matthews, formerly of the Vancouver Tech Journal, to help us identify the relatively unknown firms, both young and seasoned, that are having a global impact across different industries. The economic slowdown—and its resulting layoffs and shutdowns—may have had a sizeable effect on the tech sector, but innovation is still percolating in B.C. You'll also spot a few well-known names in this issue, none more so than Taylor Swift. No, we weren't able to nab a one-on-one with arguably the most popular musician in the world, but managing editor (and noted Swiftie) Alyssa Hirose did put together a comprehensive look at the tourism dollars the province is set to see when the Eras Tour hits BC Place in December ("Are You Ready For It?" on p.11). Did I have to keep googling as I combed through Hirose's piece to make sure I got each and every Swift reference? Yes. And, unfortunately, it rubbed off on me (see the title of this column). Elsewhere in the magazine you'll find another example of what I think (again, biased) counts as meaningful, original and adept coverage of B.C.'s real estate industry in "Out Of Office" (p.14). Here, veteran columnist Jennifer Van Evra looks at how the sector is moving slowly but surely toward decarbonization. Producing an issue like this comes down to surrounding yourself with good people who are experts in their fields. Somehow, it's worked out All Too Well for me. (Sorry.) DESK DITOR'S e Another great crop of the province's brightest young minds make up our 30 Under 30 issue NEXT NATHAN CADDELL Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com | @bcbusiness | Follow BCBusiness on