As much as the Brit press was bang out of order, to use a Britisism, I do agree with the view of Vancouver being able to learn how to be a true city by looking at London, with night life, culture, better transit and dare I say it, fun. These same sentiments are echoed here in the Metro:
http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/co...-class-insight
It is of course a matter of perspective and not really a fair comparison. 2,000 year old former Roman trading town with a city proper population of 7 million vs 130 year old former logging town of 600,000. Moreover, you'd be hard pressed to find parks, beaches and mountains and the breadth of outdoor pursuits, that we enjoy here, in London.
But, we do need to loosen up. We will never be London, but the city's natural setting has allowed the place to get lazy as far as creating a true world class city.