Late last year, Mayor Gregor Robertson launched an initiative called the Engaged City Task Force – aimed at improving the way residents connect with one another and the City.

The Task Force is comprised of all sorts of interesting folks, and given the mandate to “examine innovative best practices for civic engagement, and work to improve the ways the City engages and communicates with citizens.”

The Task Force has released a first “Quick Starts” report, which showcases a series of recommended actions.  They note that there’s more work to be done… and are seeking further ideas and input.

We’ve written a letter outlining some of our thinking in this regard.  VPSN members will recognize some of the ideas from our Public Space RouteMap which we produced for the 2012 municipal election.  Other items in our letter aim to further enhance Task Force recommendations with some of the lessons we’ve learned in our own work.

Here’s an excerpt of what we wrote:

[The VPSN's] work is aimed at building engagement around more traditional public space matters (parks, streets, etc.).  We also believe that good engagement on civic matters is a form of public space in its own right.

To that end, we have been supportive of the work of the Mayor’s Engaged City Task Force and keen to see the results of their deliberations.  We’ve had a chance to review the Taskforce’s Report and recommendations, and wish to share our impressions with you.

In general, there is much to commend in this report – and we want to thank the Taskforce members for their good work in assembling this material.  With this in mind, we would like to offer a few comments and suggestions for additional ‘actions’ – and ask that Council and the Taskforce consider including them as they move forward with this initiative.

(1)   Strengthening access to City Hall and the Civic Processes

Many of the Task Force recommendations involve simple initiatives that have the potential to better connect people to each other and City Hall.  The VPSN is particularly supportive of the following:

• The Task Force’s report recommendations to open the doors of City Hall – while also bringing city hall to the community – through storytelling, tours, and mobile kiosks.

• Council liaisons for each of the City’s 22 Local Areas.  This will build on earlier Council motions around providing liaisons to areas that are undergoing community planning work.  On this last note, we would encourage the City and Taskforce to think about how this could be operationalized.  We’d suggest an annual or semi-annual ‘town hall’ meeting in each neighbourhood, so that liaisons could engage face-to-face with community members.

• Improving engagement, notification and early-involvement in planning and rezoning initiatives.  This is an area of particular concern for many residents.  Fostering improved dialogue between all stakeholders (residents, City officials, developers, etc.) is key to alleviating some of the combativeness that often occurs during mandated public hearings.  (It doesn’t mean that everyone will always be happy – but it does mean that early involvement and dialogue can attend to at least some of the issues).

What’s Missing?

Here are a few things that we’d like to see added to the roster of ideas contained in the report:

(a)  At minimum, a doubling of the current 1-week pre-Council meeting release time for Council and Park Board reports.  The current City practice makes it very difficult for individuals, let alone volunteer organizations, to: (a) find out about a report that is relevant to them; (b) have time to read it and/or share it with others; (c) compose a response; and (d) plan a deputation. At minimum, the lead time should be two to three weeks unless exceptional circumstances apply.

(b) Consider rescheduling Standing Committees of Council – Standing Committees of Council meetings should be scheduled in the evening to allow more people to attend, and to enable the public more opportunity to present on motions and/or reports. The current 9:30am and 2:00pm meeting time slots mean that members of the public have to take time off work in order to make a face-to-face deputation.

(2) Supporting Neighbourliness

As Vancouver’s population increases, our need for good, neighbourly relations – an enhanced sense of community – has become more acute. While there are many things that we as individuals can do to strengthen neighbourliness, the City can play an important role.  We offer particular support for Taskforce recommendations around:

• Neighbourhood Block Parties – which would encourage citizens across the city to get out of their homes and meet their neighbours.  It doesn’t have to be one collective block party day either, rather an effort to raise awareness about the ease in which block parties can be created… and a simple tool kit to share good practices in this regard.

• The report’s recommendation for Participatory Budgeting for Neighbourhoods could provide a unique opportunity to support citizens in having an important say in how local, neighbourhood-improvement projects are supported.  Of course, it will be important to ensure that the many and diverse voices of a given neighbourhood are heard – and not just those that feel most comfortable with civic process.

• The task force’s recommendation to develop a crowd-sourced venue list would help organizations like the VPSN to easily locate no- and low-cost meeting spaces for meetings and public evens in the city.  We’d recommend supporting this with a modest review of the varying policies and procedures that exist around city-owned spaces.  How can these spaces be made more accessible?  (e.g. booking a small room at the central library requires you to show up, in person, on the day of the advance… as no advance bookings, or electronic/telephone bookings are allowed).

What’s Missing?

We offer another item for consideration:

(c) Allow more and better spaces for ‘writing on the city’ – Twitter handles and list-servs are important, but so are neighbourhood-scale notices.  Currently there are only 200 or so poster cylinders – metal bands that wrap utility poles and provide space for event notices – located throughout the city.  It is unlawful to post fliers elsewhere and private notice boards are few and far between.  In fact, there are more unlawful billboards than there are officially designated places for the sharing the sort of everyday information – such as lost cat notices, block party invites, or leaflets on a planned rally against salmon farming – that make our city lively and interesting.  Worse still, commercial poster companies quickly (and repeatedly) blanket poster-cylinders with their paid advertising.

We suggest: (1) placing more poster cylinders on high streets and commercial areas, as well as selected residential areas; (2) amending the Street and Traffic Bylaw to allow neighbourhood notices (not paid advertising) on utility poles and other spaces; (3) experimenting with other types of sanctioned notice and information space (public information boards, etc.).

(3) Budgeting for an Engaged City

Finally, we feel that it is important that the City consider formally resourcing the work that is outlined in the Taskforce’s Report.  To this end, we offer our support for the Mayor’s motion to investigate recommendations for implementing items that fall outside of the current City budget.  Speaking from experience, local volunteers and individuals are willing to help with many of the initiatives here… but they need some support to make this happen.

Earlier improvements to the Adanac Bikeway

On Wednesday, City Council will be deliberating over a staff report on three ‘active transportation corridor’ improvements:

• Union Street (Gore Street to Carrall Street)
• Cambie Bridge (north end to Beatty Street)
• Canada Line (pedestrian and bicycle connection)

The VPSN has written a letter of support, an excerpt of which can be found below:

We are writing to you to express our support in principle for the proposed upgrades to the Union Street as a part of the Adanac Bikeway. The Adanac Bikeway acts as a type of bicycle artery offering a safe connection appropriate for cyclists of all ages and abilities with relatively little interaction with motor vehicles into the Downtown Peninsula and False Creek from East Vancouver and beyond. However, as it is currently configured, the area on Union Street West of Gore is far less inviting to the cyclist and has a number of potential areas of conflict between cyclists and motorists. Reducing these areas of conflict and creating a more legible streetscape in this relatively small section of a much larger system should be a priority.

Although it would be our preference for the 200 block of Union Street to become one way to vehicles to allow for two separated bicycle lanes as originally proposed, we are willing to support the concept of the shared eastbound lane on a trial basis in order to help alleviate the concerns expressed by some of businesses in the 200 block of Union Street. Given that this intersection is considerably influenced by the viaducts, it would be our suggestion that the shared lane be on a trial basis until a decision has been made regarding the future of the viaducts, at which point it could be reviewed.

Some businesses have voiced their concern over the removal of on-street parking on Union Street as well as the change in traffic patterns. The perception that the installation of bicycle infrastructure creates negative impacts on local businesses has been frequently shown to be inaccurate. For example, a 2009 study in Toronto found that the removal of on-street parking in favour of a bike lane would have few negative effects on businesses and that they may actually benefit from lane re-allocation. In fact, it was determined that only 10% of those businesses’ patrons drove and that those that arrived by foot and bicycle visited more often and spent the most money per month.

Alleviating the fears of businesses will be crucial for the continued success of the Adanac Bikeway and other bicycle infrastructure throughout the City. In addition to the works on the Adanac Bikeway, we are also in support of the proposed Cambie Bridge to Beatty and Canada Line connections which we believe will help to increase bicycle and pedestrian use while improving conditions for transit users, pedestrians and cyclists.

UBC’s Alma Mater Society is hosting a Community Transit Forum to discuss the future of the Broadway corridor. The event will take place on Thursday, May 2nd, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm at the Hollywood Theatre on Broadway.

The Broadway corridor (from Commercial Drive through to UBC) is a key economic, residential, institutional and cultural area for Vancouver and British Columbia. It boasts the highest concentration of jobs in B.C. outside of the downtown core. More than 100,000 public transit trips occur in this part of the city each day, making it one of the most heavily used diesel bus routes in North America.

Broadway’s current and potential demographic and economic development has driven recent discussion about the future of the corridor. Given the ongoing discussions regarding the future of the corridor, the AMS is inviting a number of speakers to lead a discussion, with community input, on the kind of future that is envisioned for Broadway. Informed debate will help the community shape and articulate its own future within a rapidly growing region.

Vancouver Public Space Network’s Karen Quinn Fung will be participating as a panelist to share her views on this issue through her experience as VPSN’s public transit project lead, and to bring forward VPSN’s interest in enhancing Vancouver’s public spaces to the dialogue. Other panelists include Yuri Artibise (Yurbanism), Claire Havens (SFU’s Carbon Talks), and Arno Schortinghuis (HUB –  Your Cycling Connection).

Want to join us? Register online at the event’s Eventbrite site. Looking forward to see you there and hearing from everyone on this very important topic!

On the floor of City Council earlier today: the Vancouver Art Gallery.  More specifically, a report [PDF] on the subject of its proposed move. And if today’s Council session was any indication, tomorrow’s follow-up will also feature an equally-impassioned discussion related to the Gallery’s all-but-approved relocation to Larwill Park (688 Cambie) from its present-day location at Robson Square.

For those that haven’t heard about the specifics of the report: City staff are recommending that the City proceed with developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for leasing a portion of the block bounded by Georgia, Dunsmuir, Beatty and Howe (presently an Easy Park parking lot).  The Gallery portion of the site would comprise 1.8 acres in total – about 2/3 of the whole block – and would be leased to the Art Gallery Association for 99 years.  As part of this, the City is also considering the closure of the segment of Cambie Street (between Dunsmuir and Georgia), as well as the potential highest-and-best-use development of the portion of the block not leased to the VAG.

A majority of Council – Vision and NPA at any rate – seem to be on board with the idea.  But, to be sure, the proposed MOU will contain a variety of conditions that need to be met – many of them pertaining to securing the necessary capital – an estimated $300 million – from upper levels of government and other funding sources.

The issue of the move has been on people’s minds for a few years now. The last decade has seen several studies undertaken to look at ways to expand the Gallery – both on its present site and elsewhere in the city. From an advocacy perspective, the call for a larger Gallery has benefited tremendously from the efforts of the seemingly indefatigable Gallery Director Kathleen Bartels.  Most recently, in January 2011, following a public campaign around renewing the Gallery, the City agreed to put a two-year ‘hold’ on the Larwill Park site.

During this time, a variety of counter proposals have been circulated, many of which call for a decentralized Gallery with multiple locations (including this recent one by Michael Green Architecture, and another by Tony Osborne Architecture). Public commentary by architect Bing Thom, Abraham Rogatnick and Bob Rennie have also focussed attention on the possibility of either expanding the current site, or opting for multiple sites around the City. At times, things even seem to have gotten rather acrimonious.

The positions, pro and con, are nothing if not passionate. At one event we attended, there was concern that moving the Art Gallery anywhere from its present location would “rip the heart out” of the downtown.  During the same time, the pleas for moving the site have been equally intense, and concerns have been registered that if the art gallery weren’t allowed to move, that it would be doomed to be a second class cultural institution – unable to expand in a fashion that would allow it to accurately profile its tremendous collection.

This post doesn’t wade into that discussion in any great detail.  Nor does it look at considerations around Gallery funding (or other funding priorities), the notion of iconic architecture and the efficacy (or not) of talking about a ‘cultural precinct’ in Vancouver.  These are all items addressed at length elsewhere.

The VPSN’s position regarding the proposed move has been intentionally ambivalent. Our specific interest – and the topic of this post – focuses on matters related to the downtown public realm and how it, in turn, relates to the Art Gallery.

Both the current VAG location and the Larwill Park site represent important places in Vancouver’s urban landscape.  The current Art Gallery, and in particular its surrounding environs, represents arguably one the most important public gathering area on the downtown peninsula. The latter, Larwill Park, was one of the city’s most prominent gathering areas in the first half of the latter century before being turned first into a bus depot and then into a flat surface asphalt parking lot. Despite its present shape, the site has the potential to play an important role in the network of public spaces that shape and define our city as one of the most liveable places in the world.

To that end, we offer a short (and incomplete) list of three public space items related to the Art Gallery discussion.

By Alexandra Venner

On April 6th, Vancouver got its  own public piano – the first in two years – dropped on McAuley Park  - a small, triangle-shaped piece of land at the intersection of Kingsway, Fraser and East 15th. This small parcel of under-utilized greenspace includes grass and ginger weed for its surface, a few grand trees (including one of Vancouver’s oldest oak trees), and a small garden area on its eastern side.

McAuley Park

The piano was part of the Spring 2013 City Studio’s ‘Reimagine Your Park’ project. CityStudio is an energetic hub of learning and leadership where students  design and  implement Vancouver’s Greenest  City solutions.  Our goal for the project was to demonstrate the importance of revitalizing orphaned greenspace in order to increase the city’s accessibility to nature and engagement with community. We asked ourselves, how could such space in the city be more productive and engaging?

Myself and three other students selected McAuley Park for its ripe energy and charming community, including its diverse businesses on East 15th, where you can enjoy a bold mug of coffee at Matchstick or a slice of delicious rum cake from the Lions Den.

In early March we held community conversations with the business owners on East 15th Ave to gather input and ideas on the McAuley Park space. The outcome was an expressed need to increase the friendliness, accessibility and usage of the space through small-scale improvements.  Thus, to support such needs and an intersection that continues to grow and change, our selection process for what would be an appropriate intervention given our time frame, budget, and barriers with the City, resulted in our solution: sculptural seating, a public piano, and a celebratory event.

To enhance usage of the space, we wanted to create an inviting central gathering space for people to be, which would allow for informal conversation and community scale programming. We collaborated with Kim Cooper, a local inventor, designer and builder extraordinaire, to build an interactive and colorful sculptural seating arrangement.

 

To really reimagine this space and to challenge people’s presumptions of the usage of public space in the city, we piloted Vancouver’s first public piano. The piano served the community’s prominent arts culture by providing an outlet for children, youth, and adults to explore musical creativity in a unique environment. At the same time, McAuley Park challenges the presumptions of where a piano is traditionally enjoyed by immersing it in the natural environment.

 

On April 6th, as part of CityStudio’s Engagement Expo, we showcased our revitalized public space in hopes that people would have a seat with us, have a conversation, and play a tune. Toddlers, kids, teenagers, adults, East 15th Ave business owners, and City of Vancouver staff did just that. This event not only began the dialogue for a vibrant public space at McAuley Park, but also continued the discussion of revitalizing small park spaces in Mount Pleasant to address the park deficiency of the neighborhood.

The Reimagine Your Park Project with CityStudio is over, but at the same time it is only the beginning. There is too much contagious energy in and around the McAuley Park space that we want to continue to weave ourselves into.The challenge, to replicate the process undertaken at McAuley Park to revitalize other orphaned greenspace in City, one public piano at a time…

 

 

BY Mary Wu

Over the month of March, the Museum of Vancouver put on a series of workshops called Upcycled Urbanism, to engage citizens in reimagining Vancouver public spaces. And of course, VPSN got involved, partnering up with the MoV and SALA to lead Block Talk on March 17th, the third workshop in the series. Even with the marvelously sunny weekends we had in March, Vancouverites came out in droves to get creative, play with polystyrene blocks (recycled from the Port Mann Bridge!), and — in the words of SALA’s Blair Satterfield — “hack the city.”

What do we mean by “hack the city?” How do we redefine what streets mean to the public, find the wiggle room between the amazing, epic ideas and the financial and permit restrictions, and modify what we can? At the final Upcycled Urbanism workshop on March 24th, we were encouraged to take an oft-used street in the downtown core, and use our modular blocks and colourful markers to imagine structures that encourage citizens to interact with spaces that are otherwise just a commute corridor.

The result? This theme of interaction got groups thinking about folks like the head-down, smartphone-focused downtown commuter. Designs emerged with ideas to draw their attention upwards with spine-esque roof structures, or stop for a moment to observe a pond in the street where people can leave messages in bottles. One team even built an interactive wall with pre-set spaces that you have to fit through, redefining a wall as something simply to keep things in or out.

As we completed the walk-around at the end to see each group’s demonstration, the energy and excitement leading up to July’s public design and build event kept growing. We can’t wait to see what ideas from Upcycled Urbanism are incorporated into the final structure.

The next steps is a final debrief meeting with all participants later this month, followed by planning for the build on July 13th. The site of the build is going to be Granville Street between Robson and Georgia where the now vacant Sears is.

Stay connected through MoV’s Twitter or Facebook, or keep an eye on VPSN for all the details!

Ironclad Art Challenge: Manhole Cover Design – Deadline April 15, 2013

Here’s a post for the creative folks out there, featuring two public space-related design competitions. You’ve probably heard about the Ironclad Challenge in Vancouver but now our friends in Surrey have gotten into the game as well – with a competition for a summertime pop-up park. Time to sharpen the pencils!

Surrey’s PARKit Design Challenge – Deadline May 17, 2013

The City of Surrey is calling for submissions in its PARKit Design Challenge, a competition for the design and installation of a summertime pop-up park in Surrey City Centre.

Individuals and groups are invited to submit their ideas for a creative sustainable outdoor public space capable of supporting mobile food vendors. The selected winner will receive up to $12,000 to fabricate and install their design. Honorariums will be awarded to second ($500) and third place teams ($250).

The PARKit site is located adjacent to Surrey Central SkyTrain station, in the North Surrey Recreation Centre parking lot. This area has become an important pedestrian hub, linking SFU Surrey and Central City Mall with the SkyTrain station and recreation centre.

“The PARKit Design Challenge is a wonderful way for the City to engage creative minds to help infuse life into concrete. The park will bring the community together and become a fun urban greenspace in our downtown core,” says Mayor Dianne Watts. 

PARKit Design Challenge entries are due May 17, with the winner announced on May 24.  The site is expected to be installed by mid-July, and will remain open through August.

The City originally developed PARKit as a pilot project to create temporary public park space, and to test the feasibility of mobile food trucks in City Centre.  The Program’s initial pilot site was activated in April and July, 2012, in the same location. The Design Challenge is the evolution of the PARKit concept. For more information visit surrey.ca/parkit.

:: For more information or to register – email to beautification@surrey.ca

Turn our streets into dynamic public art sites. Submit your manhole cover design and highlight the importance of our sewer system.

If you live, work, or study in Vancouver, submit your ideas for beautiful, artistically designed manhole covers that can remind us all that many of the choices we make – from how we care for our lawns and gardens, to where we wash our cars – have a direct impact on our ecosystem.

Details and dates for the Ironclad Art manhole cover design challenge

The Ironclad Art Challenge is a collaboration between the City’s public art program, and our engineering department.  The challenge is open to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Vancouver.

Submission deadline

We will be accepting entries in the challenge until 15 April 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

Choosing the winners

A selection panel will choose two winners, who will see their artwork turned into sanitary and storm sewer manhole covers, and used on streets across Vancouver.

Each winner will also receive a $2,000 cash prize, and up to $500 for participation in the fabrication process.

All submitted designs are also eligible for a people’s choice award, chosen by visitors to the exhibition at Interurban Gallery.

Announcing the winners

We will announce the winners at an award ceremony on Saturday 1 June  at Interurban Gallery, 1 East Hastings Street, in Vancouver.

The event is open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend. An exhibition of designs will be held at the gallery from 28 May to 8 June 2013.

:: For further information or to apply: ironcladart.ca

Springing Forward with the Public Space Network …

Main Mall, UBC

It’s that time of year again!  Blossoms and buds are filling the air with all sorts of olfactory treats, and the city is beginning to brighten with renewed colour.  Lots of good public space and urban-related projects are under way too – our latest issue of Public Space News & Events presents a sparkling assortment of goodies for your reading pleasure.

• SPRINGING FORWARD: with four exciting VPSN projects
• ENGAGE: opportunities to get involved with urban issues in Vancouver
• EVENTS: a calendar of public space happenings for late March & April
• RESEARCH & READINGS: a short miscellany of interesting urban items
• FUNDING: for small neighbourhood projects

We’ve got a choice selection of things that we’re working on right now.  Some coming up very shortly…

Thursday, March 28 – The City on Display: Urban Living and the Art of Public Space 

Get ready for the long-weekend by joining us for a lively presentation on our most-favourite of subjects. The VPSN’s Andrew Pask closes out the City of Richmond’s 2013 Lulu: Art in the City Speaker Series – with a talk that will look at the multiple connections between art and public space.

Andrew’s presentation will examine the history of public space and explore how thinking about the public realm has changed over time. Looking at the present era, it will touch on recent debates, designs and dilemmas associated with the public realm, including new park and plaza projects, the social – and ‘contested’ – nature of public places, and several of the more recent artistic interventions that have enlivened public spaces around the world.

Added bonus! The evening’s event will get started at 7 pm with a short performance by renowned jazz pianist Ron Johnston.  The presentation is free, but you need to register to attend. Richmond City Hall Council Chambers; transit: Richmond-Brighouse station.

:: RSVP – Lulu Speaker Series Webpage

UpCycled Urbanism (with the Museum of Vancouver and UBC SALA)

We’ve been pleased as punch to join forces with the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) and UBC School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (SALA) on a project called UpCycled Urbanism.

Upcycled Urbanism is a participatory design project that empowers people to reimagine Vancouver’s public spaces.  The VPSN is one of four design teams that are creating prototypes of public space infrastructure using modular blocks of polystyrene salvaged from the construction of the Port Mann Bridge.

On March 17 we held a design jam at the MOV called “Block Talk.” Our aim was to explore how the infrastructure of public space can shape our connection with friends and strangers. Lots of folks showed up for the event – and the result was a fantastic collaboration where we got to roll-up the sleeves and design the sort of structures (chairs, seating, benches, etc.) that could make our public spaces more communal, connected and interesting.

In July, some of the designs from the four teams will be developed as full-size prototypes… in an as yet undisclosed location in the city.  Stay tuned – and plan on grabbing a seat on the next generation of public infrastructure!

:: For more on Block Talk – jonathan [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca
:: VPSN Blog – UpCycled Urbanism Post
:: Museum of Vancouver UpCycled Urbanism Events
:: Twitter: #upcycled urbanism | @museumofvan

Robson Square – Summertime Activation

In the last News & Events we shared the City’s VIVA Vancouver Call for Proposals for the 800-block of Robson Square… and asked if any of you were interested in collaborating on a submission.  We got a great response and held a few jam sessions to work out ideas, draw pictures and produce a draft concept.

Our roving reporter Mary Wu was there to cover the activity, and you can read about it in her recent article on the VPSN Blog.

Regardless of how our proposal goes, we’re pleased that the 800-block will once again be a summertime public space.  The last two years have featured a pair of great programs for animating the space (Picnurbia & Pop Rocks) – all of which has helped to further make the case for expanding and improving Robson Square on a permanent basis.

:: For more information – robsonsquare [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

VPSN Goes to Detroit!

The Vancouver Public Space Network is proud to be part of the Placemaking Leadership Council.  We’ll be joining other organizations, policy-makers and designers at the inaugural meeting of the Council, taking place in mid-April in Detroit, Michigan.  Organized by our friends at Project for Public Spaces, the two-day event will be bringing together public space advocates and organizations from nine different countries.  The aim is to consolidate and strengthen placemaking as an international movement. The event will be structured around four key agenda-items:

• Creating healthier communities and improving streets by redefining transportation planning;
• Improving our built environment by advocating for people- and place-centric design through an architecture of place;
• Supporting sustainable local economies by highlighting the central role of public markets;
• And strengthening communities by creating new urban development models that re-orient our cities and towns around great multi-use destinations.

We’ll be reporting out from the event on our blog and via our social media channels.  We’ll also be happily championing the good work of Vancouver placemakers and public space aficionados.

:: For more information – email andrew [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

A Plug: Join in the fun!

In addition to the various items profiled above, we’ve got a roster of interesting projects on the go… and are always looking for volunteers who are willing to lend a hand. Our next VPSN volunteer orientation will be taking place on Wednesday, April 3.  If you’re interested in learning more about the Network, please join us!

:: RSVP for Volunteer Orientation – Amy McPherson, volunteer [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

 

BY Katie Stowe

A synopsis of Suzanne Lanyi Charles’ lecture / SFU Urban Studies

Gentrification has long maintained its status as a critical social issue in Vancouver, our beloved yet unaffordable city. However, in recent weeks this issue has reclaimed the limelight as several small business owners and developers trying to set up shop and build condos in traditionally lower income communities like Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, are facing strong resistance from local residents, via protests, hunger strikes, and vandalism.

Through the lens of this recent turmoil, I attended the March 19 lecture “Gentrification and the Suburbs”, part of SFU’s Gentrification and the City speaker series. The lecture was presented by Suzanne Lanyi Charles, Assistant Professor, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan. The lecture focused on gentrification in the context of a study of residential redevelopment in the inner-ring suburbs of Chicago.

Despite my limited urban planning knowledge, it became clear that Prof. Charles’ concept of “gentrification” was not gentrification in the way that I’ve come to understand it as a Vancouver resident. And then I realized – that’s the point. Prof. Charles challenged us to reconsider classic definitions of the concept, beyond our own intimate experience, and recognize that this is an issue that stretches much further than urban environments like the Downtown Eastside.

Prof. Charles study describes how inner-ring Chicago suburbs are undergoing major stylistic changes, with old post-war bungalows being replaced by new mega-homes or “McMansions”. It looked like the dawn of a new ideal suburb, which reflected how the local residents’ values, tastes and preferences had changed over time (e.g. clearly house size was valued over green space). But there was little change to the demographics within those neighbourhoods, with residents stating that their new neighbours “seem like us” – members of the same ethnic group, with similar income levels and family composition.

Prof. Charles outlined the proven upsides of gentrification in these Chicago suburbs, including increased land value, more funding for local schools, and the prevention of suburban sprawl. But the downsides have been more numerous and very similar to classic gentrification, including displacement and significant loss of affordable housing, with people being pushed to “outer fringe” areas. There has also been negative physical consequences to consider. These McMansions have an overwhelming, daunting and invasive presence – creating shadows on once open and airy streets and paying little homage to the history of the neighbourhoods or days gone by. Worse still, the financial crisis has left a scattering of half-completed redevelopments, leaving streets that were once full of families with vacant, boarded up homes – enter symbolic tumbleweeds.

As part of her study, Prof. Charles spoke with several developers in the area to get their perspective and help explain the spatial patterns she was seeing. Why was this gentrification happening in some neighbourhoods and not immediately adjacent areas? Turns out that developers have a significant influence on this. She found that developers often started with incumbent upgrading, rebuilding their own houses, which then set a new precedent for their neighbourhood and attracted the interest of other developers in a natural “follow the leader” process. She also noted that developers are also more likely to initiate multiple developments in the same area, especially if they experience success with an initial project.

Beyond this insight from developers, Prof. Charles also determined other factors that impacted whether development was likely to occur in a neighbourhood. What she found was that all of the following factors were highly significant:
• Older, smaller houses with higher floor area ratios
• Closer to the Chicago Central Business District, rail stations, or express way access
• Lower property values compared to the average
• Located in an area with lower proportion of African American and Hispanic residents (after controlling for many factors, this was still significant)
• Located in higher quality school districts (2.5 more likely if in top 10 school district)

There is also the huge impact of the “rent gap” to consider. When the difference between original use or value and the most profitable current-day use becomes large enough, redevelopment is a near certainty. Likely a scenario that holds true despite the neighbourhood, city, or suburb in question.

To provide some historical context, Prof. Charles also outlined the “waves” of gentrification, indicating that we now find ourselves well in the mist of the daunting 4th wave:
• 1st wave – sporadic, small neighbourhoods (pre 1973)
• 2nd wave – anchoring (1978-1988)
• 3rd wave – gentrification returns, crossing city boundaries into suburbs (mid 1990s)
• 4th wave – gentrification expands and we start to see new models, such as new-build, super-gentrification, rural, commercial and touristic

Which leaves one wondering… how will this all play out in Vancouver?

Enter Elvin Wyly, Associate Professor, Urban Geography, UBC. Full of incredible pull quotes (“no man who owns his house can afford to be a communist” – Levit), Prof. Wyly suggested that Vancouverites don’t yet know where this reconfiguration will end up. He contemplates “can we turbo-charge this scenario any more? Can we make any more money in this?”

Which I have to assume are questions that sit in the bay window of Vancouver homeowners’ minds.

Prof. Wyly speaks of today’s real estate environment where the mundane is being capitalized and individual homes are the “growth machines” of our economy, simultaneously acting as our safety nets, where we are protected. This led me to reconsider a conversation I had a few years ago with a friend who was visiting from London, who was astonished at how much Vancouverites talk about real estate in their day-to-day interactions. “Is this honestly all you talk about? You’re obsessed”.

And she’s right – we are rather obsessed. Reflecting on this conversation, I began to imagine the day when rather than debating the market and our next move in the real estate chess game, we instead focus on living and breathing the everyday, savouring the beauty of our city – our community – and our home (whatever shape, size, or colour it might be).

Until that day, we’ll just continue living in Wyly’s SITCOM (single income two children oppressive mortgage).

BY: Mary Wu

The VPSN has been proactive in supporting activations in the 800-block of Robson Street for quite some time now, advocating for it to be a permanent public space. Past projects have included Valentine’s hearts on the VAG steps, Karaoke Kiosk, and the Blim Community Market.  So of course, when the City of Vancouver put out a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) for this summer’s Viva Vancouver Robson Square installation, we posted our own call to collaborate. The result? A diverse group of dedicated individuals – including landscape architects, urban designers, and passionate idea generators – came together to do what VPSN does best: make Vancouver public spaces more inviting and interactive. Read on for a recap of our brainstorming and proposal-making (affectionately dubbed “jam sessions”), and get a feel for what volunteering with a VPSN project could entail.

It started at the Roundhouse…

The response to the call for interest drew a sizable group gathering at the Roundhouse Community Centre, from veteran VPSN volunteers, folks with concrete design and planning skills, and curious citizens just checking things out. Due to last year’s extension to keep Robson Square car-free, we’ve seen lots of public interest and consultation in an expanded Robson Square. The really encouraging thing is, given the public’s engagement and VPSN’s advocacy in the space, it’s entirely possible that even if our submission doesn’t get a green light from the City, the VPSN could still use the ideas for future projects.

Though the inaugural meeting was focused on gauging interest, taking stock of skill sets, and clarifying the requirements of the proposal, it was clear that the group was eager to get going. People already started throwing out elements we could integrate (“Let’s find a design that complements the stairs!” “Can we partner up with food carts to enhance this?”), and we identified some key themes to focus on, including a space that would be family-friendly.

Jamming at Waves

Ironically, a potential stumbling block of collaborating on public space activations? Finding a suitable public space to do it in. Luckily, the Waves coffee shop downtown has boardrooms you can rent, free of charge (buy some coffee if you do though, don’t be that guy). Here’s where our jam sessions really got going, nestled into the smaller of the two rooms, surrounded by our notebooks, laptops, inspiration from other public spaces, and maps of all sizes depicting the 800-block of Robson. Over a period of two weeks, the jammers came together to brainstorm, collectively narrow down ideas, and paired off outside of Waves to create beautiful concept art and expertly wordsmith the submission.

The jam sessions saw us go from putting out every idea we had (“Archways!” “A stage!” “Tree forts!”), to identifying some common themes that pulled our concepts together (“The Urban Playground?” “Or ‘Vancouver’s Living Room!’”), to getting into the nitty-gritty of assigning potential sponsors to contact and pounding out a budget. Without giving too much away, these incredibly productive meetings revolved around a couple of key points: how do we use this opportunity to turn this popular space into a playful and inclusive gathering area, and how do we encourage residents and visitors to see the potential of streets as significant public spaces?

Bringing it together (over breakfast!)

As we hit the home stretch of our proposal prep, a generous jammer offered up her home as a gathering place to afford the team a good, solid chunk of time to polish the submission. Over a potluck-style breakfast on a sunny Sunday, the team worked through the final stages of articulating and illustrating our vision, and completely re-designed our RFEOI submission – a huge step up from the original Word template provided on the website. And with that, our entire proposal package, beautifully designed by talented team members, was delivered to the City on March 5^th.

So after all that, what did we come up with? We don’t want to reveal too much, since the submissions are still being reviewed and at this time we haven’t heard anything back from the City. Suffice to say though, there’s a lot of good stuff, including elements of play and community. Whether our entire proposal is accepted as is and we start building and installing for the summer, or elements from our submission find their way to future VPSN projects, we’re going to be looking for even more enthusiasm and passion to help us out. Keep an eye out, and let’s connect soon.