Healthy City for All

by Christie Wall

On Wednesday, October 29, Vancouver City Council will review Phase I of ‘A Healthy City For All’, which could become a new municipal plan for supporting Vancouverites to be physically, mentally and socially healthy. The strategy backs up much of the work the City has already done, for example with the Greenest City and Transportation 2040 strategies, but brings it all together under one health-focused umbrella.

The strategy has 13 goals and lays out targets and indicators for each, many of which are connected to the importance of public space. For example, one goal is “Active Living and Getting Outside”; the target is to support Vancouverites to be “engaged in active living and have incomparable access to nature” with green space being less than a 5 minute walk away for all Vancouverites.

While it’s easy to see the direct link between health and public space when talking about parks and green space, many of the goals of the Health City Strategy could be met through a dedication to quality, accessible public spaces. Take, for example, the target of having Vancouverites be “connected and engaged in the places and spaces that matter to us.” Animated public spaces where we have opportunities to meet each other, and which encourage us to spend time interacting, even passively, with others, can bring us closer together.

Another important element of the report is the desire to make Vancouver a healthy city for all people. This focus on equity has the potential to support public spaces that work for everybody, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or class, and to develop spaces equitably across the city. Designing public spaces that work for those who are already vulnerable, and those who experience mental and physical health challenges, can provide healthy opportunities for those who need them most.

Though the report provides a picture of what life in Vancouver could be, it doesn’t do is tell us how we’re going to get there. While there has already been extensive public consultation on this topic, a more detailed plan won’t be released until 2015. Then we’ll see what Vancouver is planning to do to support this vision, and how much public space feeds into that work.

For our part, the VPSN has shared our thoughts with Healthy City strategists. We asked them to ensure that the final Strategy includes language that specifically references the importance of a variety of safe, well-designed, and equitably-distributed public spaces throughout the city, as well as a few specific ideas about how to improve health through quality public spaces. A few of our ideas include:

• Support unstructured play areas and naturalized playgrounds
• Provide appropriate street furniture and washrooms to promote active and public transportation by people of all ages and abilities
• Encourage participatory arts and culture activities like public chalk boards and informal markets
• Promote land-use and zoning changes that would re-enable small-scale local food retailers
• Diffuse the club-scene energy on Granville street through promoting neighbourhood centres
• Support community-led placemenaking, particularly at night, as a means to foster connections and feelings of safety

Got your own ideas? Share them here or write your Councillors.