The solstice has arrived! The days, once darkened, will now be getting brighter again.

We’d for us to take this opportunity to wish you the very best of the season. With new parks and plazas coming online, and a renewed interest in animating and stewarding our urban spaces, it’s been an exciting year for public life in Vancouver. We’re looking forward to more good stuff in the year ahead.

In the meantime, we hope you have a chance to enjoy the brightly lit streets and exciting events taking place over the next few weeks, connect with friends and family, and enjoy the city during this special time of year.

Stay warm out there!

- The VPSN crew

Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Public Space Aficionado

For those of you who are still struggling to find a gift for that special someone, we present our annual effort to resolve late-in-the-game gift-giving anxiety. There are lots of quick things you can do for your urbanist friends and family, so be sure to check out the 20+ ideas contained in our blog post. Peace of mind is just a few clicks away!

:: Read More – Last Minute Gift Ideas

Winteraction – January 27, 2017 (Funding Available)

Our friends at Frida + Frank are pulling together an excellent event for late-January, which aims to animate public space at this colder, rainier time of the year. On Saturday, January 27 they are inviting local placemakers to create an intervention and get outside and embrace the rain. Interventions can be as simple as splashing in the puddles, or as wild as creating a rain activated art-piece. The intent of this day-long celebration is to spark discussion on how we can positively change the way we view winter.

You can join the Winteraction Facebook page to gather and share ideas. There’s also some funding available! Frida &frank is looking to provide selected projects with up to $250 to create winter activations in public space. Applications are due January 4 at noon.

:: Read the full Overview and Call for Proposals
:: For more information – email frida.and.frank@gmail.com
:: Apply for funding

Oakridge Centre – Initial Park Design Concepts (Deadline for Comments – January 2)

The Vancouver Park Board is planning a new park as part of the redevelopment at Oakridge Centre. It presents an interesting design challenge. The nine acre public park will be the first of its kind in Vancouver, located partially on the roof top of the mall and partially at ground level. One of the challenges that we and others noted back in 2014, is that the differentiation in levels may pose issues in terms of the overall access to, and utilization of the park. How might the design of the park account for these considerations? Some initial concepts have been developed and shared via open houses in early December. There’s also a survey online until January 2.

:: View the Design Concepts and Open House Boards (December 2017)
:: Share your thoughts via the Oakridge Centre Park Concepts – Survey

South False Creek Workshops (various dates)

The City of Vancouver is creating a new plan for the False Creek South area – a neighbourhood that stretches from the Burrard Bridge to Cambie Bridge. As part of this, they have created workshops devoted to different planning themes. Registration for the 2018 False Creek South workshop series is now open.

• Public Realm & Open Space, Wednesday, January 10 (5 – 8 pm)
• Transportation, Wednesday, January 24 (5 – 8 pm)
• Housing, Saturday, January 13 (9:30 am – 12:30 pm)
• Character & Urban Design, Saturday, February 3 (3:30 – 6:30 pm)

Sign up for public workshops and help the City and community create a renewed vision for False Creek South!

:: Register for a workshop – online here or by calling 604-829-2015.
:: Read more on the False Creek South Planning Program

Improving Democratic Space – Speaking at City Council (Deadline: January 31, 2018)

Good news! The City is looking for ways to improve the experience of speaking at council! The following is excerpted from their media release.

“Have you ever spoken at a City of Vancouver council meeting? Or did you want to but were put off by the process? If so, the City wants to hear from you.

As part of a comprehensive review of the Procedure By-law, City staff are engaging with the public, staff and Council to make it simpler and more efficient for everyone who speaks at City Council meetings.” In particular, they want to identify

• Challenges and barriers to accessing and speaking to Council
• Opportunities to improve public access and experience when speaking to Council
• The role of speakers in the decision making process
• Language and accessibility needs of the public
• Public and Council member conduct at meetings

The public survey is available until January 31, 2018 and focus group sessions will be held in early 2018 to further explore the challenges, barriers and opportunities to accessing and speaking at Council meetings.

:: Share your thoughts – Take the survey

Places for People – Wintertime Study (February 1 and February 3, 2018)

Interested in studying public life in the wintertime? The follow-up Downtown Public Space and Public Life Study has been scheduled for February 1 and 3, 2018. If you would like to volunteer, you can sign up for your shifts via Eventbrite.

The study is being conducted by Gehl Architects on behalf of the City of Vancouver to better understand how people use and spend time in Downtown Vancouver. The winter phase of the PSPL study will span forty different public spaces across the downtown.

Volunteer survey shifts are on February 1 and February 3, 2018. Shifts will be four hours long and will be anytime from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm. There is a required training session on Wednesday, January 31, 6:00-8:00 pm. (Location TBD).

:: Register to Volunteer via Eventbrite
:: Facebook Event Page

Volunteer Opportunities – Orientation

Put those resolutions into action! The VPSN is an all-volunteer, non-partisan organization that works to celebrated Vancouver’s public spaces. Our key activities include placemaking, research, and advocacy. If you’ve got some time to spare and want to lend a hand with the VPSN, why not drop by our next volunteer orientation meeting to learn more. It takes place January 15, 2018. Location TBD.

:: For more information, or to register – volunteer@vancouverpublicspace.ca

“Have you supported public space activations in Vancouver, and will you in the future? (i.e. closures of 800 Robson and Bute/Robson for public space plazas, laneway activations, etc.)”

All nine candidates answered – though some with a bit more detail than others. You can read the answers to this and other questions on Mark’s blog. Once you’ve done that, please remember to cast your ballot! Advance voting takes place on October 10, and Election Day is October 14.

:: Creative Mornings – By-election Council Candidates Survey
:: How to Vote – City of Vancouver By-election webpage

On Monday, March 10, the first public hearing will consider three projects, including the proposed Oakridge Centre rezoning and development. There’s a lot to be discussed on this latter item – higher buildings, new park and plaza space, and key transportation considerations – and it promises to be a lively debate. (Some of the public correspondence is already on-line, and in case you missed it, we outlined some of the public space-specific considerations in a blog post on February 19.)

The following day, Tuesday, March 11, the regular sitting of Council sees a full suite of items.

Curious about how much Mayor and Council took home as pay this year? The 2013 Council Remuneration and Expenses report details salaries, travel and other expenses.

Following that, there’s a number of Motions being proposed in the meeting, including:

• Protecting Vancouver’s Public Green Space – which, if passed, would direct City staff to develop a policy of no net loss of public green space. Interestingly, this idea was proposed by former Park Commissioner Spencer Herbert (now an MLA) back in 2007. It didn’t pass back then, so it will be interesting to see how the discussion goes this time around. (The VPSN wrote in support of the motion back in ’07 and plan to offer our support this time as well). We’ll share more on this item in a few days time.

• Develop an Art Cart Programme – a motion aimed at expanding street vending opportunities for locally made arts and crafts.

• Traffic Safety and Increased Traffic Volume – 4th Avenue West of Macdonald – The Pt. Grey Road active transportation corridor has created some changes in local traffic patterns. While the City is monitoring these impacts, there are reports in some corners that southbound left-turns onto 4th Avenue are becoming more challenging. This motion looks at the possibility of installing traffic signals to respond to these concerns. (Of interest to sustainable transportation enthusiasts: it’s proposed that funding for these signals be “found within found within the up to $6.0 million budget previously approved by Council for Phase 1 of the completion of the Seaside Greenway and creation of the York Bikeway.”)

• Proposed Service Cuts on TransLink Bus Route 49 UBC/Metrotown Station – as part a program of “service optimization,” TransLink is considering changes to the 49 UBC/Metrotown Station bus. This would eliminate key transit service to Champlain Heights, “a community which includes a high proportion of seniors, young families and people with disabilities who rely on transit service to work, go to school and complete essential daily tasks.” The proposed Council motion would direct staff to advise TransLink that the City “opposes any reduction of service” on this route.

Lastly (at least for our update), Wednesday, March 12 features a key City Finance and Service and Services Committee meeting – one which will see Council deliberate over the Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan, an ambitious neighbourhood-scale policy document that will set out land-use directions, social and cultural policy, and public realm considerations for the next few decades. The VPSN is currently reviewing this document and will be presenting our take on it very shortly.

Interested in letting Council know your thoughts on any of these items? Follow this link to find out how you can have your say (either in person, or via letter/email).

As you know, November 19 is Election Day inVancouver– a chance to go to the polls to cast a ballot for Mayor, Council and Park Board candidates. Not only is this a key moment to participate inVancouver’s local democracy, it’s also a very real opportunity to help shape the forum in which decisions around the city’s public space will be made.

With all this in mind, we wanted to take this opportunity to invite you to a very special – and unique – election event.

The Vancouver Public Space Network is collaborating with UBC’s Schoolof Architectureand Landscape Architecture to produce Last Candidate Standing. It’s an election event that turns the typical debate format ‘on its head’ – by opening the floor to all mayoral and council candidates. This year’s edition of Last Candidate takes place

Sunday, November 6, 2011
UBC Robson Square Theatre
7:00pm-9:30pm (doors open at 6:30pm)

The event is fun, fast-paced, and informative. It will allow you to hear from incumbents, party-affiliates and independents alike on their ideas for the future of the city. 

Hosted by local author and funny man Steve Burgess, the Last Candidate features an ever-evolving debate between randomly selected politicians – each of whom have to face a ‘panel of inquisition’ that includes David Beers (Publisher, The Tyee) and SALA’s own Matthew Soules. And to add to the excitement the event will feature musical interludes, random bits of theatre and plenty of other surprises. 

 Truly, not to be missed!

Space for this event is limited. It’s FREE, but you need to register to attend. To do so, click over to our EventBrite page and reserve your spot today!

Please feel free to pass this along to your networks!