Image courtesy of Vancouver Courier

VPSN and VIVA Vancouver are bringing back the Karaoke Kiosk to heart of Vancouver this August. Designed by Urban Republic, the Kiosk is an outdoor karaoke booth that allows you to choose your favourite song from a touch screen display and sing for the adoring public on the streets of downtown Vancouver. More info about the Kiosk can be found at this link: http://www.urbanrepublic.ca/sing/about/

VPSN is seeking volunteers to help with the Karaoke Kiosk. The event will run on the following dates and locations:

-Sunday Aug. 12th, 2pm-6pm at 700 block of Granville St. (between Robson St. and Georgia St.)

-Sunday Aug. 19th, 2pm-6pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery steps (800 block of Robson St. between Hornby St. and Howe St.)

-Sunday Aug. 26th, 2pm-6pm at the Library Square steps (300 block Robson St. @ Homer St.)

We are looking for help in two main areas:

1) Before and after event: transport, set up and tear down
2) During event: minor crowd management, assisting public, general help where needed

For job # 1, we’ll need some strong bodies to be available beforehand from 12pm to 2pm to help transport the structure on a dolly from the Pacific Centre underground parking lot to the respective event site. On site there will also be set up of computers and a PA system that will be unloaded from a van. Then we do the same thing in reverse when we wrap up at 6pm.

For job #2, physical strength isn’t necessary as you’d be helping the public with related issues with the kiosk, managing the crowd, watching equipment during transport/set-up, etc.

A minimum two-hour commitment is preferable, but not mandatory. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Contact simon [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca if interested.

This weekend, VIVA Vancouver kicks off across the city, transforming street spaces into people places and giving local residents extra space to walk, bike, dance, skate, sit, hang out with friends and meet their neighbours.

The free, summer-long program will create engaging public spaces and a more vibrant street culture in neighbourhoods across the city through street space transformations and activities. VIVA Vancouver is hosted by the City of Vancouver and many local community and business organization partners.

“Building on the success and popularity of family-friendly open street programs like last year’s Rediscover Granville, people of all ages can enjoy themselves at VIVA Vancouver this summer,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “When the weather warms up, Vancouverites like to get outside in their communities, and VIVA Vancouver will provide more opportunities through new pop-up plazas, pocket parks, and local arts and culture to enjoy themselves.”

Granville Street will also be closed on weekends again this summer. Starting June 25 and every weekend this summer until Labour Day, in partnership with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and Translink, Granville Street (between Smithe and Hastings streets) will be transformed into a pedestrian corridor, playing host to community events and other unique activations for people to enjoy. A highlight for June 25 is a high-energy afternoon of skateboarding competitions and demonstrations; all skateboarders welcome.

On June 26, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Granville Street (between Smithe and Dunsmuir) will be closed to bring the city’s colourful Latin heritage to Latincouver, a fun celebration including food, soccer, music, dancing, games, marketplace and activities.

The VIVA Vancouver model is based on best practices learned from three projects that re-imagined public spaces in innovative ways: Summer Spaces 2009, the 2010 Olympic pedestrian corridors and Rediscover Granville in 2010.

VIVA Vancouver has grown out of these projects with the public’s support. Its three main goals are to:

• create a variety of public spaces for a mix of engaging activities and sojourning;
• increase neighbourhood liveability benefiting residents, businesses, community groups and visitors;
• and, encourage sustainable and active transportation by creating more safe and interesting spaces for walking and cycling, part of the City’s Greenest City Action Plan.

VIVA Vancouver differs from car-free days that are one-day, large-scale events. The program offers a variety of planned and spontaneous activities, including pocket parks, pop-up plazas, and showcases of local arts and culture at various street and laneway transformations all summer-long.

Creating strong business and community partnerships is an important part of VIVA Vancouver achieving these goals. The City of Vancouver thanks all partner organizations who will help to bring our streets to life in creative and engaging ways during VIVA Vancouver.

Visit VIVA Vancouver to learn more about what’s happening across the city this summer.

This just in… a couple of interesting public space-related initiatives that you might have heard about, which combined tell something of a story about public life in Vancouver. (Okay, I’ll leave it to you to determine whether there’s really a link here: it’s just that news of these two items landed on my desk at the same time and I couldn’t help but think about the connection.)

First up, a initiative coming out of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

As part of the City’s 125th birthday celebrations, the Foundation is launching a project called Places that Matter and is asking people to help create a list of 125 favourite places around the Vancouver. These don’t have to be public spaces per se (though chances are there’ll more than a few that’ll make the list), but can include buildings, streets, natural settings and more… including, it would seem, people and events.

The definition is broad and inclusive, and you can submit a photo, as well as a short explanation of why you thing the site is so important. The only limitation is that the ‘places’ submitted have to have a history prior to 1991 (or 20-25 years old) and be located within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver. (It’s too bad about the latter part, as it means there will be some favourite places that are excluded as a result (like the Central library building, as well as some of our excellent new community centres and parks.)

The call for submissions lasts until March 15 at which point the public will have a chance to vote on their favourites through to early April. Once the 125 ‘winners’ are determined, a commemorative plaque will be developed for each and installed over the summer and Fall. You can also see the spots that have been nominated already.

One other note: you can also check out the Heritage Foundation’s display at the Central Library (interesting venue choice!) this Saturday, February 26 between 10am and 4pm. They’ll be taking nominations there as well.

Of course places need people in them in order to generate a sense of vitality. And that’s where the second piece comes into play. (Or not!)

Tom and Gary’s Decentralized Dance Party – which were part of the lively (and unofficial) Olympic shenanigans a year ago – had planned an outdoor party to coincide with the one year anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s gold-medal goal in the hockey final. The event, which was to take place this Saturday night on Granville Street, has drawn grumbles from City. Among the concerns that have been outlined: crowd control, safety, security, sidewalk congestion and sanitation issues. A letter from the City’s Legal Department has been presented to the organizers, asking them to think twice.

Are we back to No Fun City?

It’s an interesting dilemma, because on one hand, it is important to ensure spaces that are safe for residents and partiers alike. On the other hand… it’s Granville Street. It’s Saturday night. The so-called entertainment district, for better or worse, was created precisely for this sort of aggregation of people. Shouldn’t we already be able to deal with these sorts of things? After all, it’s probably the most policed part of the city as it is. And while the lack of bathrooms may pose a problem, perhaps its time to look at even more public toilets in the downtown. The buses, well, that’s a decent point. (Probably should have left them on Howe and Richards, but that’s another story…).

Reading between the lines, the real issue, I think, has something to do with a sort of civic anxiety about the unpredictability of public life – which manifests itself in the effort (some would say need), to maintain control over public gathering. This is where things like insurance waivers and permits and all of the other tools and mechanisms come into place.

The antithesis of this control is spontaneity – even planned spontaneity of the Decentralized Dance Party sort. But perhaps we as a city need to start thinking a little harder about how to enable (support, allow–pick a verb…) these sorts of things. After all, Tom and Gary have done a pretty decent job of throwing flash-mob style parties over the last couple of years, and surely this counts for something.

Talk to planners and engineers about public life and they’ll start to reference about the idea of “programming public space” to make sure it works. The idea here, is to create a scheduling of activities and events that help to activate a space and provide a degree of animation for public enjoyment.

But while the notion of ‘programming’ space is useful, there is also an equally important need to allow for unprogrammed activity as well. This is how you achieve a balance of activities and street life that feels authentic, not Disney, in nature. And this is why Tom and Gary’s gig is so cool — it’s because it’s not really part of the ‘official’ City-sanctioned “Rediscover Granville” narrative… even though it fits with it so very neatly.

Part of the challenge, for people like Tom and Gary, is that being ‘unprogrammed’ and spontaneous within the existing regulatory format can be onerous, costly, and challenging. First there’s the Special Event Permit fee, then there are insurance considerations, followed by potential requirements for extra police and sanitation workers and other costs. By the time you’ve added all these items together, grassroots initiatives of this sort can end up costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

I’m not saying that these items shouldn’t be accounted for. But perhaps it’s time for the City to review how these sorts of events are handled. After all, if we’re at a point where we can look at cutting red-tape for temporary performance spaces, then maybe we could also start to think of doing the same for our outdoor gathering spaces as well.

We feel that the discussion at yesterday’s Council was very positive – and gave rise to a good degree of consensus between the different parties. As one Councillor noted, “we all want this square.” To this end, we are particularly pleased that the idea of an expanded Robson Square was singled out as something that requires priority attention amongst other public space initiatives – as this provides some security against the idea of an expanded Robson Square (and the golden window of opportunity that is currently in place) from being lost amidst a larger discussion of Olympic Legacies and downtown public space.

That being said, there are a number of items that will need to be followed up on:

1. Transit planning – one of the items that was flagged during yesterday’s meeting was the potential impact on transit, and in particular the #5 bus which runs to and from the West End. It was clear from the discussion that Council had different ideas about whether the buses should be left running through the space or re-routed, and what the implications would be either way. The feedback we received from transit planners prior to drafting our response suggested that the idea of re-routing was quite feasible, and could be done without loss of access for West End or Downtown residents and visitors. This, to us, is a better option as it would allow for a greater degree of programming activities to take place in the expanded square. Regardless, the transit planning discussion is one that needs to happen fairly quickly.
2. Public and stakeholder consultation – The City has already received tentative support from a range of stakeholders, including the Province, Art Gallery, DVBIA and others. However, a proper dialogue with all stakeholders and the public at large needs to be undertaken in early 2011.
3. Planning a square for April 2011 – The other point of ambiguity from yesterday’s discussion concerned the phasing of the public square development. From the comments that were made, it seemed that some of the Councillors – and the City Manager – were wary that “creating” a public square for April 2011 (to open immediately after the completion of the Province’s renovations on Robson and in time for the City’s 125^th Anniversary) was too ambitious. Our position on this is that the 800-block segment should be secured after the renovations are complete, so as to take advantage of the already-changed traffic patterns. The street could remain closed to traffic, utilized for introductory programming, and named as the new expanded Robson Square. However, assuming the same degree of public support we’ve recently seen for the expanded square carried through the consultations, the actual design and development work that could transform the space into a functional, hardscaped plaza, could take place at a later point. This two stage process would also allow opportunities for a potential design competition, community fundraising effort (why not?) and other appropriate planning activities.

We’ll be looking closely at these and other aspects of the initiative as it moves forward – not to mention the larger Olympic Legacies and downtown public space planning work. A big thank you to everyone that has shown their support for this initiative. Stay tuned for more!

You can read our letter to Mayor and Council on the subject below.

In 2008 we initiated a popular design ideas competition called Where’s the Square? wherein designers were able to submit a concept and rendering for a “grand gathering place” anywhere in Vancouver. We had almost 60 entrants coming from as far away as Spain and Ireland. Far and away the most popular choice of space was the Robson Square/VAG grounds. This area, and in particular the 800-block segment of Robson, was seen by many as “the natural place” for a public square in Vancouver – one that could build on the many architectural and cultural strengths of the area and take them to a new level. This sentiment was supported by a range of eminent architects and landscape architects, planners, scholars and designers who participated in the panel discussions, workshops and community events that we ran in concert with the design competition.

We note that the vast majority of design professionals that we have spoken to have suggested that a well-designed public square at the 800-block location would further complement and enhance architectural heritage fostered by the work of Frances Rattenbury (Courthouse/VAG building), Arthur Erickson and Cornelia Oberlander (Law Courts, existing Robson Square). 

In sum, our work on this project, lasting almost a year, taught us that there is broad community support for the concept of a public square in 800-block space.

II. Overall benefits to Public Squares and Gathering Places

We also wish to reference a number of general benefits associated with public squares, plazas, piazzas – as types of public space. These include:

• Economic benefits – increased tourism, increased investment in local business, improved image of business, potential for direct spending vis-à-vis markets and cultural events;
• Environmental benefits – potential for traffic mitigation, improvement to pedestrian space, improved environmental quality, potential for ‘green’public design, improved acoustic environment, concomitant increase in urban ‘liveability;’
• Public health benefits – improved opportunities for pedestrian activity, sustainable transportation and exposure to the outdoor environment; and
• Social/democratic benefits – enhanced opportunities for gathering, celebration, cultural production, intercultural and intergenerational mixing, political engagement and more.

Each of these serves as a useful and empirically grounded marker for the sort of positive outcomes associated with well-designed gathering spaces. Given the prominence of the 800-block it is reasonable to assume that most, if not all of these benefits could be rendered with the closure of the 800-block to automotive traffic, and the associated creation of an attractive, well-designed, permanent public square.

III. Alignment with Current Council Directives

The motion currently being contemplated requests that:

“[City] staff consult with interested parties, including the general public, TransLink, the Downtown Vancouver BIA, the Robson Street BIA, the Art Gallery, and the Province of BC to consider the feasibility of creating a major public square at the 800 Robson Street, with a permanent closure of the street in that block.”

We note that the present motion is complementary to at least two existing motions:

(a) Olympic Legacies (March 2010) – This motion requested a report back on “Olympic Legacy opportunities” in a number of key areas: job creation, encouragement of sport, arts and culture, transportation, public safety, accessibility enhancement and ‘other areas that staff may recommend as an important opportunity. Subsequent discussion on the motion included reference to downtown public space components.

(b) Robson Square Summertime/Weekend Closure – (April 2010): This motion requested staff to “prepare a report on the possibility of closure of Robson Street, as during the Olympics, on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months.” It was referred to the City Manager with the direction that it be included for consideration as part of the report back on Olympic legacies.

However, we also note that the present motion also offers important additional elements for consideration. First, it identifies a specific segment of Robson Street, and second, it requests that this segment be considered for permanent closure. We feel that this is a significant enough difference to warrant the present, separate, discussion – both because it proposes to secure the 800-block (the infrastructure of the space) for year-round public gathering opportunities (versus solely a time-limited programmatic space), but also because a permanent closure will require a different portfolio of planning, design and resourcing activities.

Equally importantly, the 800-block is presently closed for construction and has already changed traffic patterns in the area. The ‘window’ that this affords is not particularly wide. The ideal situation, we feel, is to close the space immediately after the Province’s renovation work is completed. That way, it can be more easily be transitioned into a different use — much the way the Dunsmuir viaduct lane was repurposed for a bike lane (after being closed to car traffic for some time).

IV. Link to a range of key City initiatives:

We note that the proposed motion is supported by a range of City initiatives, including:

• Greenest City – The GCAT Bright Green Future Report and Implementation Plan – calls for improved public spaces, improved pedestrian areas and place-making activities, and the enhancement (and creation of) well-designed gathering spaces for residents.
• Vancouver 125 – The city’s quasquicentennial anniversary in April 2011 provides an ideal opportunity for the ‘opening’ of a new, enhanced Robson Square. The notion of public gathering, of public celebration, of a meeting of peoples, makes a public square an appropriate symbol for this auspicious occasion.
• Urban Health – The City’s developing Urban Health framework strengthens work around creating a healthy built environment, an improved pedestrian realm and other social determinants of health that are supported by a well-designed, accessible, public realm.
• Summer Spaces – This program is built around a platform of ‘re-imagining’ city streets as places to gather, celebrate and experience urban culture.
• Transportation Plan – The current Transportation Plan highlighted the need for improvements to pedestrian areas to support active transportation and neighbourhood walkability. These, inturn, are supported by a recent motion on pedestrian safety that was endorsed by City Council (November 2010).
• Ecodensity – Among the recommendations contained in this plan is the call for new gathering spaces and public plazas throughout the city.

V. Other Considerations

The Vancouver Public Space Network recognizes that, in addition to the items identified above, there are other outstanding questions and considerations that need to be resolved as part of a plan to close the 800-block. Among these, are:

• Transportation – The #5 Bus typically routes along Robson Street, through the 800-block, though it is currently re-routed as a result of the Province’s renovation work. Ensuring a high standard of transit access to the West End and Downtown should remain a priority. Our conversations with transit planners suggest that there are a number of options that could be explored to accomplish this while also allowing for the expansion of Robson Square.
• Art Gallery Expansion/Relocation Discussion – This issue is currently unresolved and will continue to be explored into the near future. Despite the potential significance of a relocation, the actual Rattenbury and Erickson structures (VAG, Law Courts and existing Robson Square) are not likely to be significantly disturbed by a move – suggesting that the transformation of the 800-block of the street could proceed without impacting any changes to the Gallery.

In sum, we feel that these items can be attended to as part of a program of normal planning and design work (as with other public realm design work) and should not serve as an impediment to securing the site for a permanent public square.

* * * * * 

In conclusion, the VPSN would like to extend its full support for the present motion, and for the additional considerations outlined on the first page of our letter. We would be willing to support this venture in any way we can – by providing assistance with any design, planning, or community engagement work that may be necessary, or by assisting with a program of public fundraising that could assist with offsetting the costs of any design work. 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into this important motion.

VPSN PUBLIC SPACE PROJECTS & EVENTS

• Tuesday, July 6 – Transforming Broadway – Workshop
• Tuesday, July 6 – Surveillance & Security Working Group Meeting
• Wednesday, July 7 – VPSN Volunteer Orientation
• AGM Update
• Great Trees Contest – Support the Urban Forest

VPSN BLOG

• The new BC Place casino – a different kind of bird?
• Granville gets its groove on

OTHER EVENTS

• Saturday, July 10 – Parkour Gathering
• Monday, July 19 – Archival tour of the West End
• Monday, July 19 – Psycho!Geography Bike Ride

 
VPSN PUBLIC SPACE PROJECTS & EVENTS

Tuesday July 6 – Transforming Broadway: What would it take to make Broadway a Great Street?

Join us on Tuesday for the second (and last) of our “Transforming Broadway” workshops. Our Mt. Pleasant event last week was stellar (thank you participants!) and we’re looking forward to another excellent discussion this week.

Both the City of Vancouver and Translink are currently engaging in planning exercises that will shape the future of Broadway. This means that we now, collectively, have a very good opportunity to lay down a sense of direction that will enhance the street. Our position? Let’s take this chance to transform the city’s great east-west corridor into something fantastic!

The facilitated workshops will be focused around a simple question: what would it take to turn Broadway into a Great Street? We need your help to find this out. 

The evening’s session starts at 7:00pm and snacks and drinks will be served. Please note – the event is free, but seating is limited. Register to get your name on the list. 

:: For more information/to register – broadway [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca
:: VPSN Transforming Broadway webpage and backgrounder
:: City of Vancouver Central Broadway Corridor webpage

Tuesday, July 6 – Surveillance & Security Working Group Meeting

Our ever-vigilant S&S Working Group meets this Tuesday in Room 3047 of SFU Harbour Centre. On the agenda: ICBC’s new surveillance camera plan for Vancouver’s intersections, update work for our surveillance mapping of the downtown core, community policing issues and other issues pertaining to safe spaces. Please RSVP for the meeting as space is limited.

:: To RSVP – heather [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca

Wednesday, July 7 – VPSN Volunteer Orientation

Join us for our monthly volunteer orientation and learn about opportunities to make Vancouver great! Session takes place at 7pm in Room 3047, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings. Please RSVP.

:: More information or to RSVP – erin [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca

AGM Update

Thanks to everyone who came out for our VPSN Annual General Meeting last Sunday. You’ll be hearing more from our Board this year as we move into planning work around the VPSN’s long-term strategic goals. In the meantime, we’re please to present our Board officers for 2010: Erin O’Melinn (Chair), Adam Vasilevich (Vice Chair), Stephanie Doerksen (Treasurer) and Josh Paterson (Secretary). Rounding out the Board are Heather Forbes, Eliana MacDonald, Jaspal Marwah, Karen Parusel and Andrew Pask. 

:: More information on the VPSN non-profit – info [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca 

Great Trees Contest. Support the Urban Forest. Win a Prize!

Each week we give a way a prize to one lucky Vancouverite who likes trees. The process is easy and the odds are good. If you want to participate, all you have to do is send us a picture of your favourite Vancouver tree with a few words on why you feel its so awesome.

We’ve been publishing the submissions we’ve recieved, along with other neat articles on Vancouver’s urban forest on our Great Trees blog. In the next little while, we’ll also be kicking off our community-based map of the city’s favourite leafy giants. 

If you have a chance this week, take a moment to snap a picture of your favourite tree and send it our way! Help us to pay homage to our urban forest.

:: For more information – www.GreatTrees.ca

VPSN BLOG

The following are some of the recent posts from our blog. 

June 30 - The new BC Place casino – a different kind of bird?
Earlier this spring the BC government released a major announcement about a downtown development project. Unveiled in a new proposal was Extreme Makeover: BC Place Edition, in which Vancouver’s downtown stadium will be getting a new retractable roof along with other building improvements, to the tune of $450 million. (Eat your heart out, Ty Pennington.) [more…]

June 26 – Granville gets its groove on
A roving team of 50 percussionists turned Granville Street into a giant drum, testing the resonance of street furniture, sidewalks and signs alike… Part of the VPSN’s Stick it to the Streets event, the pavement-level gig changed the soundscape of the street — animating it for passers-by and showcasing the real acoustics of Vancouver’s “entertainment district.” [more…]

OTHER EVENTS

Saturday, July 10 – Parkour Gathering

BC’a largest annual Parkour gathering takes place on July 10 starting 1pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The crew plans to “re-purpose” the urban landscape throughout downtown Vancouver, running, clambering and jumping through the city’s spaces. Lots of fun! This is probably one of the rare chances people get to see over 100 traceurs of all different skill levels from all over Canada and the US get down in the city. More importantly, it’s a great opportunity for the curious to give it a shot. 

:: For more information – www.pkbc.ca

Monday, July 19 – Archival View of the West End – Friends of the Vancouver City Archives

James Johnstone presents a virtual street by street tour of the old West End using images from the Archives photographic holdings. For more information, please visit the Friends of the Archive webpage. The event is free and there is no need to reserve a space.

And speaking of the Archives, they also have a new exhibit running in their gallery called Edifice: Exploring Art, Archives and Architecture. It’s on display until August 27 and represents a collaboration between the Archives, artist Graham Winter and Heritage Vancouver. You can visit the Archives over off of Chestnut Avenue in Vanier Park.

Monday, July 19* – Psycho!Geography Bike Ride

Join Gallery Gachet and artist/activist RedSara on this unique guided bicycle ride through the twilight summer night…. featuring stops at one ‘high incidence of car crashes’ site, one crazy industry site for screaming, one quiet river refuge, and the ICBC crashed car parking lot. In the evening River Road along the North Arm of the Fraser River is a quiet and beautiful place where industry meets nature, all reflected in water.

Ride departs Marine Skytrain Station at 8:15 and crosses the Fraser to Richmond, with stops for early evening observation & photography along the way. Ride ends at 22nd Street Skytrain Station, a distance of approx 20 km.

Participants should register in advance, and also be sure that they and their bikes are in good enough functioning order to be able to ride for 20km (will take approx 3 hr with stops). Assistance is available for people with unique mobility needs who wish to join the ride through tandems, chariots or loaner bikes. Please inquire. Note: rain date – July 26, 2010.

:: For details or to register – email sara [at] redsara.ca

SUPPORT THE VPSN

The Vancouver Public Space Network is an all-volunteer, community-driven enterprise that works on advocacy, education and outreach pertaining to the city’s public realm. We depend on your contributions in order to undertake our projects and activities. Looking to lend a hand? Please consider making a donation or signing up for one of our volunteer projects. Thanks!

This awesome event is going down this Saturday, June 26, at 1pm at Granville and Smithe. Check out the Facebook page for details. Oh, and we put this together to educate and inspire (I couldn’t get this video to embed so please follow the link below).

Stick it to the Street – Promo Video from Ryan Betts on Vimeo.

How much music can be made with a pair of drumsticks and the street as the instrument? The Vancouver Public Space Network and friends will be descending on to Granville Street this June to Stick It to the Streets and find out. Bring your drumsticks, spoons, keys, and selves to join a crew of Vancouverites as they move through the city making music with the urban landscape. Will we expect impromptu drum battles? Spontaneous street dancing? Come down and see for yourself!

When:
—————–

June 26, 2010 at 1:00pm

Where:
—————–

Meet in front of the Commodore at Granville and Smithe in downtown Vancouver. From there, we’ll slowly make our way towards Gastown.

What to bring:
—————–

Drumsticks! If you can bring extra sticks to share, even better!

Small percussion instruments are welcome: cowbells, agogo bells, tambourines, claves, shakers, sleigh bells, triangles, shekeres, maracas, body jewellery, finger cymbals, etc.

Anything that can make noise on the street: kitchen utensils, paint brushes, pencils, chopsticks, tap shoes, keys, etc. Be creative!

Please DON’T bring musical instruments (drums, horns, guitars) as we want to emphasize the use of the actual street as the instrument.

What to play:
—————–

Anything that is a part of public space — street furniture, lamp posts, sidewalks, garbage bins, newspaper boxes, manhole covers, utility boxes, bike racks, fences, parking meters, railings – you name it.

What NOT to play:
——————
Private Property — cars, bikes, storefronts, windows, street vending carts, sandwich boards, anything delicate. Be smart and respectful.

Proclaim your attendance! Check out the Facebook page!

Blame the great outdoors, but Vancouver lacks a central square — a place for citizens to turn inward and for visitors to feel that they have arrived.

It’s not the first time that these sorts of comments have been made, but as the Olympics roll-out across the city, it seems a timely reminder about the roll that grand public squares play in other cities.

At peak times, the downtown core of Vancouver will be seeing between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors pouring in — to catch sporting events, visit Live Sites and pavilions, and wind their way through the city’s streets and public spaces.

Granville Street and the Robson corridor between Granville and Burrard will be acting as stand-ins for our ‘missing’ downtown square. The pedestrianization of these two streets and there transformation into linear ‘squares’ was a critical step in creating sufficient gathering space for the crowds of Olympic enthusiasts.

Of course it’s a moot point to ask how these Games could play out if we had a larger central public square to add to the mix. ‘Sides, it would sound needlessly grumbly on our part (though for those who are interested, some of the lively possibilities for public gathering space are, in fact, well-profiled in the entries to our Where’s the Square? design competition.)

Our hope rather, is that the Olympic Games show us once and for all that we actually deserve the sort of central gathering space in Vancouver that you find in other cities. Temporarily pedestrianized streets are wonderful, but something more permanent and even more conducive to large public gatherings would be ideal. We may not get the Olympics again, but there’s no need to turn our back on other large gatherings.

At times during our Where’s the Square? Design Competition we heard a line of argument that suggested that the City and its residents were too focused on the mountains to want a central public square. This argument always seemed a bit dubious to us (what? Vancouverites aren’t capable of liking and partaking in both types of space?).

It’s only been a few days, but the Olympics have already shown us a different side to the city’s public life. Want a good legacy for the Games? Let’s make this the year that we finally get serious about planning for a central public square.