As I lock my bike to the railing beside the Croatian Community Center, another guy has just about finished locking his own. He grumbles something about the lack of racks to accommodate the mass of bikers who came to the planning workshop. “Pretty impressive” I share in irony. “We seem to have parking challenges” I smile and continue my unpacking. “Assholes”, he scoffs and walks inside.

The last of seven planning workshops for Grandview Woodland concluded on Saturday, March 7, 2015. The series of workshops has generated an intriguing process of interaction. The neighborhood is made up of people from a variety of cultures. Can their various interests and intentions then constitute a Grandview Woodland Culture?

Doug Saunders, a Globe and Mail columnist and author of Arrival City, spoke at Surrey City Hall in November of 2014. His opening remark relates nicely with the process Vancouver is going through these days. “We have just finished five decades in which we got lucky… and, we are now at the beginning of five decades in which we will have to be skilled”. Saunders’ discussion focuses on “the urban districts that form the bottom rung on the ladder”. (The full talk by Doug Saunders can be watched here). However, his observation is valid for any planning process a city goes through.

In mid-2013, the planning process for Grandview Woodland ran into what can be seen as a clash of cultures. To the best of my knowledge, the people at City Hall, responsible for that process in Grandview Woodland, are all skilled.

Has the City of Vancouver missed on being smart? What qualities do we need to successfully head into the coming half century?

Good will? Or in Y2K speak, Transparency? In 2012, the Commercial Drive Business Society (CDBS) commissioned a consultation process that resulted in a document: Vision and Design Guidelines. The Grandview Woodland Citizens’ Assembly (GWCA) has approached the CDBS in a request to share that document. I’ve been among those who signed an open letter that had urged the CDBS to allow circulation of the document in the community. However, I had a feeling that the two groups were heading into an unnecessary power struggle. I was happy to quickly realize I had been wrong. On March 7, Nick Pogor, Executive Director of CDBS, participated in the workshop. Copies of the Visioning document were circulated. Not bad, eh?

The Citizens’ Assembly are in the final stages of working out their recommendations to the City. The learning process that they’ve gone through is sure to yield many benefits for the neighborhood as well as the individuals involved. The play between scales is at the core of planning, designing and caring for our city: the interests of an individual and the needs of the community; the livability of a street and accessibility within the region. A bench on the sidewalk is a result of a layered process that is more than just screwing it in place.

We can only plan some of our moves. The gatherings in Grandview Woodland exposed a multitude of interests and needs. What then is the culture of a neighborhood? How do you facilitate its success for the future?

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The original version of this post appeared on Design is a Matter of Life. 

by YarOn Stern

No matter what we say, our words will be wasted in the lands of politics and development. This, at least, is a common fear I observe in community consultations I go to. Indeed, the word, which is one of the core tools of human communications, is also a source of much misinterpretation and even distortion.

We can’t let that discourage us from participating in life. Whether spoken or otherwise, our words lead to action. My challenge is to articulate insights into words that reflect my intentions. Our challenge as a society is to strike a fair balance between individual needs-and-interests and those of the community. The more we invest in articulating our interests and concerns the better we pave the ground for sustainable action. Our words then become building blocks and stepping stones.

While walking along the Hastings Street sub area I was looking for phrases to support my dialogue in the workshop that was hosted in the Aboriginal Friendship Center on Saturday, February 14. My first phrase is a question: how much of the local economy relies on visitors?

Immediately on arrival at the intersection of Hastings and Nanaimo you will notice the slope taking you down from east to west. Some of the building fronts are stepped in response to this slope. This feature as a carrier of character could become a message into the future. Let’s call itShaping form in response to topography.

As soon as you step away from Hastings Street the relative quiet of the blocks is a pleasant surprise. Pandora park is being renewed and its field house is home to a group called ‘Dance Troupe‘ for the coming three years. It will be interesting to see how well the park serves the growing community. Could this sub area benefit from another park between Pandoraand Woodland? Our future could benefit from Exploring unlikely opportunities.

Pender Street, between Victoria Dr. and Templeton Dr. has an uncommon tree lined median that I wish we saw more of in our city’s streets. With proper landscape design such a median could encourage fantastic social activity. A larger number of residents is expected to live in the area as well as reach it for any purpose. A median such as the one on Pender could be a lovely landing, gathering and departure spot. The phrase I make of this example is Enhancement of existing features.

The more I go to community events like the ones in Grandview Woodland, the more I hope they continue. They provide layers of exchange that reach beyond their immediate purpose. Looking back at the workshop on Saturday, here is a quick list of the above points and some more:

• How much of the local economy relies on visitors?
• Shaping form in response to topography.
• Explore unlikely opportunities.
• Enhance existing features.
• Maintain a flow of all trafic modes.
• Develop programming that supports the built space.
• Develop space that supports required programming.

Final Thoughts

The word is one of the core tools of human communications. Since its first days of employment in our society, the word has removed us from the immediate concerns of survival. This in itself is both a source of inspiring opportunities and depressing dangers. Our ability to reach high levels of collaboration is based on stories that have united us in every step of history. The word is present in mind and matter: we can remember stories and pass them between generations; our products allow us to extend our control of the environment beyond the limits of our own bodies.

The city is human kind’s most complex tool. When we gather to discuss the future of that tool, I find it fascinating to reflect back on the word. It’s useful to see the connection between words and buildings, words and streets, plants and landscapes. Apart from having functional purpose they all communicate a variety of needs and interests. They have a language of their own. The gatherings in Grandview Woodland these days are an intriguing opportunity to both read the language of the place and help its future society have a compelling story to live and tell.

• having a say in your neighbourhood?
• getting the chance to talk one-on-one with folks who can influence policy?
• building community, in your community?
• lunching and snacking with others who give a damn?

As part of the broader Grandview-Woodland community planning process, the City of Vancouver is hosting a full-day workshop on Saturday, February 14th to “explore policy directions that will help shape growth and change in this part of the neighbourhood.”

In other words: come out, have your voice heard, get your say in the future of your neighbourhood.

City staff will be on hand to review proposed neighbourhood policy and get your input on the future of the Grandview-Woodland community. ALL are welcome, no prior planning experience/expertise required! 

For more details, please head on over here and register.

Walking Tour – February 12th

For an even more comprehensive, well-rounded experience, a walking tour of the area will begin at 6pm, February 12th at the Waldorf Hotel (corner of Hastings and McLean). No registration necessary for the walking tour.

The “dome” on the North West corner of Seymour and Hastings was built in the mid-1980s, as part of the adjacent Princess Building. While never seeing huge levels of use, it’s also remained one of the few covered public spaces in the City. There’s been little attempt to actively program the plaza; instead, it’s tended to act as an informal gathering space for students at the adjacent SFU campus, smokers, and folks on their lunch break.

The design of the space might be a factor. Despite the glass-domed component, framing and structural components seem inexplicably bulky – making it seem more closed off that you might expect, given its prominent location. This, in turn, has led some people to suggest that it feels less safe than ideal.

All that being said, we’ve scheduled several informal events their over the years – including our 2008 Pirate Party, and several Halloween events. We’ve always felt that a bit of attention to programming would go a long way in this space. Given our wintertime rains, this seems like an obvious place for more and varied types of activation.

Bigger picture, the VPSN’s perspective is this: that the underutilization of a public open space – notably one secured as a public amenity through a previous development process – should not be grounds for the redevelopment of the site. Rather, it speaks to the need to redesign and/or program the open space so it can achieve its full potential. It also speaks to the need to design better plaza and open spaces in the first place.

Further, we are concerned that the ‘underutilization’ argument has the potential to be advanced as a rationale for the redevelopment of any number of other spaces in the downtown and elsewhere… particularly as land-values continue to climb.

With this in mind, we have particularly mixed feelings about the current proposal, which would see the plaza shrunk from approximately 700m2 to 400m2, allowing a new 25-storey office tower to be inserted into the block. It is a loss of open space – though one that ostensibly has the potential to improve the site. The renderings aren’t entirely encouraging in this regard – showing a new space that ‘reads’ very much like an office forecourt rather than a public plaza. We’ve said as much publicaly, and it seems that others agree with us.

To their credit, City Council has required a number of conditions of the developer that, if executed well, could make this work. These include:

• Design improvements to improve sunlight and sky access to the plaza surface
• Design elements that will “ensure a notably public character to the plaza” – and one that is “distinct and separate from the private sides of the development”
• Signage strategy that will announce the public nature of the space
• High quality materials, landscaping and lighting that will improve on the existing public plaza, and support circulation, gathering and other activities
• A statutory right of way to preserve the plaza for public access and use

Of course, our preference would be that improvements to the quality of the plaza site do not come at the expense of a reduction in the quantity of open space. On that note, this appears to be a ‘step back’ for downtown public space.

While the actual redevelopment of the site does not appear to be immediately forthcoming, it will be important to watch the actual build-out as it unfolds – to ensure that the end-result genuinely is a better public plaza, and not just an open space that is traversed solely for the purposes of getting in and out of the new office building.

Of course, we’ll also have to see how the landlords of the new building respond to our next SkyTrain after-party. Hopefully they do so by donning their Halloween costumes and joining the fray.

More information:

• City of Vancouver – Minutes from September 16, 2014 Council Meeting
• City of Vancouver – Staff Report with design conditions
• VPSN Flickr Page – Plaza – 601 West Hastings

Dunbar Community Centre Renewal – Open House
March 16th 5:00 – 7:00pm
Dunbar Community Centre
4747 Dunbar Street

Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre Facility Renewal – Open House
March 17th 7:00 – 9:00pm
Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre
990 West 59th Avenue

Hastings Community Centre Facility Renewal – Open House
March 24th 5:30 – 8:00pm
Hastings Community Centre
3096 East Hastings Street

What would you like to see in a new community centre? What are you satisfied with at your local centre? Do you see the need for improvement in any areas? Here’s your chance to shape these new facilities!