Vancouver’s streets are busy with people visiting, shopping, and making their way to and from events. There’s liveliness in the air that is coloured with bright lights and festive decorations, the sound of laughter…even some memorable sweater choices.

The winter holidays are here! And guess what: if may even snow this week!

If it does (and in any decent quantity), please help to enliven our public spaces by doing one of the following: throwing snow-balls, tobogganing and building a snow-person (gender of your choice). This is an opportunity we don’t get in the city often enough.

Let us also take this opportunity to wish you, your friends and family, the very best for the holidays. We’ve had a great year working to improve the City’s public spaces, and we’re looking forward to more fun and collaboration in 2016.

– The VPSN Crew

UPDATES

Last minute gift ideas for the public space aficionado – 2015/16 edition!

You’ve only got a few days left, don’t you? A few precious days – hours really – to find that perfect, but elusive, gift for the urbanistically-inclined, plaza-inhabiting, public space aficionado in your life.

Fear not. Challenges like this require Quick + Clever Ideas. The VPSN has got you covered… 20 times over in fact.

This year’s list should also have something to help you out. It is designed with the last-minute shopper in mind. Some of these items are straight-up “things” you can buy. Others are the sort of experiential gifts that work best tucked inside a card. All are fun times!

:: 20 Last Minute Gift Ideas – The List

Active Fiction: A Dark Winter’s Tale

Got time off for the holidays? Why not check out the winter installation of our ever-popular Active Fiction Project. This latest chapter can be found around Main and 28th.

Active Fiction is a “create your own adventure”, self-guided literary walking tour. We’ve hidden short fictional stories in public spaces in a Vancouver neighborhood for readers to discover by walking, or biking around. It’s free and anyone can participate.

This time, we’ve got a dark story for a dark time of year. This one may not be ideal for young readers, but sure to appeal to fans of the Hunger Games and other dystopian adventures. Set in a post-apocalyptic Vancouver, readers need to find their way to a secret society. Only one path will lead you there…

:: More information on Active Fiction

ADVOCACY

A review of some of our work from the past month…

Jim Deva Plaza: final concept, stewardship strategy, and rules for night-time use

Earlier this month, City Council discussed a report and recommendations that will have a number of implications for the City’s public plazas.

The report, written by the City’s Planning Department, focuses on Davie Village Public Space Improvements – and sought Council approval for the final concept for Jim Deva Plaza (at Bute and Davie).

Importantly, it also looked at two other things. First, the question of plaza stewardship. Second, to the possibility of regulatory changes to several bylaws – including the Health Bylaw (no smoking in the plaza) and the Street and Traffic Bylaw.

We thought the latter item had some good aspects (e.g. prohibiting driving in the plaza), but also has one very troubling aspect: it aimed to prohibit use of the plaza “after hours.”

:: Read the full article

On bikes, budgets, and making more room for the sidewalk

Also this past month, City Council heard a report on “Active Transportation Update and Pilot for Skateboarding in Protected Bike Lanes” – which includes a program for cycling infrastructure improvements over the next five years.

As you’ve probably heard, a sizable component of the discussion is devoted to several bike lanes that are proposed for the City, including a number in the downtown core.

We noted that this was an important step forward for biking in Vancouver, offering further legitimacy and support to cycling as a mode of transportation. However, it also, indirectly, raises some interesting questions about the City’s attention to pedestrian issues and pedestrian infrastructure. We explored those questions in a letter to Council and lengthy article on our website.

:: Read the full article

FIELD NOTES FROM OUTER SPACES

A few posts from VPSN contributors on some exceptional public parks in Montreal and Copenhagen.

Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark

…The great thing about it is that it was not created just for the sake of having a public space; it is lively with unique objects from around the world scattered around it including swings from Iraq, a boxing ring from Thailand, and a fountain from Morocco. The different objects in the park are meant to reflect the diversity of the 50+ nationalities living in Nørrebro. | Story by Alex Butler

Parc la Fontaine, Montreal, Quebec

In Montreal, bounded by Rues Rachel and Papineau and Avenue Sherbrooke, is beautiful Parc la Fontaine. Located in the popular Plateau neighbourhood, it is a short walk from busy high streets like St-Denis and St-Laurent.

In this crow-free park, squirrels, pigeons, ducks, and dogs seem equally free to frolic. Around 60 years ago, the park housed slightly larger animals, including bears, wolves, monkeys, and lions. It was called Le Jardin des Merveilles (“The Garden of Wonders”) and functioned as a zoo much like Vancouver’s own, now closed, Stanley Park Zoo. Inside, visitors enjoyed aquatic shows in the pools, and a petting zoo. Other kid-friendly elements drew on fairy-tales and Disney-esque themes. | Story by Eva Kwan.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Volunteer Orientation
Monday, January 11, 2016 @ 6pm
Join our volunteer coordinator Michelle Pollard at our monthly meeting for new volunteers. Learn about the VPSN and find out about opportunities to lend a hand with public space issues. All welcome! Info: volunteer [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

Communications Meeting
Monday, January 25, 2016 @ 6pm
Interested in helping out with our various communications activities? Want to write about public space, or help champion public realm issues? This is the regular meeting of the VPSN Communications Team. All welcome! Info: volunteer [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

Research Projects – Various
Ongoing meetings: January
We have a number of on-going research projects – studies of public space metrics, local economy, site analysis and more. If you’re interested in helping-out with research-related activities, please contact us to find out more, or check out the main volunteer orientation for all the details. Info: andrew [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

OTHER EVENTS

New Years Eve in Vancouver

December 31 – January 1
For the first time in years, Vancouver will have a sanctioned public New Years celebration. The event takes place on Canada Place Way between Howe and Burrard streets, and features free musical entertainment, sponsor exhibitions, food trucks, live on-site broadcasts, and a midnight countdown with spectacular fireworks over Coal Harbour. Festivities kick off at 6 p.m. | Details

City Debate #1: Open All Neighbourhoods to Densification

January 20, 2016 6-9 pm
Vancouver is globally famous for its densified downtown, a lively, walkable mix of homes and workplaces. Most of the city remains low-rise and residential, however. Should densification efforts focus on those neighbourhoods? Why or Why not? Event produced by the Urbanarium Society and Museum of Vancouver. | Details

We’d like to make a proposal: starting in 2015, let’s to do something to formally mark the occasion. We’re a city that has been working hard to shake a ‘no fun’ moniker – and this is a time of year, blossoms blooming, spring in the air, which could benefit from some official merry-making. Let’s call it Vancouver Day.

And why not? This is a great city. We deserve to take a day to say as much. Vancouver Day could be time for a bit of good old civic pride, not to mention a decent party.

It’s not like we don’t have precedents, it’s just that they typically only happen every quarter century. The 50th, in 1936 was celebrated in style, and a quarter-century later, the city’s 75th birthday was marked with pomp and circumstance. Many folks will still remember the centennial celebrations of 1986, which included a parade, community events, even a small flotilla of boats. Then-Governor General Jeanne Sauvé paid a visit and cut cake with Mayor Michael Harcourt; there were speeches and 100-gun salutes, and a big party in Stanley Park. They even had a special recognition ceremony for all the babies born on the day.

More recently, we had chance to see what this could look like in 2011, when not one, but two major “Vancouver 125” activities took place: a free outdoor concert at Jack Poole Plaza on April 6, and a larger, weekend long celebration event called SummerLive that took place in July at Brockton Point, Stanley Park.

We don’t need to go to quite the same extent every year, but something would be nice. How about an official “Vancouver Day” proclamation from the Mayor? Maybe some support for neighbourhood events, or local activities that showcase the many and diverse communities that make up Vancouver? A big pot luck? More cake? Perhaps an ‘official’ event in one or more of the city’s downtown public spaces?

There are lots of different and creative ways to celebrate our city, and it wouldn’t take much to make it happen. Civic leaders could do a lot by just declaring the day a celebration and inviting ideas. Toss in a bit of seed-funding or small community grants and who knows what might happen!

This year, for the first time in a number of years, the City will be rolling out a big New Years’ Eve celebration – one that will actually go to midnight. That’s a positive move. Collective celebrations are an important part of the public life of any city. And let’s not forget, we’ve also got Cherry Blossoms and Vaisakhi, Car Free Days, Pride and Santa Claus, among others.

But it’s time to round out this roster of activities with an event that focuses on our home town. Let’s make it happen! Mark your calendars! Vancouver Day, a day that celebrates the city.

The Big Ideas are 12 Priority Areas we see as an early release of the VPSN Manifesto on public space policy. We’ve made online access to the Routemap 2012-2014 and the original Manifesto 2008-2011.To learn more about this initiative and to get involved, please write us an email.

Every three years, to coincide with the municipal election, the VPSN publishes a series of public space policy ideas. In 2014, we’ll be showcasing several of these via our blog. Be sure let us know what you think!