• Arbutus Greenway Clean-up (Saturday, April 5; 10am-12pm) - Join in a litter cleanup along the Greenway. Look for the tent setup at City Farmer (2150 Maple St.). Cleanup equipment (gloves, litter pickers or tongs, and garbage bags) are provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own. | Info & Registration
• Chinatown Community Clean-up – Saturday, April 12 (10:15am-12:15pm) – Join in a litter cleanup in Chinatown and keep the neighbourhood looking spectacular! Look for the tent in front of the Chinese Community Policing Centre (44 E Pender St). Cleanup equipment (gloves, litter pickers or tongs, and garbage bags) are provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own. | Info & Registration
• Path to Restoration: A Stewardship Cleanup Event at Nootka & 14th (Saturday, April 12, 2-5pm) - This portion of Still Creek, daylit in 2011, is an ongoing stewardship area for Still Moon Arts. There is a lot of built-up debris that limits access into the forest. Volunteers will be hauling some of the debris out to increase safety and doing some invasive species removal. Still Moon will provide all of the gloves, tools, and light snacks for the day- just bring yourself! | Info and Registration
• Everett Crowley Park Stewardship – Saturday, April 12 (10am—1pm) – Get dirty, have fun and help the environment! Join in this monthly stewardship event and help remove invasive plants, while learning more about the unique history and ecology of Everett Crowley Park. Gloves, tools and light refreshments are provided. Please dress appropriately for the weather and wear sturdy, close-toed shoes. Weather permitting. Meet at the front entrance to the Champlain Heights Community Centre (3350 Maquinna Dr). | Info & Registration

– The VPSN Team

Exploring Gastown Public Spaces – Monday, November 27

Recently, we had a chance to support the City of Vancouver’s efforts to “Reimagine Gastown Streets” by exploring a number of the neighbourhood’s key public spaces. For us, this is all part of a larger body of advocacy and placemaking work that we’ve done around Blood Alley, the Waterfront Hub, and Alexander Street (to name a few of our projects).

Coming up next Monday, November 27 at 6:00pm, we’ll be holding a small ideas jam with our team to look at developing a comprehensive set of recommendations that we can use in our advocacy work around Gastown.

If you’re interested in joining, please let us know. Email info@vancouverpublicspace.ca for more details.

“Public Space Day” at City Council – Wednesday, November 29

Speaking of advocacy… City staff will be presenting a number of updates to Council next week, including reports on Plaza Stewardship, Special Events, the Viva Vancouver (public space activation) program, Bute & Robson Plaza, and an update on the Places for People work involving the City’s downtown public spaces.

The VPSN will be reviewing all of these reports over the next few days, and we’d encourage you to do the same. And hey, you should let Council know your thoughts. More often than not, City Council only hears from people who don’t like a particular initiative… but we think there’s lots in these programs and initiatives that’s worthy of general comment and commendation! Consider informing the discussion by sharing your feedback!

:: Check out the Council Agenda (contains links to individual reports)
:: Share your thoughts – email mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca

Community Dialogue – Downtown Parks & Recreation – Wednesday, November 29

How would you like the Park Board to provide recreation, such as arts, culture, spaces and facilities, in the downtown core of Vancouver? The Vancouver Park Board is developing Vancouver’s Playbook, a new master plan to guide the delivery of vibrant parks and recreation over the next 25 years. This coming Wednesday, they’ll be holding a dialogue on the future of downtown parks and recreation facilities. The event takes place 6:30 – 9:00pm, at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre. It’s free, but registration is encouraged.

:: Register for Park Board – VanPlay Community Dialogue: Downtown
:: More Info: www.vancouver.ca/vanplay

Places for People Downtown – Public Space Makers – Wednesday, December 6

As part of the Lumiere Festival, the City of Vancouver is hosting a Pecha Kucha-style discussion that looks at how our public spaces function. In particular, the event asks What kind of public spaces do we need in Downtown Vancouver? How can we better support the idea of creating public life in a rainy city?

The event takes place at Jim Deva Plaza (Bute and Davie), 6:00-8:30pm. The VPSN’s Paola Qualizza will be one of a number of presenters – so be sure to check out this exciting event!

Five More Public-Space Related Projects that Need Your Input

The City of Vancouver is in the midst of a number of public-space related initiatives that you may be interested in. Though described in a recent media release as “transportation” projects, the initiatives in question will all have the potential to enhance city streets and neighbourhoods in a number of different ways. Projects include upgrades to the Georgia Gateway, improvements to the Cambie Bridge, the North East False Creek Area Plan, the Alexander Bikeway, and Mobility Pricing.
There are various consultation opportunities under way, and while some of the open house opportunities have passed, there are other ways to share your feedback.

:: Read More – Get Involved: New and ongoing public space initiatives need your input

Recap: Arbutus Greenway Design Jam

October 27–29, 2017 saw the Arbutus Greenway Design Jam, an all-weekend event where 100 Vancouverites met to generate ideas for the permanent greenway. Residents discussed how to enhance biodiversity and access to nature in the city, provide spaces for play and learning at all ages, increase opportunities for public art, and honour the layered history and culture of the area.

Naomi Wittes Reichstein, Arbutus Greenway Project Lead for the VPSN, was there. You can read her write-up on our blog.

:: Read More – Building our city at the Arbutus Greenway Design Jam

Gift Ideas for the Public Space Aficionado. Your ideas?

Every few years we public a list of cool gift ideas for lovers of public space. There’s always an exciting mix of things to be found – and some of the best ideas come from readers like yourself.

If you’ve got something you think we should add to this year’s list, please email us at info@vancouverpublicspace.ca.

Volunteer Opportunities?

Interested in lending a hand with our public space work? Our next volunteer orientation session takes place on Tuesday, December 5 at 6pm. Location details are being finalized, but if you’d like to attend please email volunteer@vancouverpublicspace.ca.

Photo credit: Rain Urbanism, by Matthew Soules

The Northeast False Creek consultation process now finds itself nearly six months deep and the subject of VPSN’s second update on the topic (see my first post here).

December marked the third meeting between the Park Design and Stewardship Advisory groups, the City, the designer (James Corner Field Operations) and Modus, the firm chosen to drive community engagement. While the advisory groups had met jointly throughout much of the process, this meeting was the first in which they had been separated, leaving the park design group to connect on a more intimate level with the City, JCFO and Modus.

Prior to presentations from each, City of Vancouver senior urban designer Pat St. Michel provided a summary of emergent ideas relating both to the park and to Northeast False Creek as a whole. Among these were:

1. the desire to expand and open the park along the water’s edge and beneath the SkyTrain;
2. the need to engage and activate the park boulevard and SkyTrain infrastructure;
3. the need to ensure that the public basin, currently well used by the water sports community, would remain so, with limitations placed upon the marina; and
4. the idea that the end of Georgia Street should be framed and punctuated with a vibrant urban square that would fade into a naturalized waterfront toward the west along the Aquilini lands.

These ideas had become prominent in meetings involving both the advisory groups and a panel of experts recruited to provide a high-level critique of the project.

Rob Barrs from Modus followed, providing an in-depth explanation of the communication and engagement plan. The program will consist of three phases, and we’re currently in Phase 1, Emerging Area Plan Directions. Broader public engagement will continue to be conducted through a combination of public events, workshops, and expert and advisory panel discussions as well as information conveyed through news releases, web updates and social media.

Among the most interesting tactics to date has been a Healthy Open Spaces workshop, which took place in mid-December (with a report to be issued in the near future). The workshop included the Vancouver Police Department, Park Board rangers, the PHS Community Services Society and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, with additional attendees representing families and residents.

Having been involved in a number of consultations across the city, I was pleased to hear that this bold initiative would bring together seemingly disparate interests around a single table. Homelessness and use of public space by vulnerable populations, including those with addictions, is never far from any public planning discussion in Vancouver. The need for a strong social justice lens in planning for public space is critical – and my hope is that, through dialogue, we can collaborate on solutions to some of these bigger and more systemic public space considerations.

JCFO followed with a presentation and design studio, in which early ideas were introduced and priorities for the park pulled apart and prodded. Both advisory groups have repeatedly stressed the importance of a flexible open space suitable for passive play by those who may be walking through or observing, rather than participating in activity. However, achieving this goal may not be easy. Chief among the ambitions is the desire to ensure that the park is a “destination,” ready for large event programming in what is being described as a new entertainment district.

There is an inherent tension in the various roles and expectations that are being advanced around the park. Will the focus be on its role as a city-wide magnet for residents and tourists, and if so, how will it function as gathering place for neighbouring communities (particularly the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown)?

Regardless, key features such as showcasing Carrall Street as an historical (and pedestrian-friendly) artery have ensured that the park will be distinctly Vancouver in its design. Other elements, such as a resilient shoreline built for sea-level rise, native plants, and green infrastructure for stormwater management, also make adapting to climate change a strong design theme. These environmentally conscious directives are emphasized in a variety of Vancouver policies, such as the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy and the Bird Strategy, policies that this park is promising to unite together on a large scale.

Our next meeting is set for January 18. In the meantime, please send any issues you’d like raised or questions you’d like answered around the park’s design or the consultation strategy to wendee@vancouverpublicspace.ca.

Images: Feature image courtesy James Corner Field Operations; timeline via City of Vancouver