One of the most common times people engage with public space is during their lunch break. It can be relaxing – not to mention good for your health – to get out of the work environment for a much needed interlude. But finding a no or low-cost alternative to the office or shop kitchen or crowded school cafeteria can sometimes be a frustrating task. Luckily, there are many excellent public spaces that provide the perfect spot for a mid-day escape.

There are a few common elements that make a public space an ideal place for lunch: shelter, seating, tables or ledges and other amenities help to ensure comfort, while proximity to offices, commercial areas, and schools ensure easy access. Takeout locations or grocery stores provide the necessary ingredients for those who may not have brought their lunch with them. And lastly, there’s the setting itself – which can include places of quiet respite, views, good people-watching, or the melody of a busker, among other things.

As we head into some nicer weather, we wanted to take an opportunity to highlight some popular and some less well known locations to break for a bite in the downtown Central Business District.

Art Gallery Steps / Robson Square

The south steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery have long been a favourite gathering place for downtown residents and workers. The steps receive unobstructed sunlight and provide seating, while the nearby food trucks parked along Howe Street offer a variety of options. With the 800 block of Robson Street closed to motorized traffic, there’s plenty of space to gather and sit away from the noise of the street. For an even quieter location, the elevated areas south of Robson (lead photo – above the Law Courts) feature ample greenery, plenty of benches, and an oasis-like feeling that feels quite removed from the the steps.

Vancouver Convention Centre

The seawall path wrapping around both the Vancouver Convention Centre and Canada Place offers one of the very best views in all of downtown. Close to many office towers and cafes, the Convention Centre is a convenient location to eat while taking in the North Shore mountains. Jack Poole Plaza (at the foot of Thurlow Street) presents one good option, while a short stroll west west leads to Harbour Green Park (pictured) where grass and trees help to break up the surrounding forest of high rise towers.

Bill Reid Gallery Courtyard

Tucked between the Bill Reid Gallery and Cathedral Place Building is a small and quiet public space. Despite being only steps away from the busy intersection of Howe and Georgia, this space is usually empty. Designed in the manor of a medieval close, this little green space comes as a real surprise for first time visitors to the space. As a bonus, the nearby Smokehouse Sandwich Co. in Cathedral Place features fantastic sandwiches. (Access the space by taking the steps on Howe Street, just north of Georgia; or, follow the narrow path to on the west side of the Cathedral Place building).

Lot 19

Lot 19 is a small park at the north end of Hornby Street where it terminates at Hastings Street. Once the site of the original Vancouver Club building, this open space features a mix of paving and grass – along with some interesting public art. The park receives direct sunlight through the towers in the summer and is set back far enough from the street to create a relaxing and enjoyable environment. In the last couple of years, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association has helped to transform the space into an excellent lunch spot by putting out tables and chairs, as well as programming events in the summer. Music and games are available during weekday peak hours.

Indoor Public Spaces

In a rainy city like Vancouver, it’s often not feasible to eat outside. Most indoor eating areas are restricted to paying customers, so where can you go if you brought lunch to work but want to get out of the office? Here’s a couple of ideas.

The Sinclair Centre at 757 West Hastings Street provides a large atrium open to the public with tables and chairs covered with a glass roof. Despite only having one café in the building, many people enjoy this spot to eat their own lunch from home or from nearby take out. The historic building also features a large historic clock built in 1909 that rings on the hour.

The atrium of the downtown Central Public Library is open to the public and provides seating and tables under cover. There’s also a nice selection of cafes and take out options that line the northern side – and many more just outside on Robson Street. And if you have a few moments after finishing your lunch, you can always explore the library – which offers a limitless breadth of knowledge and entertainment! (Also to note: in good weather, the southwest plaza (facing Robson) is also a popular and sunny gathering spot).

Andrew Burns is a local writer and fan of public space who spends his lunchtime exploring the city.

What’s your favourite lunchtime public space? Where’s the best park or plaza to chow down on a sandwich? Drop us a line and let us know!

Have you ever wanted to walk the city alongside the characters in a favourite novel? Or experience what it might be like to amble the streets under the guidance of an all-knowing narrator, someone who knew your story even before you did?

Since 2014, the VPSN’s Active Fiction project has brought a mashup of public art, literary fiction and walking tours to the streets of Vancouver. And now, starting Saturday, May 13, you can borrow a brand-new interactive ebook of the stories from the VPSN’s Active Fiction project! We’re publishing the ebook in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library as part of VPL’s Write On event celebrating local writers.

So if you missed out on some of the past stories, or you want to try out new options and endings in some of your favourite stories, follow this link to borrow the ebook from VPL’s local writers collection, using your VPL library card.

Where public space and literature intersect

As fans know, Active Fiction brings real-life “create your own adventure” stories to Vancouver, where readers follow a short fictional story as it unravels in the city’s streets. We work with local writers to create stories that take place in a Vancouver neighbourhood. The stories feature you, the reader, as the protagonist. Chapters are “hidden” in public spaces throughout the same neighbourhood in which the story takes place.

Literary adventures in public space. Photo: Kari Lund Teigen

Active Fiction allows readers to experience a story that they discover by walking or biking through the same neighbourhood in which the story unfolds.​ In this way, the reader plays an active role both in shaping the narrative and in actually moving through the story’s physical space.

In Active Fiction, Vancouver’s streets, neighbourhoods, local shops, parks and cemeteries offer dimensions for readers to explore. The project explores what might happen when a private act, like reading, becomes something that can be easily shared with friends and neighbours. This playful approach to engaging with a neighbourhood blurs the lines between fiction and reality and offers readers a new experience – one that brings them closer to the story than in the traditional manner of reading a book.

The city’s public spaces are great commons: places for encountering others, for understanding our points of connection with strangers passing in the street, for creating our own stories of who we – and others – are. Active Fiction echoes our collective experience of the social life of public spaces, reminding us that, just as in real life, the streets are where the stories are. 

More Active Fiction on the way

To read some of the previous Active Fiction stories, don’t forget to check out the ebook.

Want to experience it ‘in real life’? We’ll be bringing new Active Fiction stories to Vancouver streets later this year, so sign up for our mailing list and be the first to know!

But what’s that you say? It’s the holiday season and you’re stressing because you haven’t yet found that elusive gift for the public space aficionado in your life? Worry no longer. We’ve got you covered.

We first ran a version of our “Gift Ideas” post in 2012 and it proved to be one of our most popular articles ever. So just like last year, we’ve updated it with a slew of updates for the 2014-15 winter season.

Enjoy!

(1) A copy of one (or more) of the excellent books to come out this year by local urbanists. There were a number of local books on city-building, architecture and urban issues to come out this year. We’re happy to recommend three of our favourites.

• Vancouver Confidential - John Belshaw describes this new book as “a collaboration of artists and writers who plumb the shadows of civic memory looking for the stories that don’t fit into mainstream narratives.” VPSN collaborators Jason Vanderhill and Lani Russwurm are among the featured authors. Available in bookstores around town.

• Vancouver Light: Visions Of A City. A stunning collection of photographs of our favourite city, by David Nunuk.

• Arthur Erickson: An Architect’s Life. David Stouck’s study of “Canada’s preeminent philosopher-architect.” An engaging read. Winner of this year’s City of Vancouver Book Award. 

(2) Go weekly or seasonally with some urbanist subscription action. Like reading about urban issues? Forefront is a weekly long-form essay that covers city-building activities from around the globe. It’s the product of Next City, a superb blog. You can obtain a subscription here. And of course, there’s also our good friends at Spacing, who produce a magazine (and several blogs) that “uncover the joys, obstacles and politics of Canada’s big cities by cutting through the cynicism that often pervades any discussion about urban issues.” Pretty good, eh? Their national issues come out a few times a year and are a superb read. Order them here.

(3) Do a little digging, tell a story. Research a home or building. For those who have time for a quick trip to the archives: put your investigative talents to good use by researching the history of a favourite building. A couple of hours of time, and you can gather all sorts of neat stuff facts via fire insurance maps, building permits, city directories and more. Snag a few historical photos, take a print of the architect’s drawings, write up your notes, and voila – a narrative of that special place.

(4) A sweet Vancouver tee. Hive Printing is a local firm that produces stylish, tees, totes and accoutrements adorned with bikes, birds and historical city scenes. This is urban-loving fashion at its best. The Hive crew can be found at markets and festivals around the city. To find out where they’ve set up shop, visit their Facebook page.

(5) Give the gift of edumacation. Vancouver’s Community Centres and public schools offer a dizzying array of classes – everything from sports to singing, music lessons to language studies, fine arts to business, crafts to computers. Classes vary in length, location, and cost, but it’ll only take a quick search online to see what’s available in your neighbourhood. Information on the city’s 24 community centres can be found here or you can zip over to the Vancouver School Board website to see what’s on offer there. Why not double-up the fun? Don’t just sign your loved one up for lessons… join them for the learning as well!

(6) Get sticky with your neighbourhood. Have you seen the Neighborland app and online platform? It’s a great way to share ideas on neighbourhood placemaking and community building ideas. Not content to stop at online connections, the creators have produced some handy “I want ____ in my neighbourhood” stickers. You can make your own via their open source files or order a set via the Neighborland website. (Of course it goes without saying that you’ll want to place these around your neighbourhood in a responsible, community-friendly fashion.)

(7) Take your loved ones out for a bedazzling or ghostly experience. Two of Vancouver’s biggest public spaces – Van Dusen Gardens and Stanley Park – get a special holiday make-over. How about a trip to one or both of these seasonal gems:

• Van Dusen Gardens – Festival of Lights
• Stanley Park – Christmas Train

(8) Support your local street performer. (Go retro, buy a CD!). There’s tons of local musical and artistic talent to be found around the city – on the streets and in transit stations. Like something you see or hear? Lots of street artists offer CDs, sketches and painting for sale – a perfect opportunity to support the local scene and share some of the magic with a friend.

(9) Stay informed and stay up to date – While on the subject of street vending, keep your eyes peeled for two other items that make for great gifts. The Hope in Shadows calendar features top-notch work by DTES photographers and Megaphone Magazine. Revenue from both of these projects is used to provide education, training and support to low-income people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

(10) Historical pictures. Who doesn’t like to see the way we used to live in years past? The Vancouver Public Library has a great selection of old photographs of Vancouver – which can be purchased for reasonable cost on Floor 7 of VPL Central. Or, you can go the DIY route and visit the Vancouver Archives on-line catalogue – where they have an amazing assortment of high-resolution photographs that you can download for free. Having the VPL and Archives print your pictures for you may mean a bit of a delay — but not to worry, many of their collections are available on-line and in high-resolution. You can print ‘em yourself via your local photo shop.

(A word to the wise – the VPL and Archives collections are different. So if you’re looking for that perfect photograph of, say, Robson Square during the 1960s paint-in, you may have to visit both facilities).

(11) Friends-of Gift Memberships. Both of the aforementioned organizations (the Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Archives) have volunteer “Friends-of” groups that support their work. The Friends of the VPL and Friends of the Archives both engage in special projects, raise funds for new acquisitions, and champion the work of their respective organizations. Know someone who likes libraries or gets jazzed about archival fonds? Set them up as a patron of one of these groups by buying a gift membership.

(12) Go green with local nature. For over two decades the Stanley Park Ecology Society has played a leadership role in the stewardship of Stanley Park. They do this through a range of education, research and conservation programs. You can support the good work they do by taking out a membership with their organization, “adopting” a bird’s nest, paying to plant saplings or several other things.

(13) More brightening, less frightening – Bike & Ped lights. There are too many people out there still walking and biking around without decent lights or reflective gear (Velcro bracelets, vests, etc.). Why not keep your loved ones safe by upping their visibility. MEC is an obvious go-to (and their new USB plug-in lights are awesome!) but there are lots of other places to get this sort of gear.

Know someone who’s not a cyclist but ought to be? If they have a bike that’s kicking around and gathering dust – why not surprise them with a tune-up (at Our Community Bikes, Kickstand or your neighbourhood bike shop). Another idea, especially for newer bike users: give the gift of cycling confidence and sign them up for a streetwise biking course with HUB.

(14) Make a gift box on behalf of a friend or family member. The holiday season is festive and fun for many of us. For those less fortunate, the seasonal festivities can also be a time of loneliness and challenge – a time that is further compromised by the city’s cold, wet and rainy weather.

There are lots of organizations around town – Lookout, the Aboriginal Front Door, Covenant House, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Carnegie, the Union Gospel Mission, the Kettle Friendship Society (to name just a few) – who will take donations of money, food, warm clothing (socks, sweaters, long johns, rainwear), toiletries, and other un-wrapped gifts.

(15) Make your own walking tour. Why wait until May for Jane’s Walk? Plot out a stroll and show your friends and family some of your favourite spots – the architecture you like, your favourite pieces of public art, a hidden park, other good places to meander. Show them why you like the city. Want to amp it up a bit? Put a few more treats into the itinerary – like a stop at your favourite café or restaurant for hot chocolate, or an end-of-walk admission ticket to the VAG or Science World.

(16) Surprise them with some random market magic. Still searching for some stocking-stuffers? You’ve just scored yourself a great opportunity to support Vancouver’s market scene. The annual Christmas Market occupies Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza between now and December 24. For the foodie on your list, there’s the weekly Winter Farmers Market at Nat Bailey Stadium – every Saturday from 10am-2pm). And if you want to go all-in, wander over to Granville Island for any number of specialty gifts.

(17) A membership in another co-operative! You’ve probably heard about co-op housing before, but there are also a good number of co-ops that sell goods and services around town. These include Modo (the car co-op) and the ever-popular MEC, as well as ones like the Vancouver Community Laboratory, the Parker Street Woodworker Coop, the Vancouver Tool Library, the Terminal City Glass Co-op or East End Food Co-op. Co-ops are a good place to shop for those who want to support locally owned, member-driven organizations that operate with a concern for community. Buying a membership in a co-op is a great investment and a smart gift – and will turn your holiday gift exchange into a gala event! 

If you’ve got other public space gift ideas, please send them our way – via info [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

December 20, 2013 snowfall. Photo by Brent Granby.

Happy snowy solstice Vancouver! Don’t the city’s public spaces look extra cozy under that dusty white blanket? Aren’t you feeling all snuggly-wuggly? For those of you who may be looking at the snow and feeling yet another layer of a holiday-related pressure… stop right now. Grab a cup of cocoa. Sit down. We’re here to help.

We first ran a version of our “Gift Ideas” post last year and it proved to be one of our most popular articles ever. We’ve shared it a few times since them, but we’re now reissuing it with a slew of additional updates for the 2013-14 winter season. Good news for the snow-adverse: some of these options don’t even require you to go outside!

As we noted last time, our gift-giving rituals don’t all have to be about crass cable-knit sweaters (though for some reason those are actually popular this year). For the public space loving urbanists out there, there are a host of things that you can give to your friends and family that will not only make them happy, but do a nice turn for the city as well.

Hang tight – there’s a whopping 18 last-minute holiday gift ideas in this post. All of them are awesome. Enjoy!

(1) Support a local parklet project and contribute to the creation of neighbourhood public space. There are two AWESOME parklet projects currently under development in Vancouver. Design work on both sites are complete, and each project is now using crowd-funding as a means to finance the building and programming of the spaces.

• French Quarter Parklet – will transform two parking spaces (located in front of Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France at Main Street and East 21st) into a vibrant outdoor seating area. The clever design and landscaping (featuring snappy triangle benches) also features a bike car for folks that want to stay on their bikes while having their coffee. The project is a collaboration between Choclaterie, and our good friends at PWL Partnership Landscape Architects and Cycle Chic. Donate to the French Quarter kickstarter campaign here.

• Commercial Drive Parklet - will convert two parking spaces (located in front of Prado Cafe at Commercial Drive and East 4th) into a permanent seating and gathering area for the whole community to enjoy. The Drive desperately needs more outdoor seating areas, and we’re pleased as punch that VPSN friend Julian Thomas and Board member Stewart Burgess are among the collaborators on this fine venture. Donate to the Commercial Drive Parklet Kickstarter here. (Note: this project lost some anticipated grant funding and are now looking to go beyond the initial $3,500 target. In addition to its great placemaking value, the Commercial Drive Parklet will be a vehicle to provide skills training for community youth).

(2) A copy of one (or more) of the excellent books to come out this year by local urbanists. There were a lot of fine books on public space and urban issues to come out this year. We’re happy to recommend two that are near and dear to our heart. (We’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with both these authors in the past and love the work that they do!). Both are available at better bookstores around town.

• Happy City – written by local journalist and city-thinker Charles Montgomery – promises to “change the way you think about urban life,” doing so by exploring the multifaceted connection between urban design and the science of happiness.

• Focusing closer to home is Lani Russwurm’s Vancouver Was Awesome – a visually rich exploration of collects stories of “the people, places, events, and phenomena that collectively have infused Vancouver with a distinct flavor and flair.”

(3) Invest in your community with some Seedstock. Sure Bitcoin gets all the press, but while it may circumvent some of the problems of a global banking system, does it really do anything for local business? Did you know there’s actually an alternative currency that specifically supports local Vancouver business and non-profits? Seedstock Community Currency lets you do double with your money: exchange cash for Seedstock with a local cause to support their work, and get the equivalent amount of Seedstock back to spend at over 80 local businesses! (Find out where here). You can get ahold of money that feels good to spend – or give! – at the local xChange Station.

(4) Go weekly or seasonally with some urbanist subscription action. Like reading about urban issues? Forefront is a weekly long-form essay that covers city-building activities from around the globe. It’s the product of Next City, a superb blog . You can obtain a subscription here. And of course, there’s also our good friends at Spacing, who produce a magazine (and several blogs) that “uncover the joys, obstacles and politics of Canada’s big cities by cutting through the cynicism that often pervades any discussion about urban issues.” Pretty good, eh? Their national issues come out twice a year and are a superb read. Order them here.

(5) Give the gift of edumacation. Vancouver’s Community Centres and public schools offer a dizzying array of classes – everything from sports to singing, music lessons to language studies, fine arts to business, crafts to computers. Classes vary in length, location, and cost, but it won’t take more than a bit of research to see what’s available in your neighbourhood. Information on the city’s 24 community centres can be found here or you can zip over to the Vancouver School Board website to see what’s on offer there. Why not double-up the fun? Don’t just sign your loved one up for lessons… join them for the learning as well!

(6) Get sticky with your neighbourhood. Have you seen the Neighborland app and online platform? It’s a great way to share ideas on neighbourhood placemaking and community building ideas. Not content to stop at online connections, the creators have produced some handy “I want ____ in my neighbourhood” stickers. You can make your own via their open source files or order a set via the Neighborland website. (Of course it goes without saying that you’ll want to place these around your neighbourhood in a responsible, community-friendly fashion.)

(7) Take your loved ones out for a bedazzling or ghostly experience. Two of Vancouver’s biggest public spaces – Van Dusen Gardens and Stanley Park – get a special holiday make-over. How about a trip to one or both of these seasonal gems:

• Van Dusen Gardens – Festival of Lights
• Stanley Park – Christmas Train

(8) Support your local street performer. (Go retro, buy a CD!). There’s tons of local musical and artistic talent to be found around the city – on the streets and in transit stations. Like something you see or hear? Lots of street artists offer CDs, sketches and painting for sale – a perfect opportunity to support the local scene and share some of the magic with a friend.

(9) Stay informed and stay up to date – While on the subject of street vending, keep your eyes peeled for two other items that make for great gifts. The Hope in Shadows calendar features top-notch work by DTES photographers and Megaphone Magazine. Revenue from both of these projects is used to provide education, training and support to low-income people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

(10) Historical pictures. Who doesn’t like to see the way we used to live in years past? The Vancouver Public Library has a great selection of old photographs of Vancouver – which can be purchased for reasonable cost on Floor 7 of VPL Central. Or, you can go the DIY route and visit the Vancouver Archives on-line catalogue – where they have an amazing assortment of high-resolution photographs that you can download for free. Having the VPL and Archives print your pictures for you may mean a bit of a delay — but not to worry, many of their collections are available on-line and in high-resolution. You can print ‘em yourself via your local photo shop.

(A word to the wise – the VPL and Archives collections are different. So if you’re looking for that perfect photograph of, say, Robson Square during the 1960s paint-in, you may have to visit both facilities).

(11) Friends-of Gift Memberships. Both of the aforementioned organizations (the Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Archives) have volunteer “Friends-of” groups that support their work. The Friends of the VPL and Friends of the Archives both engage in special projects, raise funds for new acquisitions, and champion the work of their respective organizations. Know someone who likes libraries or gets jazzed about archival fonds? Set them up as a patron of one of these groups by buying a gift membership.

(12) Go green with local nature. For over two decades the Stanley Park Ecology Society has played a leadership role in the stewardship of Stanley Park. They do this through a range of education, research and conservation programs. You can support the good work they do by taking out a membership with their organization, “adopting” a bird’s nest, paying to plant saplings or several other things.

(13) More brightening, less frightening – Bike & Ped lights. There are too many people out there still walking and biking around without decent lights or reflective gear (Velcro bracelets, vests, etc.). Why not keep your loved ones safe by upping their visibility. MEC is an obvious go-to (and their new USB plug-in lights are awesome!) but there are lots of other places to get this sort of gear.

Know someone who’s not a cyclist but ought to be? If they have a bike that’s kicking around and gathering dust – why not surprise them with a tune-up (at Our Community Bikes, Kickstand or your neighbourhood bike shop). Another idea, especially for newer bike users: give the gift of cycling confidence and sign them up for a streetwise biking course with HUB.

(14) Make a gift box on behalf of a friend or family member. The holiday season is festive and fun for many of us. For those less fortunate, the seasonal festivities can also be a time of loneliness and challenge – a time that is further compromised by the city’s cold, wet and rainy weather.

There are lots of organizations around town – Lookout, the Aboriginal Front Door, Covenant House, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Carnegie, the Union Gospel Mission, the Kettle Friendship Society (to name just a few) – who will take donations of money, food, warm clothing (socks, sweaters, long johns, rainwear), toiletries, and other un-wrapped gifts.

(15) Make your own walking tour. Why wait until May for Jane’s Walk? Plot out a stroll and show your friends and family some of your favourite spots – the architecture you like, your favourite pieces of public art, a hidden park, other good places to meander. Show them why you like the city. Want to amp it up a bit? Put a few more treats into the itinerary – like a stop at your favourite café or restaurant for hot chocolate, or an end-of-walk admission ticket to the VAG or Science World.

(16) Surprise them with some random market magic. Still searching for some stocking-stuffers? You’ve just scored yourself a great opportunity to support Vancouver’s market scene. The annual Christmas Market occupies Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza between now and December 24. For the foodie on your list, there’s the weekly Winter Farmers Market at Nat Bailey Stadium – every Saturday from 10am-2pm). And if you want to go all-in, wander over to Granville Island for any number of specialty gifts.

(17) A membership with Modo – A casual membership to Modo (formerly the Car Co-op) costs $50 and gives you access to a range of vehicles for those times when you actually do need a car (which, for lots of folks, isn’t as as often as they think). It turns out that the self-same membership also gives you a bunch of other perks as well.

And this presents us with another great avenue of gift giving to share…

(18) A membership in another co-operative! You’ve probably heard about co-op housing before, but there are also a good number of co-ops that sell goods and services around town. These include the aforementioned Modo and ever-popular MEC, as well as smaller ones like the Vancouver Tool Library or East End Food Co-op. Co-ops are a good place to shop for those who want to support locally owned, member-driven organizations that operate with a concern for community. Buying a membership in a co-op is a great investment and a smart gift – and will turn your holiday gift exchange into a gala event!

If you’ve got other public space gift ideas, please send them our way – via info [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

Thanks to  Mike, Kevin, Paola, Julian and Kathleen for their contributions to this post.

Don’t you love it when the good people in your life hook up?

Our good friends at HB Lanarc have been working on a project for the Vancouver Public Library called “Free-for-all: Reimagining Your Library.” It’s pretty cool stuff!

Over the next 10 months, they’ll be working together to explore the concepts of public space and learning spaces; the future of library collections; the role and purpose of public programming; and supporting children and families. As part of all this, they’re engaging staff, stakeholders, the board of trustees, and the public to reimagine what the library will be for all of us in the coming years. The results of this process will feed into a subsequent Strategic Plan for VPL.

The first public event is this coming Tuesday, November 29, from 4:00 – 8:00 pm @ Central Branch (350 W. Georgia St.). The theme is “Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA),” based on the self-directed adventure books many of you will remember from your own childhood.

Come do a real-life CYOA as you navigate through activity stations throughout the Central Branch and give your ideas about the future of the library – will your choices result in fame and fortune or disaster? Only you can decide this!

If you can’t make the event, please take the time to check out the online Conversation Kit (also modeled after a Choose Your Own Adventure book!) – you can find that here.

And just in time for the holiday season… there will be 3 prizes awarded on December 15th for those who take part in the event and/or who fill out a Conversation Kit online. The prizes are:

1. 1. A trip up to the VPL Main Branch Green Roof
2. 2. An iPod Nano
3. 3. A bag of great Books

Click to page one and get started!

For more information see November 14 details or visit the library’s Speak Up Webpages for some excellent public space resources.

Here’s how the VPL is billing the discussion:

“Great cities are renowned for their public spaces. Vancouver is described as one of the most beautiful and best-planned cities in the world.”

This evening’s panel discussion “explores the nature of our public spaces and their relationship to democracy. Are our public spaces increasing or decreasing? What are the important public spaces in Vancouver? Are the private spaces of shopping malls now our most popular gathering spaces? Do public spaces always have to be public squares? What are the trends in public space development in Vancouver and world-wide? What is the impact of “naming opportunities” for our public spaces? What is the relationship between public spaces and democracy?” The panel discussion features urban designer Bruce Haden, architect Bing Thom and VPSN co-founder Andrew Pask. The event takes place at the Central Library (350 Georgia Street) .

For more information (and some excellent public space resources) visit the library’s Speak Up Webpages.