The City of Vancouver just announced another public consultation process accompanied by the usual social media hashtags and online surveys on the future of the plaza at 800 Robson St., also known as Robson Square. If I sound a little skeptical it is not because I believe we should shut out the public in planning […]
The crammed-to-the-rafters Vancouver Playhouse auditorium should have been evidence enough of our obsession with how cities are built. It was an exultant tweet, however, by urban affairs reporter Frances Bula that summed up the occasion. “An amazing packed house of young people at the Janette Sadik-Khan talk tonight. Watch out, status quo!” A who’s who […]
The following commentary was originally posted on Huffington Post BC. Close Robson Street first, then ask the public what they think afterward. That's what was announced this week. Vancouver voters by now are used to the 'act first, consult later' antics of the Vision government. On Wednesday a press release from the Vancouver Mayor's office […]
Digital placemaking can put some “there” there in your neighbourhood There’s evidence that our community connections are made more tenuous by modern urban living. There was a time when the neighbourhood school and local church stitched together the fabric of community. Today a parent is just as likely to enroll their child out of the […]
Giant clothes pins: good use of public space? Folks, I’m taking a few moments out of a precious Sunday afternoon to comment quickly on Saturday’s Vancouver Sun story on Bing Thom coming up with a plan for an underground concert hall at Robson Square for the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society. It’s been hailed […]
Why can’t this space become the cultural heart of the city? click for larger When I attended Abraham Rogatnick‘s wake last summer, one of the speeches in his honour mentioned that he was a passionate advocate of keeping the Vancouver Art Gallery in its present location. Since this recent discussion erupted on the future of […]