May 2013
4 posts
2 tags
30 x 30 Nature Challenge Guest Post: Luke Potter
Here is another 30 x 30 Nature Challenge update from local Vancouver photographer, Luke Potter:
We’re now over half way through our 30 x 30 challenge and the recent weather we’ve had on the North Shore of Vancouver has definitely made it more of a challenge. The balmy early days of our 30 x 30 have given way to a familiar rain soaked environment, which doesn’t always enthuse my daughter to spend...
1 tag
30 x 30 Nature Challenge: Week Two
I wrapped up another busy week getting my new house in order while trying to spend a least 30 minutes a day in nature. I’ve come to realize this is not at all as challenging as it seems. This week, it was as simple as admiring my neighbours’ lilac trees, buying tulips, and going for a quick jaunt outside my home or office. I enjoy walking through the West End’s tree-lined...
1 tag
30 x 30 Nature Challenge Guest Post: Luke Potter
When I said I was doing the 30 x 30 Nature Challenge, Luke Potter, a reader and Vancouver photographer, contacted me to let me know that he and his daughter were also doing the Challenge. He has agreed to share his beautiful images and experiences on This City Life:
We’re over a week into our 30 x 30 challenge and my daughter and I are loving the time outdoors and smashing the 30 minute...
2 tags
30 x 30 Nature Challenge: Week One
I just wrapped up my first week of the David Suzuki Foundation 30 X 30 Nature Challenge (a challenge to spend at least 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days). This week was crazy - I moved to a new house, went to Whistler for a stagette and got a nasty head cold. But, I still managed to take time to get outside and walk for 30 minutes. Highlights included spending time lying on the grass in my...
April 2013
6 posts
4 tags
30 x 30 Nature Challenge
I have written a lot about the impact of nature on human health in the last year (see here, here, here and here). I am fascinated by this subject because nature has been so vital in helping me heal from chronic illness.
While I strongly believe that people should live in dense, urban environments in order to boost creativity, strengthen community and preserve our natural habitat, it is...
7 tags
How to be a Citizen Naturalist
“In every bio-region, one of the most urgent tasks is to rebuild the community of naturalists - so radically depleted in recent years, as young people have spent less time in nature, and higher education has placed less value on such disciplines as zoology……The times are right for the return of the amateur, twenty-first-century, citizen naturalist. To be a citizen naturalist...
5 tags
Welcome to the Jungle
I just spent a week relaxing on a small beach resort on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My husband and I initially struggled to find the perfect spot for a sunny beach vacation, since we aren’t into big, all-inclusive resorts that don’t give you a sense of the local culture. We found the perfect solution when we vacationed at Majahuitas, a resort where you stay in an open air...
6 tags
The Fall (and Subsequent Rise) of the Independent...
Last month, I took a short trip to Portland, Oregon. My husband and I arrived late on Friday night and one of the first places we went to was Powell’s Books. Leaving almost 3 hours later with several bags full of purchased books, it is easy to see why Powell’s consistently ranks as one of the world’s greatest bookstores.
While so many cities have lost their independent bookstores - first to...
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The National Post: Gentrification in Vancouver's...
Vancouver’s gritty East Side is increasingly in the media spotlight, as it has been attracting new businesses and residential development over the past year. Some local residents are taking to protests, hunger strikes and vandalism to oppose the movement of new money and socio-economic classes into the neighbourhood. The National Post wrote an article about it (and interviewed me). You can...
4 tags
Happy Easter
Happy Easter dear readers! It’s been hard to be in front of the computer these days. The weather in Vancouver has been spectacularly sunny and warm over the holidays. We are so blessed to live in a city where you can drive 20 minutes out of the downtown and end up here (I’ll be back on the blog tomorrow).
Kayaking in Deep Cove
March 2013
2 posts
11 tags
Can a City be too Pretty? How Gentrification...
A city isn’t really a city without a little grit. That edge, that grittiness I am referring to comes from a city’s built form - it’s industrial land; the train tracks; the port cranes; its older, unkempt graffitied buildings. A city’s grit also comes from it’s people’s struggles - the new immigrant taking a night shift cleaning office buildings to make it in a...
7 tags
Revitalized Public Market Helps New Westminster...
Also featured on Spacing Vancouver
New Westminster’s first Public Market (c/o New West Archives)
When you think of suburbs, you don’t typically think of a charming, local shopping experience. Big box stores, retail chains and sprawling parking lots are more likely to come to mind. But it doesn’t have to be this way, as suburbs like Metro Vancouver’s New Westminster are...
February 2013
5 posts
3 tags
Citymaker: Erick Villagomez (Editor of Spacing...
Citymakers is a new This City Life column featuring people who do great things for Vancouver or other cities - whether it is through their love of art, music, photography, public space, nature or any form of creative expression or city issue. They don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do. And, they often do it in their spare time, for free or little money, off the side of their desk,...
This City Life's 2nd Anniversary
I almost forgot that This City Life turned two yesterday. I started this blog one year after the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games as way to share my thoughts and perspective on local and international urban issues and to encourage people to get involved in city life, much like they did during the Games.
Having a blog is hugely rewarding to me and many thanks to all of my readers and the many...
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Citymaker: Yuri Artibise
Citymakers is a new This City Life column featuring people who do great things for Vancouver or other cities - whether it is through their love of art, music, photography, public space, nature or any form of creative expression or city issue. They don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do. And, they often do it in their spare time, for free or little money, off the side of their desk,...
Upcoming Events: Gentrification and the City...
This sounds like a topic Vancouverites will be very interested in…..
Gentrification and the City Speaker Series, Spring 2013
Gentrification is typically associated with change in inner city housing markets. The goal of this speaker series is to advance some wider perspectives on gentrification, recognizing that housing change is only one aspect of this broader social and economic...
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“I worry a lot about apathy and neurasthenia, the dulling of the senses and containment of experience that comes as a part of the neoliberal package. It’s one thing if people choose apathy but so many people, I think, are not creatively tuned in and turned on simply because they are in a perpetual state of distraction. It’s a vicious cycle, going to work all day come up with creative ideas...
January 2013
6 posts
3 tags
Citymaker: Jason Vanderhill (aka Illustrated...
Citymakers is a new This City Life column featuring people who do great things for Vancouver or other cities - whether it is through their love of art, music, photography, public space, nature or any form of creative expression or city issue. They don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do. And, they often do it in their spare time, for free or little money, off the side of their desk,...
7 tags
Vancouver would be better if......
…you could walk to Granville Island. Easily. Without having to bother with cars.
Once upon a time, I was an obsessive runner that used to get up at 6am and run around the False Creek seawall every morning (an 8km run - or maybe 9km, I never really knew the exact distance). It was never a big deal to run an extra 1km or so up to the Burrard Bridge in order to cross from False...
4 tags
Citymaker: Rommy Ghaly (aka Vancouverish)
Citymakers is a new This City Life column featuring people who do great things for Vancouver or other cities - whether it is through their love of art, music, photography, public space, nature or any form of creative expression or city issue. They don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do. And, they often do it in their spare time, for free or little money, off the side of their desk,...
4 tags
How to Connect with People in Your City
Photo c/o Atlantic Cities
Once upon a time, people only wanted to spend time in the city for employment and then retreat safely to the privacy of their suburban homes. But there is a new generation of city dwellers who choose to live in cities because they want be around creativity, commerce, culture and mainly other people, even if they don’t know them.
If this is true, why do we all...
I just wrote a piece for This Big City about Kickstarter projects for cities. You can read about it here:
Six Kickstarter Projects for Cities
I hadn’t heard of Kickstarter until I accidentally sat next to zeitgeist author Douglas Coupland last year at the Vancouver screening of Urbanized, Gary Husnit’s documentary about cities and urban design. I got up the nerve to ask Coupland how he found...
4 tags
Happy New Year
2012 was a great year for cities. It has been inspiring to witness and write about the shift towards smaller homes; compact walkable communities; bike-friendly cities; sustainable urbanism; urban agriculture; more nature in cities; complete streets and more - in my home of Vancouver, Canada, and around the world.
We still have more work to do in 2013 to address issues like affordable housing,...
December 2012
4 posts
5 tags
Construction sites convert to public space with...
No one would ever think of enjoying the space within construction scaffolding (or sidewalk sheds). But, in New York City, they are so prevalent (stretching 189 miles if lined end to end), that students from the Parsons School of Design, created Soft Walks, simple DIY kits with chair pieces, a counter, a light fixture, a planter, and a green trellis that anyone can pick up and install onto the...
Citymakers
This City Life will soon feature a new series called Citymakers.
Ever since I started my blog, I have come across people online and in the community who do great things for Vancouver - whether it is through their love of art, music, photography, public space, nature or any form of creative expression or city issue.
They don’t get much recognition for what they do. And, they do it in their...
5 tags
A Holiday Party for Public Space Lovers
The Vancouver Public Space Network is hosting a Winter Party tonight. Hope to see you there!
Why hello, supporter, volunteer, friend of public space!
The year is rapidly drawing to a close. We’re having a gathering to look back on a fabulous, fun and advocacy-filled year, looking forward to the many opportunities in the year before us, and, most importantly, catch up with colleagues and...
4 tags
A Jewel Box Christmas
I recently wrote about my new-found love for the Bloedel Conservatory, so it was only a matter of time before I returned. The inaugural night of their Christmas celebration, Jewel Box of Lights, gave me the perfect excuse.
The Conservatory has been transformed into a tropical Christmas paradise until January 1, 2013, from 4:30 pm to 9 pm (admission is $7 for adults and $3.50 for...
November 2012
4 posts
3 tags
City reopens Robson Square to cars
It is pretty sad when the City thinks that a small piece of road is so vital to transportation, that it gets in the way of Vancouver finally getting the central public square it needs.
A report on the future of the 800-block of Robson Street and the expansion of Robson Square goes to City Council today. The report follows a public consultation process (the most popular on-line survey the City’s...
6 tags
Vancouver is losing its middle class
In order for a city to thrive, it needs diversity on every level: in race, age, workforce, arts, economy and of course, income. Too many rich people creates a retirement/ resort community and too many poor people creates a ghetto. Unfortunately, you can’t have income diversity without housing diversity, and Vancouver is severely lacking in providing desirable housing to the middle class,...
Cruising Palm Springs
I’ve been in Palm Springs the last few days (sorry for the late post). My husband and I rented a Harley Davidson Electra Glide and have been cruising around the San Bernardino Mountains, the Salton Sea, Joshua Tree National Park and the San Andreas Fault. I am loving the desert for its eclectic mix of hipsters, gays, retirees, bikers, Latinos and new age hippies; but after three days on a...
Survey: take part in shaping the future of Robson... →
The Block 51 survey is now live. Take part in the survey and share your thoughts and ideas as the City works with the public to plan the future of Robson Square, particularly the 800-block Robson Street and the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza.
October 2012
5 posts
Vancouver might finally get its missing public...
There was once a time when Vancouver did not have a central public gathering place. Instead, we had this:
Yes, that is Robson Square….
This site was not even originally slated for a public square. It was to be the site of a massive skyscraper even taller than the Shangri-La, which currently holds the record as the tallest building in Vancouver; but, a change in government from W.A.C....
Conserving the Bloedel Conservatory
I was on a walk with my dad yesterday in Queen Elizabeth Park and we stumbled upon the Bloedel Conservatory, which neither of us had visited in many years. We decided to go in (and it was just before a torrential downpour, so what better time to step into a tropical rainforest).
Photo c/o DangerGardener
The Bloedel Conservatory was opened in 1969 with a donation from Prentice Bloedel, a...
5 tags
What does the future look like for Commercial...
Ever since my husband and I moved to Commercial Drive five years ago (a Vancouver neighbourhood also known as Grandview-Woodland), I have never wanted to live anywhere else in the city. I’ve lived in the suburbs, and various parts of Vancouver since I was a child, including Main Street, Yaletown, International Village, Marpole/Arbutus, Cambie Village and Fairview Slopes. Yet Commercial Drive...
6 tags
Robson Square's pedestrian plaza: should it stay...
Vancouver City Council recently announced that the 800 block of Robson Square would remain closed to traffic until 2013, allowing Vancouver’s only central, downtown plaza to remain pedestrian-oriented beyond the summer months.
Since Robson Square was renovated in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the city has had numerous public space projects set up in this area. Food trucks, unusual...
September 2012
3 posts
3 tags
Park(ing) Day
Like the rallying cry to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” (“they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”), artists, designers and citizens in cities around the world transform parking spaces into temporary public parks every September 21st in celebration of Park(ing) Day.
The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a...
4 tags
Trees are Vital to City Life
Two of my favourite trees in my neighbourhood
Lately I’ve become fascinated with trees and their role in urban life. I live in a neighbourhood where every street is lined with big beautiful trees. They provide shelter from winter rain and shade from summer heat, reflect sunshine off their lush green leaves and some even bloom with pink cherry blossoms in the spring.
I’ve always...
August 2012
6 posts
4 tags
Vancouver Public Space Network Hosts Outdoor Movie...
A very cool event coming up next week! The Vancouver Public Space Network (VPSN) is hosting “Arts in the Heart of Mount Pleasant: a Night of Short Films about Public Space”. The event will take place on Thursday, Aug 30th at 8:00 pm behind Our Town Cafe at Main & Broadway in Vancouver. Films will include a mix of local and international films about public art, neighbourhood character,...
3 tags
Do Robson Square's Pop Rocks Remind You of...
Pop Rocks, a new public art installation in Robson Square, opened last week. It follows on the success of last year’s Picnurbia. Pop Rocks is a collaboration between AFJD Studio and Matthew Soules Architecture. They used Canada Place’s old sail fabric to create these giant pillows, which are filled with recycled styrofoam beads. I finally walked past it today and was instantly reminded...
5 tags
My Own Little Veggie Garden
I’ve written in the past about how important urban agriculture is to city life, and lately I’ve become a bit of health conscious eater - pretty much eliminating or reducing my intake of sugar, wheat, caffeine, red meat and alcohol in favour of whole grains, legumes, fish and organic fruits and veggies.
It was only a matter of time before I started my own vegetable garden. I always wanted to,...
5 tags
The World Needs More Walking
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved high impact workouts. I used to run almost daily and compete in long distance races - from 10km to marathons. As with age comes wisdom (and a few injuries and health issues), I’ve now realized that my favourite way to exercise, reduce stress and heal my body, mind and spirit, is to walk.
Walking is the most natural form of movement known to...
Happy British Columbia Day
Hope you got a chance to get out of the city and into nature to enjoy our beautiful province.
Birkenhead Lake, BC
July 2012
4 posts
8 tags
Why Gated Communities are Becoming a Global...
Photo Credit: Dean Terry
The issue of gated and exclusively high-income communities in North America is rearing its ugly head again. It started earlier this year with the death of Trevon Martin, the young man visiting family in a gated community who ended up being accused of trespassing and shot dead in an altercation with a security guard.
This time, it involves Star Wars director George...
5 tags
Have our cities lost touch with nature?
Statistics and media reports keep telling us that the world is becoming more urban than ever before. With more people moving to cities and technology allowing us to be more connected to one another, we are connecting less and less with the natural world - the earth, the trees, the birds and the bees and all that stuff that doesn’t require electricity.
City life typically involves most of us...
6 tags
Embracing History: How Memphis is Revitalizing its...
Also featured on Spacing Vancouver
South Main Trolley Night.
In a series called Detroit Rising, Richard Florida profiled Detroit’s creative renaissance and rebound from economic collapse. It showed how the Motor City, like many once flourishing cities, already has the fabric of a liveable city - historic, adaptable buildings in walkable areas - and now, what is needed are creative people who...
5 tags
Robson Square's Secret Garden
Over the past few years, Robson Square has experienced a rebirth. Ever since it was renovated after the 2010 Winter Olympics, the area below and in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Robson Street - considered Vancouver’s only central public square - has become home to outdoor skating and hockey, food trucks and creative public seating during the summer.
These spaces are great for people...
June 2012
6 posts
6 tags
This July: Take Part in Vancouver's Only Outdoor...
The quintessential summer experience is eating outdoors. And thanks to Vancouver’s success with food trucks, outdoor eating isn’t just for restaurant patios. It can be done in any public space in the downtown core.
The Vancouver Public Space Network is expanding the opportunities for outdoor eating this summer with Lunch Meet in the city’s Crosstown area. Lunch Meet is a weekly...
