Thursday, April 17, 2014

confluence, episode 7: parking lots, suburbs, and happy cities



The long weekend is (nearly) here. Last weekend we got a start on prepping our yard for the summer, which included an hour plus of cleaning up after those two dogs in the picture up there. It also involved repairing our cat jail from the weight of winter, but it was a pretty minimal task: just going around and angling it upwards again. If you're looking for a way to keep cats in your yard, this seems to be effective.

 I get why people don't want pets wandering around, but with the right group of people it can certainly help create a bit more of bond between strangers. When I was growing up, the neighbours across the street from us had a dog who could leap over their fence in a single bound. She only did this so she could go for walks with us, and eventually she became a joint dog with both families caring for her.

 More recently, my parents have had a neighbourhood cat decide it lives with them part-time. They are not sure where it comes from, but it is definitely cared for- it just apparently likes to come over in the morning and get some extra pets. Eventually they'll find out where it lives, and that will be how the ice is broken between them.

 There are so many people I only know in the context of the dogs I see them walking in local parks, to the point that if we see each other say, grocery shopping, we identify each other by our dogs names. But it turns out these low-level bonds are an important part of creating happy cities. Who says? Charles Montgomery, the author of Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design. I heard him on this episode of Tapestry a few weeks ago, and immediately put his book on my reading list.


At one point in the interview, he talks about what happened to him when he started walking around more and bumping into neighbours:
"Not having deep conversations, just 'hello, how are you?' It turns out these superficial conversations are really good for well-being. They're much easier than the conversations we have with fellow employees and family sometimes."
He goes much deeper into this concept in the book, but anecdotally I've definitely found it to be true. Stopping for a chat with someone while I bike, having brief conversations with the panhandlers near where I work, and knowing my neighbours in the contexts of their dogs have all added to a sense of connection and belonging in the spaces I spend my time.

 See also: Streets as Places: How Transportation can Create a Sense of Community

 How do we design our cities to thrive? This is where my enthusiasm for city council meetings come from. At the most recent one, there was a debate over a eighteen-space parking lot. Seems straightforward, in a way: it's beside the Elder Citizen's Senior Association recreation centre, it's an empty lot, and they want more space because their elderly members currently need to park on the street and walk a few blocks to get to events.

 But the people who will suddenly have a parking lot beside them weren't so happy. "Would any of you like to have a parking lot put up in your neighbourhood, two doors down from your nice character home?" one asked. Council felt the benefits to the seniors outweigh the costs to the rest of the neighbourhood (coun. Frizzell pointed out that most people live near a schools or some sort of parking lot, and it's not likely you'll escape the noise of snow clearers anywhere). They are selling a portion of the lot to the immediate neighbours to create more of a buffer, and going forward with the additional parking.

 In another request, a developer is hoping to subdivide a large lot in Blackburn into 84 smaller lots. The recommendation from staff is to deny the plan for a number of reasons, among them the belief that adding a new suburb in a rural neighbourhood would add sprawl to the city and goes against the stated goals of previous city visioning projects. There's been a focus more recently on trying to get people to live towards the city core. Blackburn has no bus service at the moment. So is it wise to create 84 more homes out there? Council didn't make a final decision, but will be considering the project. A number of councillors pointed out that people like the lifestyle associated with being out of the main part of the city. Perhaps because if you live near downtown, you may suddenly find yourself living beside a parking lot.

 A little less greenspace, but lots of volunteers

 Also at council was the proposal to brand Prince George "The Volunteer City." Comparing it to Edmonton's "City of Champions" and Kamloops as "Canada's Tournament Capital", members endorsed the idea, sending it to the city's communications department for some final tweaking.

 And there was an update on the Civic Plaza upgrade. The original plan included enhanced entrances, a stage, and more greenspace, but with less funding than previously expected the stage and entrance are gone and the greenspace scaled back.


Bad cities, or bad numbers?

 Last week, I wrote about an Initiatives Prince George study commissioned to get Canadians perceptions of Prince George. In the Prince George Citizen the day following, editor Neil Godbout points out a number of flaws in the methodology:

"Even if the question hadn't been so off-base, the conclusion reached by the pollsters is nonsense. They state that 58% of the respondents believe that Prince George is unsafe and high in crime but that's not what the results state at all. The responses state more about where the respondents live than about their perception of Prince George. In other words, 58 per cent of the respondents feel that their community is safer and lower in crime than Prince George. That doesn't mean they think Prince George is unsafe and high in crime, only that it's less safe and has more crime than where they live."
There's more, which you can read online.

 More about CBC:

 A couple more articles on the CBC cuts since last week. One works for CBC and wants to see it thrive, the other has said he believes the funding should stop, but both agree that the netherland of funding it's currently in is not the best situation:

Bad to worse in Fort St John

 Last week, we heard that a walk-in clinic in Fort St John is shutting down because the doctors there didn't have enough time to see their own patients. We interviewed Health Minister Terry Lake about the issue and he said the province is working on it, while acknowledging it's a problem. Then the problem got worse: a few hours later, news that five more doctors are leaving the community. 

Katie Maximick is among those who is losing her doctor. Engaged and ready to start a family, she's questioning whether she has a future in Fort St John. She also says there's a sense in the community that Northern Health isn't doing enough to address the problem, and she's also heard some people who are feeling betrayed by the doctors who are leaving.

"Which isn't fair, I understand that the doctors are extremely overworked... but at the same time, if you know that the community is in a huge crisis, why are eight of you walking out at the same time? That's what people are saying. Why are you leaving us when you know this is what we're going through, what about us?"

This theme can be found throughout the booms of northern B.C. (just look at the series on housing in northwest B.C. we recently did). Next week, BC Healthy Communities are running a webinar called "Too Much of a Good Thing? Social Impacts of Rapid Industrial Growth in Rural Communities" focused on the north, and I'm hoping to book interviews with a number of the speakers taking part for the show.

 Community Notes:

 It's a big music weekend. On Thursday night Joey Only, outlaw folk musician and resident of Wells, turns 35 and is celebrating with a $10 show at Nancy-O's. He's been rocking these woods for about as long as I can remember and if you haven't seen him you are missing a cornerstone of northern B.C.'s cultural scene.

 If you can't make it to that one, there's an alternative choice over at the Westwood pub showcasing some local acts. And you may as well get used to the Westwood because Friday night it is the place to be as Black Spruce Bog, Sober Becky, and Goodnightmare take to the stage, though I honestly don't know if any tickets are left. And by the way, I warned you about this being sold out two weeks ago so you have no one to blame but yourself.

 Somehow it does not end there because Saturday is a joint album release between Vanderhoof's Rosewood's Diary and Derek Joyce. I've heard preview tracks from both albums, they are fantastic, and I've seen each play live before and highly recommend it. Derek will be playing with a full band, which is something I've never seen but look forward to. That's at the ArtSpace.

 And if that's not enough, Shiraz is hosting a classical jazz trio on Saturday. Dinner with ambience.

  • Pecha Kucha Prince George is still looking for people to present on the subject of food. Gardeners, cooks, people who like eating- give it a shot, it's great fun. Details on the website.
  • Bike to Work week is gearing up. Get ready.
  • And I'm intrigued by this book launch from Rob Budde in early May. A sense of place is obviously an area of my interest.
Interlude

 Smudge goes to the beach:

Another note this week: I discovered someone had thrown three kitchen sink plugs in our garbage can, and I was interested in trying to figure out the back story of someone who had three kitchen sink plugs and decided to walk into someone else's driveway to dispose of them. Unfortunately, I found out the truth and it was very disappointing.

 I also discovered a cool furniture store in Prince George's industrial section I had no idea existed, but will be my first stop next time we're looking.

 And I'm not sure when it happened, but I think Wiretap has become my favourite radio program. It's just so amazing that it exists at all. Case in point: this episode on Re:birth, a theme appropriate for the Easter weekend.

 Links of Interest:
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- Andrew
Thursday, April 17, 2014