The Island Corridor Foundation Press Conference Apr 2 —The Future of Passenger Rail Service On Vancouver Island

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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SymbioCity — Hammarby Sjöstad: Modern, Eco-Freindly Neighbourhood

Nanaimo: how high do you want to set the bar for the redevelopment of our harbour industrial lands? Here's the new Hammarby neighbourhood in Stockholm.

SymbioCity unlocks synergies between urban systems 

to save resources while driving growth.

A new district has emerged around the lake of Hammarby Sjö in Stockholm. A run-down port and industrial area has been cleaned up, developed and converted into a modern and eco-friendly district. Hammarby Sjöstad is Stockholm’s largest urban development project with its own environmental programme incorporating energy supply, water and wastewater treatment and waste management. More at: SymbioCity - Hammarby Sjöstad: three in one and Hammarby Sjöstad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

#Nanaimo Harbour This Morning...

Post by Frank Murphy.

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6 Freeway Demolitions That Changed their Cities Forever

RT @Gizmodo: 6 freeway demolitions that changed their cities forever HT @SprawlRepairMnl http://t.co/2NV6it6Nzw pic.twitter.com/N5Hk2uGrmg

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 29, 2014

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North Van's Harbourside Waterfront — Evolving Vision for the Future of Harbourside

A North Vancouver waterfront development. A single property owner here but many issues relevant to our Waterfront Lands. Of particular interest, transit considerations and the involvement of the Washington Group and its Seaspan subsidiary.

From the website: On the waterfront of North Vancouver lies Harbourside, a collection of lands partially developed by Concert Properties into a business park. While zoning is in place to allow for a final phase of commercial space, Concert envisions a different fate for Harbourside – the creation of a vibrant, mixed-use community; a place to live, work, shop and play all in an attractive, highly-walkable and sustainable neighbourhood. More at: Harbourside Waterfront | An Evolving Vision for the Future of Harbourside

From The Atlantic Cities —How New York Is Building an Entire Neighborhood on Top of a Rail Yard

The neighborhood will be known as Hudson Yards, and construction has officially begun on the first platforms — over the eastern part of the rail yard. That platform will ultimately hold two office towers, two residential towers (one of which will have a hotel), a million square feet of retail, and about five acres of open public space. And it will all come together as 30 Long Island Railroad tracks remain in operation to serve commuters through Penn Station. Read more: How New York Is Building an Entire Neighborhood on Top of a Rail Yard - Eric Jaffe - The Atlantic Cities

How New York Is Building an Entire Neighborhood on Top of a Rail Yard @AtlanticCities http://t.co/f6vGDyipKT
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 20, 2014

"I consider myself to be a wholly urban artist drawing my ideas, imagery and colour from the inner city."

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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Just one reason why Granville Island + False Creek South is special: RT @cbruntlett: #FromWhereIEat pic.twitter.com/GnEpwmWn9X
— neal lamontagne (@nlamontagne) March 21, 2014

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Jane Jacobs: An Introduction

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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From The Sidewalk Ballet —Fund for a Better Waterfront — As Shopping Malls and Theme Parks Replace Town Squares, Our Democracy is Diminished

F Murphy photo

The street. It is the river of life of the city, the place where we come together, the pathway to the center. It is the primary place.
– William H. Whyte, City: Rediscovering the Center.

Urban streets and sidewalks serve as the principle place of public contact and public passage. Streets, in fact, comprise the largest assemblage of public space in our cities. Every private lot is accessible from a street, the legally designated public right-of-way. When extended to the water’s edge, streets provide the very framework for public access to the waterfront. Streets are perceived as public. Our right to travel the street, whether by foot or bike or car, is indelibly etched in our consciousness. Read more: As shopping malls and theme parks replace town squares, our democracy is diminished | Fund for a Better Waterfront

The Sidewalk Ballet: From Fund for a Better Waterfront — As Shopping Malls and Theme Parks ReplaceTown Squares, Our Democracy is Diminished

Nanaimo Council Changes "Agrees" to "Move Towards" Lease to Island Ferries

Council agrees to lease land to Island Ferries Services http://t.co/RPfubvLKxj
— City of Nanaimo (@cityofnanaimo) March 18, 2014

Council agrees to move towards a lease to Island Ferries Services http://t.co/qGbH7mQZOm

— City of Nanaimo (@cityofnanaimo) March 19, 2014

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From The Globe and Mail —‘The Flats’ Rises From a Post-Industrial Cradle

Vancouver's large industrial site between Main Street and Clark Drive and along Great Northern Way is undergoing an urban renewal process. While not a waterfront site like Nanaimo's South Downtown Waterfront, it offers a useful study. Of particular interest, the relocation of the campus of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, housing for a range of incomes, rapid transit, and the integration of the plan with existing industrial uses. Below, Kerry Gold's story in the Globe.

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A new neighbourhood is emerging amid the squat, old industrial buildings that lie to the east of Vancouver’s gentrified and trendy Main Street area.

Framed between railway tracks to the north, wide thoroughfares Clark Drive to the east and Great Northern Way to the south, and Main Street’s growing wall of condo towers, the area nicknamed “The Flats” is set to become an arts-and-tech oriented enclave of students, restaurants, galleries, breweries, coffee shops and limited residential.  More at: ‘The Flats’ rises from a post-industrial cradle - The Globe and Mail

Robson Redux Design Competition April 3

April 3: @Viva_Van showcases entrants in the Robson Redux design comp. See new ideas for the 800-block. Tickets: http://t.co/CI2RDiDHmk
— VPSN (@vpsn) March 16, 2014

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City of Vancouver —Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts Study

Open design competitions are a widely used method to develop guiding visions and eventually master plans for city sites prime for redevelopment. Here's the approach taken by the City of Vancouver asking the general public and architect and planning firms around the world for innovative ideas about what to do with the Viaducts and surrounding areas of the downtown eastern core.

Submission Gallery: Here are the submissions which were received during the re:CONNECT competition. Click on an image to view the submission in full. Submissions are displayed in the order they were received. Vancouver Viaducts & Eastern Cores.

re:CONNECT invited the citizens of Vancouver, to join with local and international designers to ignite discussion and dream new possibilities for the future of the Viaducts and the City's broader Eastern Core. Design ideas were received and citizens were invited to vote and comment on your favourite ideas for this area of the City.  More at: The Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts Study | City of Vancouver and The Sidewalk Ballet: City of Vancouver Design Competition: Viaducts & Eastern Core

From National Capital Commission —Riverfront Placemaking on the Ottawa River

As a value-added partner in Canada’s Capital Region, the National Capital Commission (NCC) is seeking innovative proposals from businesses, community organizations and not-for-profit organizations, including recreational and arts groups, for pilot projects that will enliven and bring more vitality to open public spaces along the shorelines of the historic Ottawa River.  More at Riverfront Placemaking on the Ottawa River | National Capital Commission

Waterfront Toronto — Toronto's "New Blue Edge"

Waterfront Toronto is building the largest urban revitalization project in North America, bringing together the most innovative approaches to sustainable development, excellence in urban design, real estate development, leading technology infrastructure and the delivery of important public policy objectives.

Rethinking, reimagining and redefining what the waterfront can be, and working to create a world model for urban space. Priorities are simple: people first and reconnect them with the waterfront. Parks and public spaces, and design in a way that’s environmentally and economically sustainable. More at: Homepage / Waterfront Toronto

From Mountain View Online — Place-Making Expert Fred Kent "dazzles council with San Antonio plan"

Nationally renowned place-making expert Fred Kent presented his plan to the City Council Tuesday for making a "great place" in San Antonio shopping center. Council members largely approved his ideas.

"I don't want to be too critical of this area but there aren't many great places in this region," Kent told the council. "This will be a great place in this region. Read more: "Place-making' expert dazzles council with San Antonio plan | News | Mountain View Online |

From seattlepi.com — Here's the $65 Million Plan for Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market unveiled designs for a new entrance that will connect the market to the waterfront. The entrance is part of redevelopment of three-quarters of an acre at the north side of the market, along Western Avenue. It would feature:
•15,000 square feet of retail space;•More than 30,000 square feet of open public space, including a public plaza and viewing deck from the Desimone Bridge;•Room for farm or craft stalls on the roof terrace;•40 low-income homes for seniors;•300 covered parking spaces; and•Multiple public art installations.

Read more: Here's the $65 million plan for Pike Place Market - seattlepi.com

Or You Could Take the Bus...

My fav #transit ad campaign. Can't wait to be back on #Auckland buses in a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/6OfYV3ItIt cc @AklTransport @DarrenDavis10

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) March 10, 2014

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Nanaimo City Council —Live Tweets March 10 2014

Tweets about "#NanaimoCouncil"

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From The Atlantic Cities — Lots of Cars and Trucks, No Traffic Signs Or Lights: Chaos or Calm?

No traffic lights. No traffic signs. No painted lines in the roadway. No curbs. And 26,000 vehicles passing every day through a traditional village center with busy pedestrian traffic.

It’s called "shared space." Is it insanity, or the most rational way to create a pleasant place where drivers, cyclists, and people on foot all treat each other with respect?

More at: Lots of Cars and Trucks, No Traffic Signs or Lights: Chaos or Calm? - Sarah Goodyear - The Atlantic CitiesThe Sidewalk Ballet: From The Atlantic Cities — Lots of Cars and Trucks, No Traffic Signs Or Lights: Chaos or Calm?

In Walkable CitiesSize and Nature of City Blocks is Crucial

RT @urbandata: In walkable cities, size and nature of city blocks is crucial. Figure-ground maps: pic.twitter.com/Lx8kgs29GS MT @BrentToderian

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 8, 2014

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If it Can Happen in Times Square...

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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The 20 Minute Neighbourhood

The "20 Minute Neighbourhood" made up of #walkable shops, parks, school etc. A simple, powerful #Melbourne vision. pic.twitter.com/totdhaJlwc

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 28, 2014

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From The Sidewalk Ballet, Jan. 2013 —City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards

Pending an environmental review, the City of Nanaimo has announced an agreement with Canadian Pacific to purchase its rail yards. The area was excluded from the 2008 Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines and piecemeal redevelopment of Port Place immediately to the north has proceeded without a master plan for this area.

Redevelopment of these brownfields holds great potential of course but considering a track record here of opportunities lost over the last 10 years I fear the worst. Council will be asked to approve a budget for a "master plan [which] will include not just the land we’re buying but all of the CP lands and the waterfront lands,” says the City's GM Development Ted Swabey. The area should be the subject of a Design Competition geared to attracting top Planning and Architectural talent and badly needed fresh ideas.

There is an agreement in place with the Regional District to collaborate with them on a transit hub. The Snuneymuxw First Nation's reserve lands are to the immediate south and they hold both treaty rights and land purchase options which will directly effect the redevelopment of the site. The Island Corridor Foundation who own the rail line and stations on south and central Vancouver Island are among others who hold land rights and rights of way.

Scariest prospect of all a popular idea for a 5,000 seat multiplex. There simply does not seem to be either the Planning talent or the political will here to, if this goes ahead, create anything other than a piece of brutal architecture floating in acres of surface parking doing  damage to existing downtown neighbourhoods. Much lip service has been offered here about making "place not space" with appropriated urbanspeak aside, nothing meaningful to show for it.

Here's City Councillor Fred Pattje re the Port Place plans proceeding without a master plan for the southern waterfront:

“This is not proper urban planning in my view,” he said. “The Nanaimo Port Authority wants to do something significant with the assembly wharf and the Snuneymuxw have an interest in the Wilcox property. This whole area is Nanaimo’s last urban frontier and there’s no connection in the planning for any of it, so eventually we’ll end up with something really unpleasant."

City of Nanaimo news release

Nanaimo News Bulletin report Dec 14, 2012 City purchases waterfront rail yard downtown

Staff Report to Council Dec 17 2012

The Sidewalk Ballet: City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards

Immediate positive results / zero cost: 30k/hr speed zones in all residential neighbourhoods @VIAwesome @G_Anderson1 @cbruntlett

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) March 5, 2014

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South Downtown Waterfront Initiative Presentation — Former Vancouver Co-Director of Planning Larry Beasley —Exploring Waterfront Development

On Tuesday, November 12, internationally renowned urban planner Dr. Larry Beasley gave an engaging presentation to a packed Shaw Auditorium in Nanaimo to kick-off a week of community and stakeholder engagement, including a 22-hour Design Charrette – all part of the South Downtown Waterfront Initiative.

New York City Bryant Park Corporation

The South Downtown Waterfront Initiative guidelines recommend an arms-length development corporation and a charter to guide its activities. There are numerous examples of this approach, some mentioned in the document. Here's an example of a development corporation in New York City which revitalized Bryant Park.  Bryant Park Corporation (BPC) is a not-for-profit, private management company and a cooperating business improvement district of neighboring property owners.  Bryant Park | Company Overview