Let's build a city we can love - Urban design must develop a connection with people
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The stars of the romantic comedy Sex and the City spent six seasons searching for love. Relationships came and went, Big, Aidan and the Russian, but the love affair that remained constant was the one they had with their city. Their emotional connection to the vibrancy, character and style of New York was the show's consistent thread.
Marking the end of the 2010 Cultural Capital celebrations, the Winnipeg Arts Council invited former Vancouver senior community planner Larry Beasley to the My City is Still Breathing Symposium to discuss how this type of urban love affair can be a defining factor in the image, physical expression and economy of a city.
Density makes cities richer - Yards at Fort Rouge: bringing in more people helps economy, taxes
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In December of 2002, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy released a document entitled Let's Worry about Stagnation, not Sprawl. It concluded that because Winnipeg had maintained its density in comparison to other cities, urban sprawl should not be a public concern. Planning policies that promoted density were dismissed as "an unnecessary prescription for a problem that doesn't exist in Winnipeg."
How times have changed.
While it may have been true that after decades of slow growth Winnipeg had until then managed to avoid the sprawling suburban development that was beginning to define cities across Canada, in the eight years since, we have more than caught up to the others. With a population increase of nearly 50,000 people over that time, a wave of new auto-centric, low density suburbs are today pushing the city's edges outwards in every direction.
Urban gems helping city shine - Local designers thrive, inspire
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The recent global economic downturn has had a devastating effect on the architecture industry in North America. Nearly one-quarter of all jobs in the profession have been lost in the United States and with construction dropping by 25 per cent last year alone, Canadian firms have also been hit hard.
Seemingly against this global trend, Winnipeg's architecture community has been flourishing in recent years. Several new firms have opened and many others have expanded their business in Winnipeg and abroad. While megaprojects designed by acclaimed international architects rightfully receive much of the fanfare, local designers have seized this period of growth to do imaginative work on smaller projects that are transforming the city's neighbourhoods.
Kenora putting on its best face - Lakeside city embarks on restoration
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Anyone who has seen the Disney film Cars knows the sad story of the fictional town of Radiator Springs. The once-lively stop on Route 66 was effectively erased from the map when a new freeway was built bypassing the town. The economy crashed. The tire shop couldn't sell tires, the hotel couldn't rent rooms and the sleepy main drag fell into disrepair.
The city of Kenora, Ont., was faced with the possibility of this story becoming a reality when in 1990 the decision was made to build a bypass on the Trans-Canada Highway. This new road would divert 3,500 vehicles every day away from the city's picturesque main street. Coupled with the closing of the paper mill, the city's largest employer for 80 years, Kenora seemed destined to become a real life Radiator Springs.
Blot on downtown landscape - Parking lots are asphalt deserts that create pedestrian dead zones
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'Our Golden Business Boy will watch the North End die, and sing I love this town, then let his arcing wrecking ball proclaim, I hate Winnipeg'
As this line from the Weakerthans song One Great City candidly expresses, Winnipeg's long history of building demolition to make way for open parking lots has left our downtown resembling the toothless grin of hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke.
Winnipeg is home to some of the largest urban parking lots in Canada. These inhospitable asphalt deserts create pedestrian dead zones that fragment the city centre. A low downtown residential population and years of declining transit ridership have resulted in high demand for parking from 70, 000 daily commuters. Optimistically designed for "Chicago of the North," it has historically been difficult to maintain density in our oversized city centre.
Number TEN Blog
Number TEN Inspired! captures the knowledge, passion and ideas of our award winning architects, interior designers and supporting staff, as they navigate through the complexities of the modern design landscape. We are creative problem solvers, advocates for better ways of doing things, and observers of all that is interesting and noteworthy in our field. This blog is our effort to share our knowledge and ideas in a way that resonates with everyone. Whether you work in the industry as an architect, interior designer, building manager, property developer, or are just someone with an interest in creativity and new ways of doing things, this blog has something for you.
