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Reimagining downtown — for people
June 11, 2023
In a post-pandemic world that has redefined the nature of office work, cities across North America are looking for ways to diversify their city centres, moving away from relying on transient office workers and towards communities of permanent residents. CentrePlan 2050 is no different, with an overarching goal of reestablishing downtown as the collection of diverse, urban residential neighbourhoods that it once was.
NEWS
Need more congestion? Route 90 plan is the $500-M ticket
May 23, 2023
The City of Winnipeg is currently asking for public feedback on a new design for widening Kenaston Boulevard between Ness and Taylor avenues, including related sewer upgrades and an expansion of the St. James Bridge. The city is hoping that other levels of government will share the cost, but Ottawa has already rejected applications twice before, in 2015 and 2018, and the province’s Multi-Year Infrastructure Investment Strategy makes no mention of the project. This likely leaves Winnipeg taxpayers to foot the bill on their own.
NEWS
Portage and Main has to be people-friendly
May 1, 2023
Portage and Main is not just an intersection. It’s where we come together in celebration, in protest and in mourning. It has always been seen as the heart of the city, even when hidden behind concrete walls. There is significant irony in the fact that we believe Portage and Main is important enough to invest in a big idea that brings it back to life, but we voted so clearly to say we are not willing to spend a few seconds longer in our cars to accomplish this goal organically, and at low cost.
NEWS
Winter shouldn’t translate to a lower quality of life
April 10, 2023
Falling is the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations in Winnipeg, and more than one-third of the province’s direct health-care costs are accounted for by injuries related to falls.
NEWS
New life breathed into Carnegie Library
March 19, 2023
The City of Winnipeg Archives is finally getting a proper home, after a decade as a nomad in various warehouses across the city. Council is set to approve $12.6 million in funding to transform the Carnegie Library on William Avenue into a state-of-the-art archives facility.
NEWS
Walkable cities become grist for conspiracy mill
February 27, 2023
Being a city planner might sound like a mundane job, plodding through zoning regulations that read like riddles written by Gollum from Lord of the Rings. But it can be a polarizing profession that evokes high emotions from citizens opposing change in their neighbourhood or reacting to the very mention of the words “bike lane.”
NEWS
Reclaiming the spirit of the shopping mall
February 6, 2023
The origin of the North American shopping mall is a story of irony and frustration that sent an architect back to Europe resenting what his idea had become.
NEWS
Arts can lead in downtown renewal
January 16, 2023
When we compete with other cities for tourism, immigration, business investment and even for retention of our own young people, the quality of downtown and its ability to offer an urban lifestyle choice often factors centrally in any success.
NEWS
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign: Using Interior Wayfinding Signage as a Teaching Tool
September 28, 2021
Signage exists everywhere in our world. You see it when you drive down the street, you read it as you walk through malls and airports. It is in our grocery stores, in our workplaces, and it is most definitely in our schools.