Do you
know your neighbours?
In last week’s column, I
wrote about a talk I was giving that evening at SFU called “Twelve Great Ideas
for Vancouver from Around the World.” I was
gratified by the turnout, but even more pleased with the discussion that
followed.
Of the 12
ideas presented, one that generated considerable interest was the need to make
Vancouver a friendlier city. Many in attendance commented on how difficult it
can be for newcomers to make friends. Suggestions
were offered on how to design friendlier apartment buildings, including putting
a residents’ lounge near the entrance, rather than in some leftover hidden
space.
One
speaker suggested that instead of having Family Day in British Columbia, we
should have Neighbour Day, when neighbours could meet in one another’s home or
at a block party. Far too many of us do not greet neighbours when they move in,
and after a while there does not seem to be a good justification to introduce
ourselves. I
facetiously responded we’ll all get to know one another when the earthquake
hits us, and we’re dependent on each other for survival.
I also
suggested, since I doubt the premier will replace Family Day with Neighbour
Day, that we might designate an arbitrary date, say the third Saturday in May,
as Neighbour Day. On this
day we would introduce ourselves to new and old neighbours and organize a block
party, spring clean-up or other community activities. One of
the attendees noted that some streets in Kitsilano are now organizing regular
block parties, and this is also happening in other parts of the city.
Whenever
I think about the friendliness of a neighbourhood, I am reminded of one of my
late father’s stories. A man was thinking about buying a new house, but
wondered what the neighbourhood was like. The realtor pointed out a man cutting
his lawn across the street. “Why don’t you go and ask him.” The
lawn-cutter responded by asking his potential neighbour what it was like where
he was currently living.
“Oh we
all get along very nicely,” he replied.
“Then I
think you will find the same thing here!”
Other
ideas also resonated with attendees, both during the Q&A and in subsequent
discussions. For example, I noted that in Freiburg, Germany, which I consider
one of the most sustainable cities in the world, many new apartment buildings
have stairwells with large windows and colourful finishes to encourage
residents to use stairs rather than elevators. After
all, it is healthier. Compare
that with most Vancouver apartment buildings where stairwells rarely have
windows and are often not even finished other than some yellow stripes on the
stairs. Moreover, security provisions often prevent neighbours going from one
floor to another, either by stairs or elevator.
As a
result, these buildings are terrible places to go trick or treating at
Halloween, something I have often considered a measure of a building or
neighbourhood’s friendliness.
Other
ideas that appealed to the audience included the need to create pedestrian-only
streets in Vancouver and safer crosswalks. Some
wanted us to bring back the “scramble intersections” we once had, which allow
pedestrians to take over an intersection in all directions, even on the
diagonal.
One
speaker responded he liked all the ideas presented, but feared municipal
authorities would not be willing to make the necessary changes. While I
appreciated his concern, I did point out that if enough people ask for changes,
they may eventually happen. Laneway housing is just one example.
This
prompted a traffic engineer in attendance to suggest we need to do a better job
of improving the appearance of our lanes and in the future use them not just
for laneway houses, but other forms of infill housing and neighbourhood uses.
In his
concluding remarks, SFU City Program director Gordon Price noted it was evident
that a lot of people care about the city and have many good ideas to improve
it. We just need more opportunities to have such discussions, preferably with
city officials and politicians in attendance, to increase the likelihood that
good ideas are eventually implemented.
- See
more at:
http://www.vancourier.com/opinion/suggestions-for-a-friendlier-vancouver-1.1816417#sthash.nrX66Saw.dpuf
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