Make it Rain: Creating Solutions for Rain-Friendly City Spaces
A great event this weekend!
The Make It Rain workshop, facilitated by members of The Vancouver Public Space Network (VPSN), explores the concept of making public spaces in rainy climates usable and enjoyable all year round.
Participants will review and discuss precedent studies, followed by a âliveâ analysis of remote video feeds from around the city of Vancouver. In an effort to work through solutions for more rain friendly city spaces, participants will be asked, âwhat are the impacts of a predominantly rainy climate on the design of public spaces?â
This workshop will develop materials and documentation that will be used as a basis for advocacy and education directed towards making Vancouverâs public spaces better adapted for the rainy months. After participating in the Make it Rain workshop you will be inspired to connect and celebrate one of Vancouverâs most overlooked assets: the rain.
This workshop session is one in a series of four Design Sundays, and can be experienced as such or as a standalone event.
Date: April 17, 2:30-5:00pm
Admission: $15 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; $10 MOV Members
Tickets: Register Here.
Workshop Leaders
Stewart Burgess is a project leader who specializes in specific transformations of public spaces. He has contributed to VPSNâs Park(ing) Day activities, the Skytrain Halloween Party, and various Robson Square activations such as the Polka Dot Piano (in collaboration with CityStudioâs Keys to the Street). Stuart joined the VPSN Board of Directors in 2013. In his professional life he is an intern architect with Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects.
Jaspal Marwah is a former VPSN Board member, and current project leader with an interest in art in public spaces. He organized Vancouver's first Park(ing) Day event, and has since been involved in numerous public space interventions, including hosting laser graffiti and coordinating Canada's participation in the world's first public art event to be viewed from space. He currently manages the Active Fiction Project.
Caitriona Feeney recently accepted a VPSN board member position and has been volunteering with the organization since 2011. Since she started with the VPSN, she has been involved with multiple VIVA Vancouver submissions, Robson Square events and the development of the Downtown Public Realm Plan. Caitriona is a former commissioner on the Vancouver City Plan Commission and works as a policy planner in her private practice. Her main interests include public space advocacy, community planning and urban agriculture.
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Vancouver Civic Election Debate Livens Up with âLast Candidate Standingâ
Civic elections typically have the lowest voter turnout, especially amongst the under-35 set. In other words, good luck in getting them to show up to an all-candidates debate unless you can change the dull, predictable format.
The Vancouver Public Space Network realized this several years ago when it launched Last Candidate Standing, an election debate unlike any other in Vancouverâs municipal campaign. In a reality show-style challenge, all candidates running for mayor and council are invited to take part in three lightening rounds of questions, where the winners and finalist are decided by audience applause.
âIssue of public democracy are central to the work we do. We organize this event because we want to change up what is often a tired debate format, and have a bit of fun with it,â said Paola Qualizza, Chair of the VPSN. âWe invite every candidate who is running for Mayor or Council to take part because we believe that all candidates should have a chance to share the stage and show us what theyâve got.â
The third edition of the event was held on Sunday, November 2, 2014 (previous editions were held in the 2008 and 2011 municipal elections) with 27 of the 49 candidates running for Mayor and Council in attendance. The decision to open the event up to all candidates - rather than focus on the big players - meant more fun and unusual antics.
Independent mayoral candidate Meynard Aubichon chose to beatbox his answers and Cherryse Kaiser attended the event topless, entreating people to âlive in the utter udder bliss of my Milky Way Universal breast vortex.â In an effort to garner more applause, the Cedar Partyâs Nicolas Chernen ordered a pizza and handed it out members of the audience.
The event was MCâd by Mark Busse, Industrial Brand partner & managing director. Music was also an important part of the dayâs activities, with professional gong player Kathy Cameron letting candidates know when they had run overtime and  The New Shackletons playing music during the five minute breaks between rounds.
Candidates were asked a variety of questions on Vancouverâs future, posed by a Panel of Inquisition: Emily Jackson of Metro News, CTV News reporter Jon Woodward, and Jackie Wong, UBC/Megaphone Magazine. These questions covered a diverse range of topics often debated in the media, including how Vancouver can shake its âno fun cityâ title, public transit, housing affordability and City Hallâs engagement with local neighbourhoods (you can watch the full video of the debate here).
When asked what her favourite moments of the debate were, VPSN Spokesperson Jessica Hum said there were âtoo many to nameâ, but she mentioned three highlights, including  RJ Aquino and Nicholas Chernan share a selfie moment; Keith âIâve forgotten, what was the question again?â Higgins, who was thrown off his game when Cherryse Kaiser exuberantly answered a question just before his turn. And, in the final showdown between Andrea Reimer and Pete Fry. In response to Pete Fryâs numerous comparisons of Vancouver to Portland, Andrea said âI feel like Iâm on the Pete Fry drinking game. Where every time he mentions âPortlandâ we all have to take a drink⌠â
Last Candidate Standing runner-up Pete Fry (left) and winner Andrea Reimer (right).
After nearly three hours of debate, the 2014 Last Candidate winner was declared: Andrea Reimer (Vision Vancouver) who won against runner up  Pete Fry (Green Party) based on her answer to a question about how to address social isolation in Vancouver. She spoke of when she was sick in the hospital and saw the contrast between people there who had friends and family visiting them versus those who did not.
âI saw how the people who had a steady stream of loved ones coming to visit them would perk up and even walk. As soon as I could get out of the hospital bed and got back to City Hall, I brought forth a motion for an Engaged City Task Force to develop ways to help people get to know their neighbours better and improve engagement with City Hall.â
With a full house of attendees at the Last Candidate Standing event, the VPSN hopes that the audience was left with an understanding that participating in politics can be fun and as Hum states, âYour vote is important! Make it count.â
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Every year, artists, designers and citizens in cities around the world transform parking spaces into temporary public parks around September 20th in celebration of Park(ing) Day.
The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.Â
The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat.
The Vancouver Public Space Network has been celebrating Park(ing) Day since 2007. This year, the VPSN partnered with CityStudio, Modo Car Co-op, JapaDog and Tradeworks to transform two parking meters on Robson St. outside of Japadog with a 'woody' outdoor living room complete with a long table, a polka-dot piano and an art cart. Using recycled wood and pallets, the area is an intimate space for people to sit, read, talk, rest, meet new people, play the piano, engage in art and watch a movie.Â
I had a chance to stop by on my lunch break and check it out. Then I ended up meeting some guys from VIA Architecture who walked me over to their Park(ing) Day installation - complete with an umbrella canopy and BBQ in Yaletown (they also had one set up in front of the Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France at Main and 21st). Kudos to everyone involved in making Park(ing) Day in Vancouver a success! I hope to see more installations in Vancouver next year.
New Public Space Projects in Vancouver this Summer
Digital Projections project
Vancouver Public Space Network receives Viva Vancouver funding, applauds City of Vancouverâs decision to open Robson Square to the public this summer
Vancouver, BC â The Vancouver Public Space Network (VPSN) has received funding and operational support from the City of Vancouver though its Viva Vancouver program for a series of public space activations that will take place in the summertime, including Laser Graffiti and a Lunch Meet.
Lunch Meet brings a long-table dining experience to the urban outdoors. Instead of cars, a large table will be placed on a downtown street and participants will come together to share in a communal outdoor meal.Â
âThe event will take place a few times throughout the summer and will serve to celebrate the cityâs culinary character and the pleasure of outdoor eating,â said  Adam Vasilevich of the VPSN.
Laser Graffiti uses a projector and laser to allow people to âdrawâ on walls. It provides the public with a fun way to animate public space at night. The laser drawing is non-permanent. The system is mobile and we use a pedal-powered bike cart to move it around from location to location.
âLast year we showcased the system in Mt. Pleasant and Downtown Vancouver. This year weâll be taking the system to other neighbourhoods. The locations are still to be determined, but look for the system to be set up around town,â said VPSN project coordinator Josh Paterson
The VPSN will also be helping to present Outdoor Karaoke in selected downtown areas. The Outdoor Karaoke project  was initially conceived and launched by Urban Republicâ a local design team. The program will allows members of the public to sing from a multi-language song-book in several popular gathering areas.Â
In addition to Viva Vancouver, the VPSN is excited to hear the City of Vancouverâs announcement that it plans to transform the 800 Block of Robson Street into a summertime plaza. The City, through the Viva Vancouver program, will create a pedestrian space complete with a âPop Rocksâ seating installation (designed by Matthew Soules Architecture and AFJD Studios) and space for public events such as the Jazz Festival.
Last year, the VPSN developed a petition which garnered significant public interest and almost 2000 signatures in favour of permanently closing the 800-block of Robson Street - located between Hornby and Howe. Adjacent to Robson Square, and nestled between the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Law Courts, the block is one of the most frequented pedestrian routes in the city.
The VPSN is a grassroots collective that engages in advocacy, outreach and education on public space issues in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. This includes challenging the increase of advertising âcreepâ in public places, promoting creative, community-friendly urban design, monitoring private security activities in the downtown core, fostering public dialogue and democratic debate, and devising creative ways to re-green the neglected corners, alleys and forgotten spaces of the city. We also like to devise ways to have fun in public space.
