I sat down towards the front of a lecture room that must have had capacity for at least 200 attendees. I picked up my notebook, pen, and then looked around the room to watch the people slowly filling the room. The average age, I would say, was mid-forties to mid-fifties. Seasoned professionals, or concerned citizens? I would find out later that evening.
Michael Geller was initially introduced by Gordon Price, the Director of City Program at Simon Fraser University and a former Vancouver city council. An architect by profession, Mr. Geller has worked both for the private and public sector on city planning and development. The first question Geller asked the audience was about their professional backgrounds: architects, developers, city planners... This presentation was attended by the very people who shape Vancouver and its neighborhoods.
Geller walked the audience through what he warned us was a large number of slides but never lost us in the process. The slides were less about words, all about visuals. While he travelled through 31 countries in 2007, Michael Geller took thousands of pictures of the places he visited, especially when faced with the unusual. Often enough, the unusual was simply a brilliant solution to some of the common problems most cities face. The slides depicted transportation alternatives. They showed pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods in Europe where people stroll up and down streets lined with cafes and benches. Geller talked about Hong Kong's spectacular public transit system, Auckland's free hybrid bus covering the downtown core, and Sydney's solar-powered ferries. Then, the presentation moved on to planned communities in India (Chandigarh), Dubai and Brazil (Brasilia). Some of these planned communities have not survived the test of time very well, as developers try to work around the city planning rules, and, in some cases, the planning itself lacked careful consideration of the environment the city was being built in. For an interesting comment on Le Corbusier's choice of concrete for Chandigarh where it's 46°C in the hot season, I invite you to read Chris Turner's Geography of Hope.
The presentation also discussed alternative approaches to housing: large usable outdoors space built into condo towers (unlike most Yaletown condos where suites are typically adorned with an enclosed "nook"), limited percentages of offshore owners (to avoid towers where more than half of the suites stay dark year round) and even modular housing (a potential alternative to room housing in the Downtown Eastside?). Finally, Geller spoke about a better use of public space, either through outdoor events, public gardens, and public art.
The key lesson that was communicated throughout the presentation focused on involving the communities to create a sense of pride and ownership in the development of their neighbourhoods. Often, waiting for groups and elected officials to move ahead on implementing ideas is frustrating, but only a few visionary leaders can become powerful elements of change, if given the chance.
This was a fantastic presentation, and if you are interested in sustainable communities, I recommend attending the upcoming lectures from SFU's City Program. I will make sure future presentations are included in the monthly listing on this blog.
A publication and program I learned about tonight:
- Momentum: The Magazine for Self-Propelled People
- Commuter Cycling Skills Program, for those interested in riding their bikes around Vancouver but worried about safety
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