Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. European Lights Festivals may be a way to enliven public space in the Canadian winter.  With Vancouver having been many times named one of the world's least affordable cities Mayor Gregor Robinson has appointed a 'Blue Ribbon Affordability Task Force.' Sean Antrim profiles the appointees to the task force and critiques its composition. The theme of affordability was tied heavily with a discussion about the Downtown East Side, another major theme on the Vancouver Blog this week. Sean Ruthen profiles the interesting redevelopment of the historic Burns Block while Caroline Toth's Video Vancouver feature showcases an interview on the Gastown Project. Ottawa's pedestrian-only Sparks Street has long been fodder for ideas to increase its vitality. Marie-Judith Jean-Louis puts forward some stricking images of the Light Festival Ghent in Belgium has an idea to liven the pedestrian space in the winter time. Alexandre Laquerre takes a look at 102 years of change at the corner of Sussex and Rideau in Central Ottawa. Allanah Heffez writes about the challenges, opportunities and frustrations of dealing with the CP Rail tracks that separate Montreal's Plateau and Rosemont-Petite-Patrie neighbourhoods; the barrier is not the tracks themselves but bureaucratic inflexibility. The Photo du Jour feature took a look this week at, amongst other things, various scenes of outdoor pick-up hockey in Montreal's parks. 

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Building on the idea of the 100 mile diet which encourages consuming local foods, Eric Villagomez profiles an ideas competition into the design of a 100 mile house. The competition aims to explore ways that a modern house could be constructed from local materials. Gordon Price brings readers the story of how the towers and striking gardens of the City in the Park development were successfully built in an unlikely location. The story is a another look at the history of town centers throughout Metro Vancouver and holds lessons for successful public consultation. A forced closure of the Transitway this week diverted a solid stream of buses onto nearby Scott Street, although the scene presented some interesting video, it also raised questions about how the city will deal with the impending closure of the Transitway to accommodate LRT construction. Devin Alfaro concludes a series of photographs documenting the monumental legacy of the British Empire around the city of Montreal, this week looking at a monument to Queen Victoria in light of the milestone in the current monarch's reign. The montage du jour feature also began taking a look at some of the striking decommissioned silos in Montreal's Old Port this week.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. A new city was founded this week, the city of Spacington . Spacing staffers will use Sim City to attempt to turn Spacington into a 21st century utopia over the coming weeks using feedback from reader commentary. Comment early, comment often and help build the city. Gordon Price uses the Prince Points feature to look into the story of a cluster of towers at Lougheed Town Centre. Through the work of David Pereira, Price explores the tower's connections to Simon Fraser University and why such density was built in the midst of what was significant greenfield at the time. While many questioned the future of the skyscraper after September 11th, Sean Ruthen shows that the last decade may have precipitated a century in which the tall building will be zeitgeist. Through his review of Andres Janser's new book Highrise Idea and Reality, Ruthen discusses the global phenomenon which has seen the number of high rise buildings on earth double in the past 10 years. Jay Baltz reports on the ongoing effort to enact guidelines on Ottawa's use of Section 37, the portion of Ontario's Planning Act that facilitates density bonusing, and criticizes how the guidelines have changed over a year of consultations. Eric Darwin uses the Walkspace feature to highlight some of the difficulties Ottawa pedestrians face this time of year through a photo series of a good samaritan getting no respect from drivers. Joel Thibert explores the hotly debated question of what really influences people's decisions on where to live. Delving into a variety of related studies conducted around the world Thibert proposes ways to make increased density more acceptable to the next generation. Devin Alfaro provides a glimpse inside Montreal's complex municipal governance, analyzing the potential outcomes in an upcoming by-election that promises to be a tough fight with implications for the city's opposition parties. As Saint John enjoys the completion of its new Official Plan, Morgan Lanigan comments on how the next step will be a thorough review of the Zoning By-law in light of the lessons learned over the 40 years of urban planning.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. The Video Vancouver feature presented its first original video this week, capturing the atmosphere of Vancouver at the winter solstice, a feeling described as unique amongst Canadian cities. Yuri Artibise reviews new work by Emmanuel Buenviaje who uses mix of photography and graphic design to create images of his Mount Pleasant neighbourhood that capture the intricacy and history of Vancouver's older and industrial districts. Members of the Spacing Ottawa diaspora returned this week with posts from their new home cities. David McClelland writes about his observations of Niagara Region's new inter-city regional bus service as a prime example of the question of what comes first: the transit or the riders? Adam Bentley, a Spacing Ottawa contributor who recently moved to Edmonton, shares his observations of his first several months in the city including its good and planning history. His central conclusion: Edmonton doesn't suck. Jacob Larson gives an update on the latest twist in the saga to replace Montreal's aging Turcot Interchange which involves a significant delay caused by sinking ground and wonders if this could be an opportunity for sober second thought. With an opportunity to share her findings at an upcoming conference, Alanah Heffez seeks reader feedback on Montreal's electronic fare payment system initiating a conversation about intricacies of the City's OPUS fare card. As part of the ongoing Altantic Snapshots series Stephen Archibald profiles the Wellington Barracks. Hidden within an active Canadian Forces Base, the barracks is amongst Halifax's most important mid-nineteenth century buildings, retaining significant elements of grandeur.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Following the recent release of new redevelopment plans, Andrew Witt tells the story of the controversial Little Mountain social housing redevelopment. The project has been criticized for decade late return dates, encouraging gentrification and falling short of new affordable housing units. As part of his Price Points feature Gordon Price looks at the history of the Burnaby Metrotown as a harbinger of a growing regional awareness and planning initiative in the 1970's in light of thesis work by David Pereira. While praising Ottawa's Transportation Master Plan, Alex Devries synthesizes a golden rule that cycling advocates in the city must work around: "No change to drivers at any cost." Devries uses a lists of successful project to show how cycling advocates have worked around this rule. Alexandre Laquerre used his Maintenant & Avant feature this week to show off 110 years of change on the upper Rideau Canal showing a city that has both matured greatly and moved away from the railway. Devin Alfaro correctly predicted that the island of Montreal would be a battle ground in last spring's federal election. Predicting a similar groundswell of change in Quebec's coming provincial vote, Alfaro paints a picture of how all parties will vie for votes in Montreal and what this will benefit the city. As declining patronage and financing force the conversion of churches across Quebec into other uses, Alexandre Campeau-Vallée asks the question of what will happen to the sound of church bells, noting that such bells are some of the last sounds to enjoy immunity in our quest to reduce urban noise. Adria Young features a provocative public art installation on the site of Halifax's new downtown convention centre. The installation, Town Square by Scott Saunders draws on the site's public consultation controversy by populating the site with ghostly business figures. Abad Khan provides an update on a story which appeared in the fall issue of Spacing Magazine about two different strategies to road widening proposals in Moncton and Halifax. Moncton's bold approach of reducing car lanes has received vindication while Halifax's road widening has become tangled in politics.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Toronto's City Place Neighbourhood Rises Don Schuetze continues the theme of urban screen, sharing his experience of stumbling across the opening night of a Surrey art exhibition and witnessing the reactions to it. Yuri Artibise reviews The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver written largely by Chuck Davis, the city's unofficial historian, and completed posthumously by friends and admirers. Artibise concludes that the book is perhaps the most accessible history of Vancouver yet written, talking down the idea that city has no history. From the position of a former Policy Adviser and Senior Assistant to a councillor, Donna Silver presents the top ten ways to reduce unnecessary tension between citizens and their planning department and restore confidence in city planning. As part of the Forgotten Vanier feature Mike Steinhauer looks at the rise and fall of the Butler Motor Hotel as a parable for the history of small family-run motels across Canada and the fading built legacy they left. Guillaume St-Jean looks at an attractive redevelopment on the site of a former hospital for infectious disease which has sat abandoned since 1978. The proposal tastefully incorporates key structures of the old site surrounded by low-rise condominiums. The Montage du Jour feature once again highlights that while time has dramatically altered some parts of Montreal, other parts remain very much that same, at least in built form.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Yuri Artibise tells the story of a specific group of the 'Vancouver Special,'  a stock housing design developed in the 1960's which was made cheaply available and manifested in several thousand houses throughout Vancouver. The group of houses tell a unique story of  the history of the Strathcona neighbourhood. Cameron Barker examines the striking architecture of the new Visitors Centre recently opened at Vancouver's Van Dusen Gardens. Predicting that this new year will not only be good to Ottawa but will make it the Canadian city to watch in 2012, Alan Miguelez presents the top ten reasons for optimism in 2012. Mark Brandt reviews the book Cities as Crucibles: Reflections on Canada's Urban Future by Francois Lapointe, current VP of Capital Planning at the National Commission, and finds it to be a comprehensive and accessible understanding of how to re-create Canadian cities in the coming years. Alanah Heffez looks at the history of traffic lights on the island of Montreal, illustrating some of the process of how traffic signals became standardized and how some problems still haven't changed. Joel Thibert provides a glimpse inside Montreal's regional politics through a look at the tumultuous final approval of the area's first regional plan the Plan métropolitain d'aménagement et développement.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Erick Villagomez recaps the results of the exciting re:CONNECT design competition to rethink the space currently occupied by Vancouver's downtown traffic viaducts. The story includes links to the winning designs. As part of the ongoing Video Vancouver series Caroline Toth features an incredible video by Rob Whitworth of the captivating flows of traffic in Vietnam's emerging metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. Eric Darwin used two posts in the Walk Space feature this week to give a "biased, slanted and opinionated" overview of Ottawa's Downtown Moves initiative to improve downtown connections and prepare for the upcoming underground LRT. The first post focuses on connections to the west end as well as what to do about key streets including the Sparks Street pedestrian mall. In the second part of his post on the Downtown Moves initiative Eric Darwin focuses on pedestrian experience and how to avoid and correct the deadening effects of certain buildings that ignore the street. Gregory McCormick's Montreal Lit feature returned this week featuring excerpts from author Dany Laferrière reflecting on the Point St-Charles neighbourhood and the experiences of a newcomer. The Regionalist Joel Thibert explores the question of whether regionalism, rooted in the systems that surround us, and cosmopolitanism, concerning itself with the broader human community, are really fundamentally at odds with each other. In doing so Thibert looks back to the origins of both ideas and their respective strengths and shortcomings.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Gordon Price used his Prince Points column this week to talk about the drawn out of history of a West End Vancouver condominium proposal. That the final proposal will likely result in the loss of a heritage building shows how extended community consultation must be accompanied with a willingness to compromise. Christine McLaren, resident blogger with the BMW Guggenheim Lab, tells the story of a trip to the first post-war planned suburb of Levittown, New York and subsequent interactions with leading authors with ideas of how to retrofit it. As part of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment planners are predicting a 2-3% cycling modal share for sporting events. In his first post for Spacing, Alex Devries examines the issues with this prediction and suggests the infrastructure that will be needed to meet this ambitious goal. Alex Baltz looks at the fascinating story of two downtown Ottawa schools that were slated for closure as recently as 2004 but are now desperately searching for expansion plans. The story raises questions about how planners think about downtown schools as intensification policies begin to bear fruit. This week's installment of The Sunday Building Project comes complete with anecdotes about the first substantial snowfall in Montreal this year and how winter serves as a test of the true passion of Montrealers. Guillaume St-Jean uses the Montage du Jour feature to look back in history at the changing face of the intersection of Rue Saint-Catherine Ouest and Rue Guy.

Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region. Vancouver's Director of City Planning, Brent Toderian, shares his take on the early results of an exciting public design and ideas competition to re-imagine the city's downtown road viaducts. Links are provided to the submissions in the reCONNECT design contest. Urban Screens with interactive facades, buildings projections and networked communication are spreading to all kinds of urban environments around the world. Erick Villagomez showcases a an event held this week to discuss the issue of how these projections positively engage audiences and contribute to the experience of society. Of course, this week also saw the conclusion of the municipal election in Vancouver. Spacing was quick to provide interesting analysis and cartographic representation of the results. With the City of Ottawa pushing ahead with plans to widen Bronson Ave, Spacing looks at how the traffic artery currently harms the downtown urban fabric and where concerned people can voice criticism of the project. As part of the Screen Grab feature, Evan Thornton reflects on his new insights on the social history of Ottawa gleaned from the pages of  Alain Miguelez's extensive book on the history of theaters in the city. Emile Thomas shares a recent experience which revealed his deep and previously unbeknownst daily relationship with the neighbours in his building. Thomas uses this as an opportunity to reflect on how to treat ones neighbours and expectations of urban living. This week's Sunday Building Project offers up a little piece of the town of Mount Royal with a heavy theme of the city as provider, of curbside freebies.