by David Frisch | Aug 5, 2015 | Blog, News
The “A healthy city for all: Vancouver’s Healthy City Strategy 2014 - 2025” page on the City of Vancouver’s website made for a very interesting read. Have a look at the excerpt from the background section of the page below… David Frisch Work leading up to this Healthy City Strategy Historically, urban planning and public health came together to address the most pressing challenges of the new industrial cities of the 19th century, which were marked by overcrowding, unsanitary and inhumane conditions, and rampant disease. Increasingly, urban planning and public health are re-connecting to address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century city – such as growing income inequality, increasingly unaffordable housing, and significant mental health and addiction issues. These and other complex issues are bringing the need for holistic healthy city planning once again to the fore. Visit the page on the City of Vancouver's...
by David Frisch | Jul 14, 2015 | News
Original article from the Comox Valley Record. Posted Jul 13, 2015 at 2:00 PM – Scott Stanfield, Record staff Several area residents would like to retain the sidewalk on the north side of Second Street between Cliffe and Duncan during a street reconstruction project. City staff say the sidewalk cannot remain in place as the road cross section is being adjusted for a new curb and gutter. “Some people in our community, including myself, feel like we should be moving towards more walkability, and here we are taking away some infrastructure that facilitates that,” Coun. David Frisch said at the July 6 meeting. He suggests a solution might be to narrow Second Street. According to a survey, 70 per cent of 130 responses indicate support for proposed traffic calming measures on the street. “We can’t ever make everyone happy,” Mayor Larry Jangula...
by David Frisch | Jul 6, 2015 | News
I was recently approached by the CVRD about my post about making life simpler and simpler by switching over to a single, electric car for our family’s needs. They are currently running a great initiative to promote adding public transit into your existing transportation plan. The idea is pretty simple. Next time you take the bus, take a selfie and post it to Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter with #In2Transit and you could win monthly prizes. You can view more information about this initiative at http://comoxvalleyrd.ca/in2transit. Many thanks to Dan from D See Productions for his work on creating this video with...
by David Frisch | May 11, 2015 | Blog, News
How using public spaces effectively leads to vibrant cities The key to a vibrant city is its people. When those people have access to livable spaces where they can socialize, conduct trade and connect with nature, a vibrant city is created. Public spaces play an important role in creating vibrant, livable cities. Italians have their piazzas, the French have Les Place, and Mexicans have their Plazas. These spaces have played an important role in the social, political and economic life of people for centuries, and they continue to do so today. But these aren’t foreign ideas. Quebec City’s Petit-Champlain and Victoria’s Bastian Square and Charlottetown’s Victoria Row are examples of economically and socially successful public spaces. The New York City Example New York City is a prominent example of a municipality that has invested in its public spaces and, as a result, strengthened its communities, the businesses that serve those communities and the city’s economy. For nearly a decade, New York City has been recreating its street spaces to include urban design enhancements such as distinctive paving, landscaping, pedestrian-scale street lighting and public art. Benches, tables and chairs are now found on streets throughout the city, along with dedicated lanes for people traveling by bike, landscaped pedestrian islands and more efficient curbside regulations. The lesson from New York City is clear: by creating public spaces that are destinations in their own right, the city increased patronage of local businesses, expanded employment opportunities and spurred reinvestment in all types of neighbourhoods. At the same time, they subtly encouraged residents to adopt sustainable transportation methods, such as traveling by bike...
by David Frisch | Apr 22, 2015 | Blog, News
Here’s something to wet your appetite for change. An article on the world cities, including Vancouver, making a far-sighted commitment to shift to renewable energy. *Original article at: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/council-votes-unanimously-support-shift-100-renewable-energy Left: Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Right: Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann. Frankfurt is among the cities in the world that have established goals to shift away from fossil fuels by 2050. City Council made history by voting to support a shift to 100 per cent renewable energy sources, becoming the first city in Canada to take this step. In the motion, which passed unanimously, councillors directed staff to work on a package of policies that would effectively convert the entire city to run on clean and renewable energy. The motion aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region and cut rising costs due to climate change in Metro Vancouver, now pegged at $9.5 billion. In his introduction, Mayor Gregor Robertson called climate change “the most daunting and important challenge of our time.” He called the consequences of not addressing it “catastrophic” and said we can no longer wait for federal governments to act. “Cities,” he said, “as the most direct level of government, need to take action.” Green Party Councillor Adrienne Carr spoke to the importance of the decision, her voice full of emotion. “In the three years that I’ve sat here, there’s no motion that more compellingly addresses the issues that are at my heart,” she said. Carr thanked Mayor Robertson for bringing the “very visionary” motion forward, saying, “it’s pivotal for my children, for our children.” Mayor Robertson stated, that Vancouver will be “sharing knowledge, best practices and technologies”...
