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”...
by David Frisch | Apr 10, 2015 | Blog, News
I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Higher Ground Conference in Vancouver - Tools for Inspired Leaders by the Centre for Civic Governance. *Click on the image below to learn more about the...
by David Frisch | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog, News
By 11:41am on January 2, the first official working day of the year, Canada’s top 100 CEOs have already pocketed $47,358 — what it takes most Canadians an entire year, working full-time, to earn.* By the end of 2013, Canada’s top 100 CEOs had pocketed an average of $9.2 million. At this rate, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs make 195 times more than the average Canadian worker—and 237 times the average Canadian woman. Keep an eye on our pay clock to keep track of who’s making what, and find out more in our report, Glory Days: CEO pay in Canada soaring to pre-recession heights. The report includes a list of Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs. *Based on 2013 CEO compensation data and the 2013 average Canadian wage. Amount displayed based on your current time zone. January 2, 2015 Interactive Tools Offices: National Office Issue: Employment and labour – Inequality and poverty – Women’s equality Projects: Growing Gap - See more at:...
by David Frisch | Feb 23, 2015 | Blog, News
Now that I’ve been acting as a Courtenay Councillor (hopefully with increasing competency!) for close to three months, people often ask me, “is the job what you expected?” I’ll tell you what I tell them all, “it’s better!” It appears to me that Courtenay has a council and staff that are capable of, and motivated to, make great changes for the long term benefit of the city. I am impressed with how council is making wise decisions based on facts and with a focus on the future. And it’s high time, too! We need to consider the needs of our retirees, but also of great importance, we need to consider the needs of our young people and future generations. This requires a more creative approach to resource management and infrastructure investments. It also means that we must start living like social justice, environmental sustainability, and financial responsibility are inextricably connected. This is the job that I was running for, and I’m happy to report that I am joined by others that are equally motivated. Thanks for your support, now let’s get to work. Here’s a video that speaks to my...
by David Frisch | Feb 6, 2015 | Blog, News
We were sitting on drywall buckets, back in 2006, eating our lunch in one of the dusty condominium units under construction. My tile-setting coworker and I covered a lot of territory on lunch break discussions; lots of shop talk, pastime stuff, money, and of course the politics of relationships; but on this day we asked, “Why doesn’t anyone talk about global warming?” Our vexation stemmed from just a few basic facts: Firstly, we learned about human caused global warming in grade 10 geography, so it seemed like nothing new (in fact, the idea has been around since the 1930’s and gained scientific attention in the 1970’s). Secondly, at that time, as we ate our lunch, an overwhelming majority of the world’s scientists agreed that global warming could be attributed to humans burning fossil fuels. And lastly, it was widely reported that the effects of global warming were, and would continue, causing considerable difficulties and costs to citizens everywhere. So, it really seemed obvious that actions should be taken. Through our discussions, what we came to believe was that we as a society seemed to be like frogs in boiling water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog). Well, as the wiki suggests, I now believe we were wrong. Since my election in November I have witnessed how the actions of voters have created local governments around North America that are willing to take real steps to mitigate global warming aka climate change. And not only have we started dialogue about the cost of global warming and environmental degradation, but we have a mayor and council that is willing to examine the status quo. We have open...
by David Frisch | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, News
As the City of Courtenay works to create it’s first Asset Management Plan, I am encouraged to learn that it will allow all of us to better plan for a sustainable future. I think this plan will give us a better understanding of the true cost of our roads, sewer, water, and hopefully natural assets, like watersheds, estuary, and other ecosystems, that make our valley so great! The Town of Gibson has gone so far as to include natural assets (albeit not yet as a dollar figure) in their financial statements – http://www.gibsons.ca/eco-assets. What will we do?...
