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MOVments: The Usual (And Not So Usual) Suspects

Posted by: Anna Wilkinson on October 02, 2012 / 3:11 PM

Housing affordability, the Marpole Midden, local design culture, and bike sharing are just a few of the continually evolving topics we revisit with some frequency here at MOVments. This week, we look at them all from some new angles, providing fresh perspectives on UBC real estate costs, the negotiations around the Musqueam burial grounds in Marpole, the recent IDSwest Design Show, and bicycle helmet laws across the globe.
 
Buying the Ivory Tower. It looks like there's another thing we can blame on Vancouver's astronomically high housing prices: brain drain. In an effort to attract more highly-qualified faculty to our little corner of academia, the University of British Columbia plans to reduce the cost of home ownership for professors and staff to 33% below market cost. As UBC's Pascal Spothelfer says, “If you look at the housing situation on the west side of Vancouver, for any younger or new faculty member ... it would be very difficult for them to find housing affordable for them coming from other jurisdictions where housing is less expensive. From a competitive point of view, we want to make sure this doesn’t become a hiring impediment and we can continue to hire excellent faculty.”
 
No Development on Marpole MIdden. The province has made a final decision to effectively halt development on a Musqueam burial ground in the Marpole neighbourhood. Members of the Musqueam First Nation have been protesting for months against Century Group which had already begun the development of a 5-storey building on the ancient village site. While the Musqueam First Nation is celebrating this as a precedent-setting resolution, the real estate developers are not as happy, complaining that there has been no offer of compensation and that the decision could be seen as a threat to private property laws. 
 
Meaningful by Design. While the Interior Design Show West in full swing this past weekend, the Vancouver Convention Centre was filled with pretty, sleek, modern things. But the show also highlighted objects that resonated both aesthetically and emotionally (a term not often associated with "design" or "mass-production"). For example, local furniture designer Henry Sun used part of a 200-year-old tree felled in Stanley Park (for safety reasons) to create a collection he calls Amber. For Sun, the design process is about much more than aesthetics; he seeks to imbue his pieces with meaning through a feeling of rootedness and sense of place (something that a 200-year-old tree seems particularly suited for). If you had a chance to check out IDSwest let us know in the comments below!
 
Safety First? The New York Times explores the helmet-law debate surrounding bike sharing systems in this insightful piece. We've heard many of the arguments before: in cities with mandatory helmet laws there are generally fewer bike-share users and hygiene issues make helmet-sharing particularly tricky. What we found particularly interesting was the suggestion that helmets increase the perception of danger among potential users. As Ceri Woolsgrove of the European Cyclists' Federation argues, “The real benefits of bike-sharing in terms of health, transport and emissions derive from getting ordinary people to use it. And if you say this is wonderful, but you have to wear armor, they won’t. These are normal human beings, not urban warriors.” Your thoughts? Feelings?
 
At the MOVeum:
October 10 - MOV Legacy Dinner
 
[Image: Artifacts excavated from the Marpole Midden, 1931. Courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 371-2448]
Tags 
First Nations
protests
bike sharing
UBC
affordable housing
real estate
vancouver design nerds

MOVments: It's Complicated

Posted by: Anna Wilkinson on June 12, 2012 / 8:11 PM

MOVments: current events in Vancouver by the Museum of Vancouver

Kitsilano coast guard stationThis week MOVments gets messy. From dirty history to density wars, we've rounded up some of the complicated stories that make Vancouver so interesting. Read on for the nitty-gritty on Vancouver tourism, plywood protests, high-rise politics, and the logistics of bike sharing.

Vancouver's messy past. For many, Vancouver’s historical walking tours are how they come to know our city. Unsurprisingly, these tours often choose to focus on positive, uncomplicated aspects of Vancouver's past. Chances are if you take a city tour of Vancouver you won't be hearing much about the Komagata Maru or the 1907 Race Riots. In contrast, local tour guide, Jessica O'Neill, encourages tour-takers to tackle these difficult histories and argues that they make for more accurate, and ultimately more compelling tours.

The writing on the (plywood) wall(s). In a bit of synchronicity, plywood boards have recently gone up at the Kitsilano Coast Guard station, just as MOV unveils its exhibit of the 2011 Stanley Cup riot boards. Scrawling comments like "Trading dollars for lives" on the plywood boards outside the Kitsilano office, locals have been expressing their outrage at the federal government's money-saving decision to close the search-and-rescue station.

Tower power. Are high-rise developments the solution to Vancouver's sky-rocketing real-estate prices? Harvard professor Edward Glaeser says yes. His main argument: building more high-density residences will ease the gentrification of middle-income neighbourhoods and decrease suburban sprawl. Sounds simple, but as we know, the reality is anything but. For more on this issue, read about former-mayor Sam Sullivan's new found respect for Vancouver's glass towers.

The politics of sharing. As we wait to hear who wins the bid to implement the city’s bike sharing system, Vancouverites are thinking about the dirty business of sharing bike helmets. In a city with a mandatory helmet law, some argue that the idea of sharing sweaty, germy helmets is what will doom the project to failure. Meanwhile over in Montreal, an independent helmet advocate is loaning and disinfecting helmets for free for BIXI users.

At the MOVeum:
June 15 - Is This Vancouver? Reflections on the 2011 Hockey Riot Boards
June 19 - Jane’s Walk Recap and Dialogue

[Image: Plywood boards outside the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. Photo by Clive Camm]

Tags 
bike sharing
urban planning
Bixi
riot
density
walking tours

MOVments: Radicals, Transit, and a Happy New Year

Posted by: Gala Milne on January 11, 2012 / 4:16 PM

MOVments: current events in Vancouver by the Museum of Vancouver

Horse and buggy illustration (old school transit)New years resolution? Maybe do go for that jog and get your bum muscles prepared for some cycle commuting. Seems BC transit wants to increase our already ridiculously high bus fare rates, while elsewhere, innovative small businesses are figuring out ways to implement a bike sharing system in Vancouver that is conducive to our mandatory helmet laws.

Or – you can just take your laughs while you still can, and ride around public transit with your pants off until they listen!

It might even help you swing some romance in the so-called ‘cruel’ dating world of Vancouver. A recent article in VanMag has facebook and twitter alight with cat vs. dog understandings of what it’s like to find love in the city of glass. Reminds me of those videos we made a few years back citing the MOV as the perfect place for a date. What are your thoughts?

Up North, BC First Nations in Kitimaat Village, Hartley Bay, The Dogwood Initiative, and other so called “radical environmentalists” (as named by the Tories this week), are standing up for the future of their communities and the environment by participating loudly in the Northern Gateway hearings.

Down to the lower mainland, Vancouver Coastal Health is strongly considering the addition of supervised injection services at a number of its clinics.

Lastly, for a touch of mid-week inspiration, check out this rather inspiring list of the top 5 life wishes people regret during palliative care.

At the MOVeum: Come check out Neon Vancouver/ Ugly Vancouver!

(photo credit: B.C. Electric files at the Vancouver Archives.)

Tags 
transit
bc transit
bike sharing
supervised injection
vancouver
northern gateway
dating
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