Feature Article
Goodbye Arthur Erickson

Faculty Club Garden, UBC
Text and photos by Sean Ruthen, re:place magazine
As a musician studying architecture at UBC over a decade ago, I was not overly surprised at that time to discover that singer-songwriter Paul Simon was also a musician with an architectural background. Simon was 18 years old when Frank Lloyd Wright passed away in 1959, an event which compelled him to write the song ‘Goodbye Frank Lloyd Wright’ with his musical partner Art Garfunkle. And so similarly, with the new president of the Architectural Institute of BC, Pierre Gallant, having written a poignant summation of Mr. Erickson’s career on his passing, as well as numerous other pieces in the national papers, including a piece by City of Vancouver’s head of planning Brent Toderian and an editorial in the latest Vancouver Magazine, I too would like to write a song on the passing of one of the profession’s great master builders. Read the story »
Books
Skytrain Explorer
Author: John Atkin (Steller Press, 2005)
Everything is walking distance if you have the time.
-Steven Wright, Comedian and Actor
This is how Vancouver historian and walking-tour guide John Atkin starts his 2005 Vancouver guide Skytrain Explorer: Heritage Walks From Every Station, and hints at the way the author upholds walking as an essentials means of exploring. Written as a carry-along guide for short walking tours around the fifteen stations serviced in common by the Expo and Millenium Lines, the book takes explorers through tiny pockets of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster. Read the story »
Cartographically Speaking
Kingsway: Building footprint figure-ground
By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
(Map courtesy of ENDS 402_w09 class, digital format © 2009 - class individuals named at the end)
Kingsway is one of the most significant streets in Metro Vancouver. With its rich history that pre-dates European arrival and its unique diagonal urban structure spanning three municipalities, its importance has not diminished over time. Quite the opposite, in fact. Read the story »
TransitFan
Becoming an expert transit rider
True expertise in riding a transit system takes time, patience, and lots of careful observation. It is not achieved overnight. Read the story »
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In Other News
July 3, 2009 Headlines
LOCAL
Little Mountain demolition begins but a resident stays put [The Vancouver Observer]
Mayor eyes car-free bridge to downtown [The Vancouver Sun]
Province says Little Mountain not worth saving [The Vancouver Courier]
Critics target traffic calming philosophy [The Vancouver Courier]
Riding move to BC could net Greens first MP: May [The Hook]
Coalition proposes $450 million dollar transit solution [City Caucus]
What backroom deal got us the Olympics? [The Vancouver Observer]
INTERNATIONAL
McMansions Out of Favor, for Now [The Wall St. Journal]
Subway Fares Around the World [StreetsBlog]
Study Finds Northwest Using Less gas [KPLU]
B.C. carbon tax boosts prices at gas pump [CBC News]
Portland’s neighborhoods associations flex their muscles [The Oregonian]
July 2, 2009 Headlines
LOCAL
City says shelter users finding their way to hotel rooms [The Vancouver Courier]
Fence erected around Jericho Wharf [The Vancouver Courier]
Laws enable Olympic evictions: advocate [The Georgia Straight]
Metro Vancouver coalition pushes for $450 million for public transit [Vancouver Sun]
TransLink Struggles to Get Public on Board with 10-Year Plan [The Vancouver Observer]
INTERNATIONAL
Green light for TriMet’s MAX Green Line [The Oregonian]
Organic Farms as Subdivision Amenities [The New York Times]
The mobility of space [San Francisco Guardian]
Strains in the green-growth coalition [Crosscut]
After Peak Oil and Global Warming [On The Commons]
The Public Market Renaissance [GOOD Magazine]










