A Year in Five Minutes: Vancouver 1946
November 30, 2009
Service of remembrance at the Cenotaph at Victory Square in November, 1946. Photo by Jack Lindsay. Item # CVA 1184-3604.
The war was over, but a housing shortage was a big problem for the vets. The city also lost one of its most popular mayors this year.
By Chuck Davis, The History of Vancouver
Photos courtesy of Vancouver Archives
November 30, 2009 Headlines
November 30, 2009
LOCAL
‘Sustainability’ the Hot Word (Again) at NDP Convention [The Tyee]
Poverty kills: Why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? [The Vancouver Sun]
How to fight city hall and win [The Vancouver Sun]
CANADA
Alberta Shelves $2B ‘Green’ Transit [National Post]
Ottawa columnist argues HOV lanes hurt the environment [City Caucus]
INTERNATIONAL
Sales Using Food Stamps Double at Greenmarkets [The New York Times]
November 29, 2009 Headlines
November 29, 2009
LOCAL
New sails set for Vancouver icon as feds approve $21m refit [The Province]
Public rallying against park closures [The Province]
MP says last-minute Canada Pavilion contract is ‘fishy’ [The Province]
Electric-bike loans for city staff [The Province]
INTERNATIONAL
Building a ‘Decentral Park’ out of tiny nearby-nature plots [Crosscut]
Sustainability: advancement vs. apocalypse [OMA/AMO Architecture]
The Geography of Obesity [Creative Class Exchange]
Dawn of the Dead Mall [Design Observer]
November 28, 2009 Headlines
November 28, 2009
LOCAL
City hall to soon decide about Olympic Village social housing [The Vancouver Courier]
Metro warns UBC to govern itself or face contentious zoning bylaw [The Vancouver Sun]
Vancouver snow-clearing rules might get tougher [CBC]
City plan moves ahead [Burnaby Now]
The Road Ahead: Learning from Toronto [Stephen Rees's Blog]
CANADA
Hume: City’s new architecture frees Toronto the Timid [The Toronto Star]
INTERNATIONAL
The birth of modern Seattle [Crosscut]
Saving Public Housing by Building Anew [City Limits]
Hooghly: River Of Shame [Times of India]
CityCenter raises stakes on the Vegas Strip [Philadephia Inquirer]
November 27, 2009 Headlines
November 27, 2009
LOCAL
Vancouver dumps bylaw derided by activists as ‘Beijing 2.0′ [The Vancouver Sun]
Too late to change Games organizers’ plans: Eby [The Hook]
Topless women protest arts cuts outside legislature [CTV]
Farmyard out to pasture, conservatory up in the air [The Vancouver Sun]
Focus groups aim to ‘thoughtfully’ resolve housing issues [The Vancouver Sun]
INTERNATIONAL
First osmosis power plant goes on stream in Norway [New Scientist]
Underground Psychology [Slate]
What Will It Take for Caltrans to Decide to “Fix-It-First?” [L.A. Streetsblog]
November 26, 2009 Headlines
November 26, 2009
LOCAL
Redevelopment Project Doubles as Social Experiment [The New York Times]
Walking, biking good for you and the planet: Study [Vancouver Sun]
Cost Comparisons of Transportation modes [Stephen Rees's Blog]
Prize-winners rise from brownfields [The Globe and Mail]
Wind-power project fuels divisive debate among Haida [The Globe and Mail]
Art project will light up Vancouver skyline [The Vancouver Sun]
Protesters get a new guide in time for Games [The Vancouver Sun]
Proposed shelter law really a ‘Kidnap the Homeless Act’: group [The Vancouver Sun]
Councillor aims wrecking ball at Georgia, Dunsmuir viaducts [The Vancouver Courier]
Theatre group stages homelessness play, discussion [The Vancouver Courier]
Vancouver Park Board votes to close two landmarks [CTV]
CANADA
Fixing a Broken City [Metropolis Magazine]
Canada To Provide C$63M Funding For Carbon Capture Pipeline [The Wall St. Journal]
INTERNATIONAL
Portland’s not a global city — luckily [The Oregonian]
Conservation is seen as key to dealing with state’s water woes [The Los Angeles Times]
The walking paths of Brasilia [Discovering Urbanism]
The Decline: The Geography of a Recession [American Observer]
Release: Vectorial Elevation to light up Vancouver nights during 2010 Winter Games
November 25, 2009
A City of Vancouver and VANOC joint release
Vancouver, BC — Beams of light pointed towards the stars will illuminate English Bay and the night sky in downtown Vancouver this coming February as part of a Cultural Olympiad and City of Vancouver special event for the 2010 Winter Games.
Starting at dusk on February 4, 2010, 20 robotic searchlights will create a quiet canopy of light in the night sky above and on the sparkling surface of English Bay below with designs created by people around the world and delivered via the Internet. Called Vectorial Elevation, it is the first time the internationally celebrated work of art will be displayed in Canada and over a body of water.
The 10,000-watt lights will move and create patterns silently from locations in Vanier Park and Sunset Beach that cover an area of 100,000 square metres and be visible within 15 kilometres of the city’s downtown core, stretching to Richmond, the peaks of Cypress and Grouse mountains and freighters and boats on the water.
This large-scale temporary public art installation is co-commissioned by the City of Vancouver’s Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, with support from the Province of Quebec. The installation — considered one of the world’s largest interactive artworks — is by Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and is part of CODE, the Cultural Olympiad’s Digital Edition.
“As Host City for the 2010 Winter Games, we’re happy to collaborate with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and the Province of Quebec to bring this amazing artwork to Vancouver,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Vectorial Elevation is a unique, magical work that local residents, visitors and people from around the world can enjoy. The installation will not only brighten our night skies, but also bring the Games to the world in an unexpected, interactive way.”
More than two million people are expected to view the installation in person in Metro Vancouver, as well as internationally via www.vectorialvancouver.net or www.vancouver2010.com/code. The event runs regardless of the weather until February 28, 2010.
Visitors to www.vectorialvancouver.net can design how the lights will move, their angles and how they are clustered in timed sequences to create their own patterns for the world to see. A personalized webpage will be automatically created for each participant to document their design. Organizers estimate 130,000 different patterns will be created in the 24 days the project operates from dusk to dawn.
“Vectorial Elevation is world-renowned and we wanted to see its majestic choreography unfold over Canadian skies for the very first time as part of the 2010 Winter Games,” said Burke Taylor, vice president of culture and celebrations for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “Lozano-Hemmer’s inspired work manifests the spirit of connectivity that we want to convey through the entire CODE project. It’s about using the power of digital technology to include the world in our celebrations.”
A real-time video stream of the work from four cameras placed around English Bay can be accessed on the Internet. Those who opt to create patterns can also send a personal dedication to friends or a sweetheart anywhere in the world at www.vectorialvancouver.net. The project was developed in consultation with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
“Vectorial Elevation is a quiet, contemplative display of light sculptures that will connect many countries around the world with Vancouver. When I saw English Bay I knew it would be the perfect spot to create our largest canopy of light to date and for the first time we are also able to use renewable energy,” said Montreal-based Lozano-Hemmer.
Previously, the installation was staged in Mexico, Spain, Ireland, and France where it received accolades such as Lyon’s prestigious Trophée des Lumières.
***
About the City of Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program
The City of Vancouver’s Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program is an ambitious collection of newly commissioned temporary and permanent artworks for 2010. The program includes more than 20 public art projects, spanning large-scale legacy installations and artist-initiated works. For more information about the Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program, visit the Creative City section of the Host City website.
About the Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is a series of multidisciplinary festivals and digital programs showcasing the best in Canadian and international arts and popular culture. Launched in 2008, the program culminates in the 60-day Cultural Olympiad 2010 (January 22 to March 21, 2010), which begins before and continues throughout the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. CODE is the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and global audiences through the use of digital technology.
November 25, 2009 Headlines
November 25, 2009
LOCAL
Robotic searchlights to light up Vancouver sky during Olympics [Vancouver Sun]
B.C. home affordability takes a hit as prices climb in hot market: RBC [Vancouver Sun]
‘Natural Growth: The Story of Dockside Green’ [Aclara Promotions]
B.C. power project hits another roadblock [Globe and Mail]
CANADA
Earth’s greenhouse gases reach record highs [CBC News]
Here comes the neighbourhood [Globe and Mail]
Toronto transit halts sales of tokens to stop hoarding [Globe and Mail]
INTERNATIONAL
Architect speaks out against modernism [Pasadena Star]
A Recipe for Slums [Next American City]
State ready to fill in Big Dig’s missing links [Boston News]
Cities full of unfilled architectural dreams [San Francisco Chronicle]
California City [BLDG BLOG]
Restoring saltwater, and nature, to the Nisqually River estuary [Crosscut]
Snøhetta Works
November 24, 2009
“These projects and descriptions together have been selected to show the wide range, at times informal directions, and sheer energy of some of Snøhetta’s influential designs for architecture, landscape, and interiors during the past two decades.”
- from the foreword to Snøhetta Works
Editors: Snøhetta (Lars Müller Publishing - 2009)
Reviewed by Sean Ruthen
November 24, 2009 Headlines
November 24, 2009
LOCAL
A tale of two cities’ crossings: different takes on congestion [DJC Oregon]
Green group questions economic sense of hydrogen buses [Stephen Rees's Blog]
Games prompt rebirth of Robson Square rink [Globe and Mail]
B.C. lags on child poverty, report says [Vancouver Sun]
City tree-planting program facing the axe [Vancouver Sun]
INTERNATIONAL
New park life [The Age]
Towering plan for new S.F. skyline unveiled [San Francisco Chronicle]
The Architect as Totalitarian [City Journal]
Sex Offenses on the Subways Are Widespread, City Officials Are Told [The New York Times]
New Geoengineering Idea: Turning Deserts into Forests [The Dirt]
To Thrive, Suburbs Might Become More Urban [S.F. Streets Blog]
Even icons have to move with the times [Sydney Morning Herald]
