Facing tremendous economic pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vancouver’s businesses have sought creative solutions to help people feel safe and comfortable while they reopen. In Vancouver, a number of local craft breweries proposed to transform parking spaces into patios over the summer of 2020. The City of Vancouver responded by permitting breweries, cafes and restaurants to temporarily transform parking spaces into patios and offer additional outdoor seating. The program was… Continue reading
Downtown Vancouver is home to 70,000 people and provides employment to 140,000 people at more than 8,000 businesses. While Vancouverites are living and working closer together, many are feeling further apart than ever before. People are connected digitally, but isolated from their neighbours. They have access to more amenities, but their public spaces are becoming more crowded. Happy City is working with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) on… Continue reading
How can cities encourage people to get outside, move with comfort, and have fun while staying safe and maintaining social distancing? By re-allocating road space for people! On May 11, 2020, the City of New Westminster passed the Streets for People in 2020 motion, which City Staff to accelerate already planned reallocations of road space. Streets for People in 2020 was an initiative to support more lingering, walking, wheeling, and… Continue reading
Canada’s main streets are the hearts of our communities. They are the places we go to work, shop, gather, and play. Restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 have hit main streets in cities and towns hard. Many small businesses have shuttered. Thousands more are grappling with an uncertain future. We need to act now to save these vital civic spaces. But if we want to make local commercial areas… Continue reading
How much joy can we pack into city spaces? 