In ancient Athens, the agora or “gathering place” was the cultural, political and commercial centre of daily life. It’s an idea whose time has come around again.
There’s been a concerted effort by the City of North Vancouver in recent years to reintroduce its citizens to their public spaces for the purpose of having some good clean fun.
Last weekend’s Fun City Festival with the 1,000-foot-long waterslide is probably the most visible example but there are others: restaurant patio seating where parking spaces used to be, outdoor children’s movies in the city’s plaza, pianos placed in the streets inviting strangers to come tickle their ivories. The Shipyards are under development and, more modestly, there are amusing wayfinding signs painted onto the Green Necklace.
Inevitably, there are the naysayers and curmudgeons, ready to call the fun police at the first sight of someone enjoying themselves. Don’t pay them much mind. We feel these efforts by the city are to be commended and we encourage more of them.
That said, we sympathize with the small business owners who feel they were negatively affected by the recent festival, though we see their concerns largely as problems that can be mitigated with some effort and co-ordination by organizers and businesses, not reason to toss out the baby with the slide water.
Increasingly, our population is living in smaller homes without yards. This makes our streets, our plazas and our sidewalks all the more important as gathering spots. In city planning jargon, it’s known as placemaking, and we say the time is now and the place is here.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
