It’s 4:30 pm, Wednesday. People are now assembling in front of screens, many in public places, to watch the Game. In a few hours, win or lose, Vancouverites will express themselves in the streets of the city.
Director of Planning Brent Toderian has just posted his thoughts – “confirming my long-held theory that winning (or even competing for) cups and other such championships can be very positive for a city’s urbanism.”
… a visiting urbanist, here to speak at an architectural conference this past week … shared that he was talking about Vancouver with some young professionals after the long conference day. One young lady was a student from Iran, and she noted how the excitement of the playoffs has been making her feel like a real part of the Vancouver community.
The group all noted how proud it makes them feel when they pan the crowd at a Canucks game, or in a street-crowd, and you see so many nationalities sharing in this common event. To them, the biggest success is really about celebrating civic pride and feeling part of a community.
My friend said to me, “Canada’s cities are so much about welcoming people from around the globe, rich and poor. Anything that brings us together as a community is a great thing for a city’s urbanism.”
I couldn’t agree more.
