World Urban Forum Alternative
By Richard Eriksson on May 31, 2006 - 3:39pm
In June I'll be attending the World Urban Forum here in Vancouver, but Karen pointed me towards an article in The Tyee about an alternative called "Dialogue of Cities", a three-part seminar talking about urban planning and architecture in major cities world wide culminating with a final event reviewing Vancouver in comparison. (I missed it the first time because the teaser doesn't mention the WUF.) The organizers specifically mention the WUF as a model they wish to counter, believing that the WUF is top-heavy with policy wonks (I have a special place in my heart for policy, so in that respect I look forward to WUF) and propose "Dialogue of Cities" with people who have actually built cities (or contributed to their building) as an alternative. I just signed up for the third seminar this Saturday, not being able to make the first two, and will try to take photos and notes. If anybody else is going to the first two, I'd love to read about it either here on Urban Vancouver or on their weblogs, which I should find through a PubSub feed for "Dialogue of Cities". I've also created a special report here on UV.
Some more links:
- Buy tickets at Festival Box Office
- Press release and symposium program [PDF]
- Museum of Anthropology information on "Dialogue of Cities"
- Event listings on Urban Vancouver: day 1, day 2, day 3
I love British Columbia, and especially Vancouver - but I've always
thought that our urban planners are about 30 years behind the ones
in Toronto when it comes to taking the next step, and actually
accomplishing what's been planned. Toronto had 12-lane expessways
about 30 years ago, while Vancouver had horse=and-buggy type roads,
narrow bridges, congested downtown traffic, and an attitude that if
we didn't like it, why did we hang around... And we've been playing
a poor game of "catch up" ever since. Our urban planners need to get
off their drawing-board stools, and get on with it, because today
is the tomorrow we didn't quite plan for yesterday!
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