CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
Re-imagine alleys in a major city for just a minute.
Can you do it?
They’re generally grungy, dark, dank places that you never want to enter let alone think about.
Well, think again. Ackery’s Alley and Alley Oop are two back lanes that have been transformed from forgotten spaces where trash gets picked up and deliveries are made in the day and dumpster divers, drug users and sex workers roam at night. In downtown Vancouver there approximately 240 alleys — that’s about 180,000 square meters of publicly owned land. Reclaiming those public spaces in an ever-expanding city is a needed improvement. Yes, you heard that right — public space. I know you’re asking: For whom?
Well, you and me and Korean pop stars.
You may have seen the YouTube sensation where the K-Pop group Twice used the refurbished Alley Oop as one of its Vancouver backdrops. When I wrote this, there were just shy of 76 million views.
Density is forcing us to find space, but more importantly, it’s forcing us to be innovators in the creation of livable space.
We sat down with Charles Gauthier of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association to ask him what was the motivation for this project, why it’s important and what the value is to all of us who call the city home — not just the businesses he represents. We also talk to Alexandra Kenyon of the design firm HCMA about why they leapt at the opportunity to donate their services to this project? What does it say about the way we’re reshaping downtown.
And we also sat down with Alex Beim, the artist who sees revitalized alleys as a way to get people to interact and talk to one another for a Conversation That Matters about alleyways as public spaces. Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.
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