It is work-from-home day 83 and counting for the team at CityStudio Vancouver, and we are beginning to look forward to a slow and deliberate return to the studio over the coming weeks and months.
With another Spring term in the books we are now intensifying our response, recovery and rebuilding work with partners, increasing our understanding of resilience in the wake of COVID-19. The entire CityStudio Network has been adapting to new normals in their cities, providing the opportunity for all of us to reflect on two important questions: (1) What do you miss, and (2) What will you miss?
As we move into the summer and prepare for the Fall and Spring terms online, we’d like to share what we’ve been working on since January, with great appreciation and respect for the accomplishments of the City staff, students, faculty as well as the CityStudio staff and board.
THE VANCOUVER PROGRAM
89 New Projects in Vancouver
This past term, the Vancouver Program developed 89 new projects, co-created by 372 students working with 27 City staff, all contributing to a more sustainable, liveable, joyful and inclusive Vancouver. One project of note is The Success of Pacific Herring Net Deployment in False Creek which was the People’s Choice winner at the spring HUBBUB project showcase, and was the second iteration of this project in collaboration with the Squamish Streamkeepers. A second project of note is the 7 Symbols of Granville, which explored the transient nature of Granville street, with a focus on how to design for greater inclusivity. See more projects here.
Engaging our Community
We held ‘HUBBUB 14: The Digital Edition,’ as our first entirely online project showcase featuring a lively week-long Facebook event where visitors discussed and voted on projects. Visit the showcase here to see the Spring 2020 projects, the City staff and faculty Wall of Awesome, and more.
HUBBUB wasn’t our only online event. We also hosted our 2020 Project Development Workshop, welcoming eight City staff to share project ideas across various departments at City Hall. This resulted in 64 potential projects, with more coming in through our online City staff and faculty submission forms.
Lastly, we are very excited to once again support the SFU Semester in Dialogue’s Department of Living studio course, this time in its online adaptation.
CITYSTUDIO GLOBAL
Launching the CityStudio Network
These are exciting times as we prepare to officially launch the CityStudio Global network in late June, currently home to 12 CityStudios. This platform is one of the many important and key deliverables in our work supported by McConnell and the Vancouver Foundation, and will allow all CityStudios to collaborate, connect and share projects.
Adding New Cities
We are also very happy to share that Chilliwack, BC and the Durham Regional Municipality in Ontario will be joining the CityStudio Network, bringing us to a total of 14 network members. Chilliwack follows Abbotsford in partnering with the University of the Fraser Valley, while the Durham Region brings their eight municipalities to partner with three local post-secondaries including: Trent University, Durham College, and Ontario Tech University.
Presenting the CityStudio Story
CityStudio will be presenting at The Urban Living Lab Summit on June 22, hosted by the Amsterdam Urban Institute. Following up on the 2019 edition of the Urban Living Lab Summit that focused on the AMS Urban Living Lab ‘Way of Working,’ this year’s theme is focused on big project tools, with CityStudio presenting our Theory of Change.
