This is a blog for those of us who care about gastown, and envision a treasured area that could evolve here. A place we could all be proud of, and above all, a public space inclusive of all. Currently, we face a goliath-meets-david challenge: the Whitecaps organization, with the bank account of a several-times-over millionaire behind it, wants to build a stadium over public waterfront space. They are jockeying and pulling every string imaginable to make it so.
We don’t have much to compete against them in terms of PR and money. We do have voices though. This is a space for our voices. It started July 22, 2007, and will incrementally include voices from all walks of life, who believe Vancouver can do better than give over public space to private interests.
It’s not about soccer. It’s not about development per se. It’s about what kind of Vancouver, what kind of Canada, this issue represents.
1 response so far ↓
gordon10 // July 22, 2007 at 9:33 pm
The gastown area is an amazing place. Full of hope, energy and vision. I am saddened to hear that after two failed attempts the Vancouver Whitecaps are pushing for yet a third location on our public waterfront.
What a waste of our public waterfront! Stadiums are about watching what is happening inside, not out. Why should one private company (lets face it sports franchises are companies – like costco or GM) be given public waterfront? With ecodensity cramming more people into the core of the City there is a greater need for more public space, not less.
Why are we only being give one option when it comes to our land? And why has there not been a longterm plan developed for this waterfront?
Imagine the City without Stanley Park, Kits beach, or the public parks of English Bay. There is so much we could do with our public downtown waterfront – what a stain on vancouver to allow our waterfront to be handed over to private interests!
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