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Appendix E: Chart of Wants + Needs
Resources + Services
“Low barrier access to programs like mental health, addiction, youth care, seniors and homeless” “Better access to public transit.” “The new development needs to be a place of intellectual life, a go-to for practical information, self-care and support, familiar and diverse foods and missing services.” Unlocking resources, unlocking markets, generation of equitable opportunities for all people Providing stability Safe-injection sites Circulation Include safe-injection site in programming Adequate access to restorative green space, universally accessible Community centre including programming for daycare, counsellors, career coaching, A place for at-risk youth, youth programs, etc. Increase number of bus stops Include a bike lane, or shaw-go bike rental area Bike storage container In the DTES, safe-injection site Insite reported regular clients were 30% more likely to enter addiction treatment, and there have been 6400 death-free overdoses, and 48,000 clinical treatment visits with no increase in drug use or crime (Chen, 2017).
Figure 100: ‘Mural Seen in Hogan’s Alley’ Digital Photograph by Samantha Miller, September 10, 2021.
“Increase in economic, political and social capital” Promote the land trust making sure this land belongs to the MST and/or HAS as a BIA Land should be seen as an investment in the community Perpetual affordability
“Land Back and Right of Return” Ensure that those who were displaced have the opportunity to return to a vibrant place that celebrates their history Aid in the returning of land to MST Phase 1: “Land Back” - Although not ideal, and understanding that Indigenous laws prohibit land ownership, a Land Trust will be created for MST Phase 2: “Immediate use” Development of ‘Leasehold properties’ using reversible construction techniques on MST Land Trust that would use Portland based policies and Copehnagen inspired facades which provide opportunities for individuality and personalisation - Using Reversible construction methods Narrower ‘alley’ like lanes to encourage comfortability in creating storefronts (backyard business) Community barbeque/kitchen Policy Based Actively shifting away from racist political structure to empower community members
Research right of return, Portland, Vienna, Israel/Palestine, see if there are recommendations for policy.
Health + Safety
“Cleanliness/maintenance” Encourage spaces that are low maintenance and look more naturalized. Policy and ecologically based Low maintenance planting, native shrubs Integrated compost in community garden, recycling Community has been systematically left-out of city-wide garbage removal, maintenance, etc. The ideas of ‘cleanliness’ and ‘manicured’ are super colonial and have historically been used against BIPOC to frame them as ‘unclean’ or ‘dirty’.
Community
“A place to be unapologetically who you are and comfortable in a space where no one will question your Blackness” Shift standards of design from eurocentric to matriarchal to community based, intergenerational spaces Comfortability - what does that look like year round, for specific people? As white people, our allyship takes the form of providing space for the community to make it their own. Multifunctional outdoor spaces that can be adaptable to a variety of needs that will be ever evolving. Comfortable and adequate lighting Adequate cover from rain and sun Playspace for children (nontraditional - maybe mounds/ earthworks, risky play, spray pad) “It wasn’t until I was in PoC-only spaces that I realized how much of myself I had cut off to fit into white culture,” one person of color in Shambhala recently told me. “So being in PoC spaces allows me to reclaim those forgotten parts of myself.” (Blackwell, 2018). “What happens in PoC spaces? Anything we want—and this is the beauty of them. We can be sources for our own nourishment and resilience. Why wouldn’t an ally be in support of this? My friend recently said, “We don’t need allies (i.e., friends); we need accomplices (i.e., partners in crime).” (Blackwell, 2018).
“Recognition of discriminatory policies in the past”
“Solidarity among residents, Indigenous, Chinese, Italian, Jewish”
“Honouring History” Explicitly discuss and critique discriminatory policies to ensure they don’t happen again.
Celebrate community members both in material and immaterial ways through cultural structures and objects.
Shifting the language from recognition to honour Celebrating the history of the community and honouring a legacy Addressed in policy critiques and in design statement Being open about the design process. We are trying to use a decolonized approach while in a colonized institution. Include an adaptable sukkah, mezuzahs at entry points Signage in multiple languages and braille Vibrancy in new laneway typology Mixes of traditional planting An array of motifs, symbology and cultural elements Community kitchen for celebrating food Commemorative signage Stories projected on surfaces (MTL has some examples) Bosque of trees, each representing a home that was destroyed by the viaduct - 50 trees (one for each home/lot) Hour the railway porters legacy through materiality and signage “Finding the off-switch for this thing” - Stephanie Allen
The NEFC Plan refers to Hogan’s Alley as “the heart of Vancouver’s Black Community.” This area was described by Wayde Compton, a member of the Hogan’s Alley Working Group, as “an immigrant enclave” that flourished with businesses and residents between the 1920s and 1960s, forming a place of cultural significance
Not going to inscribe names like other memorials or donors - a tree is a living legacy
“Soulful, vibrant spaces” Encourage spaces that celebrate the cultures of the community members, past and present. Supporting local artists, hold space for murals, public studio Chalkboard wall or technological projector to encourage children and pedestrians to draw, or to project posters of events, family photos etc. Bright paving that forms a pattern such a sound wave, that could be visible from new porch (inspired by June Callwood park) Amphitheatre space, multifunctional with low stage and integrated speakers and lighting (can be used for drum circles, events, discussions), added berm can be used for excess seating Performance spaces have microphones that can be amplified through streets, voices and song and events heard across spaces Gallery space - A place to tell their own story, with local or community-based art. “Researchers found nuisance complaints such as noise violations… were the most commonly sighted reasons for evictions, with participant accounts indicating such policies were “prejudicially enforced” among people who used drugs.” - Team Socio Economic
“Food sovereignty” “Food Gardens” Leave space for traditional land uses Helping this community create resources to sustain them in extreme weather or health crises (pandemics, floods, droughts) Designated space for gardening, small-scale agriculture, food production or wildflower garden to reconnect Black people to soil and regeneration By re-educating Black Americans about West African food and unlearning white approaches, they can get to a place where they no longer think of agriculture as bad.” Regenerative agriculture and cultural regeneration go hand in hand” (Green, 2020). In addition to re-connecting with their landscape heritage in an affirming way, the goal is for residents to generate revenue and increase self-sufficiency” (Green, 2020).
Form Making
“Do not reinforce barriers” “Solid and grounding emotional gateway into spaces” Thresholds - not gates, entrances or boundaries Soft transitions/thresholds between spaces Naturalistic, informal planting Embracing forms as you enter spaces in the park No park hours - anyone, anytime - fire pits for outdoor hangouts Maps and boundaries have historically been used to control a space and dominate a people, as they were tools to “communicate the understanding of an inhabited territory as well as to transport knowledge of a remote, newly discovered place to a central governing place” (Davila, 2019). There is a lacking sense of welcome and landing in Vancouver - lack of Indigenous Protocol that helps us land in a space
“Design that defies gravity - views from height”
“Gathering spaces to sit, gather, watch”
“Recognize the importance of porches as a place of connection for community” Create semi-inclosed and inclosed spaces so the community feels comfortable. Informal gathering spaces. Making semi-private, enclosable, spaces, adaptable/dynamic spaces Porches allow for families to extend their home and personalities beyond the walls of the home: provide spaces that the community can make their own and express personality Highline-type structure Raised pedestrian path connected spaces above main, protects beneath Interactive shadow installation down from raised path down to ground Vertical planting/green wall Equal consideration for indoor and outdoor space, formal and informal uses “The host house”
Proposed housing has a back-lane with porches and leave fronts for storefront and balconies above Various porch scales, from terraces - individual house porches, big pedestrian walkway with seating Public park space has prospect refuge - trees backed up against benches, looking toward public spaces “Architecture that defies gravity, like Black history; iconic without being elitist; something that draws people in, creative, open” - HAWGR
Porches assert personal sovereignty and ownership, distance from political and institutional structures
Theme (Wants + Needs) Goal Design Response/ Application Logic
Ecology
“Environmental Resilience & Stewardship”
“Wellness centered around nature” Protecting this land for future generations Shifting from eurocentric perspectives of exploitation to Indigneous and Black traditional land use and ownership Salvaging materials - specifically from viaduct for shoreline Policies for exterior and interior air quality and quality of materials Daylight stream, shoreline stabilization, rainwater harvesting, flood resistance design, drought resistance, erosion protection. Street trees, rain gardens Access to waterfront Water flowing through site - symbolic of stream thats lost Informative signage about plant species and traditional uses Winding paths, berms for moments of pause Lots of planting, Indigenous planting Increase connection to the land increases a sense of ownership and responsibility
“In pre-colonial times and today, the right combination of land and water characteristics creates optimal conditions to support a community and its cultural and spiritual identity” (Beacham, 2017).
Figure 101: ‘Canopy’ Digital Photograph by Nicole Dulong, September 10, 2021.
