Comments on: Headin’ down the road to Fat City

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:40:49 +0000

I was past Magpie today and was reminded of all the losses and displacement that isn’t being recorded in homelessness counts,doesn’t figure in to City planners discussions, and VANOC reps intentions for zero displacement in the inner city, the loss of small business and affordable ammenities. There is a business on Hastings Street near the Ovaltine Cafe, called Van China imports, the man who runs it is 90 years old, runs it with his family. They have to leave, can’t afford the new rents. The Bavaria Cafe in Gastown, cheap breakfast, couldn’t afford new rents, now 6 acres, previously Moonshine(which the city objected too, freaks.) The list is endless and invisible. The irony is that all these people and developers that buy into these neighborhoods for the qualities that you and i, and so many people love about them, simultaneously kill all those qualities, and i can’t help but think, that we somehow led them there. Artists are the precursor to gentrification all around the world, i guess its why i don’t want to call myself and artist.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:29:41 +0000

@D’Arcy & Amy – I think the mission of the Olympics to throw megabucks around to stimulate nationalist frenzies, and provide a platform for high-living schmoozing on the public tab… so the fixed location suggestion is very sensible if the idea is to promote the best in amateur sport, but that ain’t gonna happen.

@Rob – looking forward to seeing all those places again in May. (But to give you a sense of The Drive, imagine a multicultural version of that 1-2 block stretch that runs for well over a kilometer.) Then again, from what I hear about real estate prices in Saskatoon (especially in the Nutana area), the character of that neighborhood may be in for some peril itself.

@Leigh – whether it’s in my hemisphere or yours, I do look forward to meeting you.

@Phil – wow, even when I was a full-time anti-war blogger I don’t recall ever getting a LaRouche comment. It takes me back, to being 14 and watching him railing away on those half-hour national TV spots. Alas, I am too much an admirer of The Kinks, Monty Python and gin tonics to subscribe to the notion of Britain as the root of all evil.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:43:16 +0000

The flattened automobilification of Phoenix, Arizona– never once saw anything like Commercial Dr.– ever. City planners are all in the pockets of the auto dealers. Public transit is a joke. Cities are all going bankrupt due to foreclosures– and cutting deals with developers, hedge funds, foreign assets– without regard to local populations. New Orleans– case in point. The Olympics destroy cities. Without a larger perspective– of how private corporate money corrupts local city councils and bylaws– and how so-called public-private partnerships (fascism-corporativsm) is being applied on a national, state, province– and city and neighbourhood level, there’s no hope. This degeneration and corruption of society is not inevitable– to escape, read the only perspective that points to the enemy– the British Empire—>Larouche. http://www.larouchepub.com

By: leighblackall

leighblackall — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:58:25 +0000

I visited Van’ once. It was a fly by night visit of a few days. It had the impression on me that you describe here. Strangely, every since visiting, I have this urge to go back.. I think the urge comes from the disappointment in myself for not meeting up with you Blamb. Something in me says we’d get along like a house on fire, yet.. I chose to go to the mountains and ski the famous whistler. Sure I skied whistler on what was largely a very average day. I got pissed in a pub back near gastown, watching this very strange sport on ice and eating BBQ chicken wings. I browsed the shops you mentioned and became confused by the seeming affluence side by side with the desperate and homeless. The cabbies (the barometer of any city) seemed a little on the harsh side, but with a warmth inside if you could find it (and keep it). Vancouver is a shining bright city in a dark and cold wilderness. I wish I had of had a beer with Blamb

Come and visit NZ.. then on to check out Australia. But if you are still surrounded by good people and memories who love you, then that is your home.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:26:26 +0000

I have lived near the Drive for nearly 12 years, and I agree, it is losing what made it so interesting. I was about to wax nostalgic on the store and restaurants that have closed, but what’s the point? Rumour has it that housing prices are going down in London, England, so perhaps there is hope that prices in this neighbourhood won’t hit the 1 million mark.

@d’arcy – a friend of mine had that same idea to have the Olympics in two permanent venues (though he somewhat cheekily thought that the IOC should build islands to host them). Perhaps if we talk about it enough in public spaces, the idea will gain traction.

By: Rob Wall

Rob Wall — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:30:46 +0000

The same thing happened in the Old Strathcona district in Edmonton. I went to high school in the area and at the time it was a truly interesting and diverse area – bookstores that featured a wide variety of interests and genres, run down hotels with watering holes full of interesting characters, the best repertory theatre in Western Canada and a truly alternative feel to it. But the diversity of the area made it a favourite venue for art and cultural events. Having a successful fringe theatre festival in the area led to its homogenization as more people came into the area. Now it has become basically an outdoor mall. At one time it was my favourite part of the city, but now I just try to avoid it – partially to avoid the crowds, but also because it just makes me sad to think of what has been lost.

Where to go next? Broadway Ave in Saskatoon still has a diverse feel to it. Even though there is one Starbucks on the street, the good stuff still remains – Bud’s, the Broadway Theatre, the Roastery and of course Amigos is just a block away. Maybe you need to get yourself back to the Paris of the Prairies before it too gets gentrified.

By: D'Arcy Norman

D'Arcy Norman — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:05:02 +0000

It could be worse. You could live in Calgary – a city that never really had a soul, and has already been crowned “world class” (whatever that means) by hosting the ‘88 Olympics (oops! I used the O-word without obtaining legal clearance! Or paying the tithe!)

Vanrock is definitely an expensive place to live – one of the reasons I don’t live there now. But it definitely has more soul than the alternatives. Here’s hoping it survives the 2010 Global Economic Showcase of Jingoistic Multibillion-dollar “Amateur” Sport.

as an aside, I still don’t understand why the IOC doesn’t just pick 2 permanent venues, if they need to hold the Games, and just pour money into making them the best damned venues available. This insanity of pouring billions of dollars into new locations every 4 years is completely unsustainable. The Olympics are supposed to be about promoting and rewarding excellence in amateur sport, not showcasing economic and geopolitical prowess.

aside #2: the reCaptcha I got was “crude city” – not sure if it geolocated me in Calgary, or was commenting on Vanrock’s descent from Lotusland…