Bike Tour

Friday we got to go on a really cool bike tour with Scott Hein who is one of the main city planners for Vancouver. It was great taking a tour with someone who knows the city like the back of his hand. We rode around for about 4 hours stopping and looking at the olympic village, chinatown, the new energy plant, and some of the only remaining victorian houses in vancouver (these i will post pictures of later since it started to rain at this point of the tour).

Below is a picture of one of the buildings in the Olympic Village. Scott said only one developer was hired for the job since they were short on time. It was cool hearing about the process they went through - like how they have certain requirements for the building heights in that area and limitations on how the buildings were all to look. They were in the process of redoing some of the buildings and fixing the outdoor spaces, post-olympics. May 1st is the opening date for the apartments - apparently half of the units are sold already. In the front is a glimpse of this cool pedestrian bridge all made of steel, and shaped like a bean, so in the middle it gets wider. They have a small amphitheater behind it made from huge square pieces of stone and they're planning on having concerts and stuff out there - and the stage would be a barge/boat that would come in.



Next to the village was this giant Bioswale (which is basically a ditch for rainwater to get filtered through before it hits the stormwater system). It was huge and really well done. They used big steel "C" channels that act like a slide for the water to travel down. This is also another part of the city where they placed a park to help the land that is toxic due to old industrial sites. They also created a small island in front of the village made from dirt from the excavations of the new buildings. It's all plants that help the soil and they include tall tree stumps to bring in bald-eagles.



Dad would like this part - they built a brand new energy facility for the olympic village that will also contribute to the surrounding area once it's developed. But they use the heat and energy from the sewage system and convert it for the energy for buildings. SO COOL!!! and then the steam release goes up and out of these pipes (below). There are led panels on the top that change color due to energy use (red for high and blue for low). The building is located under the freeway so when people drive by they can see the lights on. I really liked this!





The guy in the white shirt with his rain jacket unzipped is our professor Stephen Duff and in the green jacket is Scott Hein. This is on the south end of the city, looking into downtown near where we are staying now.

Week 3

Meet my new friend! I was sitting here sketching and he came up and started walking towards me. It was funny, I was reaching into my bad trying to find my camera and he was tilting his head like "are you getting me food?" haha.

So on Granville Island is a park that doesn't get a lot of people action. It's basically a mound with undulating steps (all in grass) that form a small amphitheater. Long story short, it's a parking mess on this side of the island, and doesn't attract a lot of visitors since there isn't much to do. We found out it's all toxic soil that they built up and threw some grass over! I think the whole island is this way, but this is where most of it is. It's about 30 feet tall and below is a picture of the view from the top. It's a quiet place and you can get up off the island and see the city 360 degrees around.

Last night Ali, Michael and our friend Bart packed a picnic and went down to the waterfront. It was a little chilly, but not bad at all. Such beautiful scenery looking out into the water with huge shipping boats just waiting out there and then behind is the picture below. It's pretty seeing all the lights at night - even though it is completely opposite of everything Nevada City. haha.

We had a lecture today from a man named Lance Berelowitz. He just finished a book called Dream City. It's about the history of Vancouver and how the urban planning has developed. It was cool hearing about the history and everything from old industrial-site development to how Vancouver doesn't generate a lot of revenue from retail. But people in other countries are hiring city planners from here to redo their cities! Some girl today also said that it's hard to find someone here who was actually born here - maybe 1 in every 20 - which is crazy to think about...

First couple of weeks

Greetings from Canada.

It's been a couple of weeks since we've been in Vancouver and it has been amazing. The people are so nice and the scenery is breathtaking. The only downside is that everything is much more expensive.

Finally made it all the way around Stanley Park. It's about 10 miles, but completely worth it. There are raccoons that approach you for food and black squirrels that roam around. There is only one way around the park, and people will let you know if you're not going the right way. I also never knew rollerblading was still in. Everyone rollerblades around the park!! I loved rollerblading so next weekend, that's my plan.

Below is a picture of Granville Island Public Market. This place is pretty cool. Smaller than I pictured, but lots of variety. Lots of different kinds of food, but for some reason, nothing is exceptionally good. I like my own cooking better. The island is unique - small with a large art scene. Definitely a fun place to do school work and get lots of inspiration.

In the background is Mt. Fromme where Grouse Mountain and Cypress Mountain are. This side of Vancouver is gorgeous!! You're in the city, but looking into the wilderness! I love it. And floater planes take off from this bay, so that's always fun to watch. Hopefully I'll make it hiking up here, we're still planning on how to get out of the city since we don't have cars...