Placemaking In Other Places

I've traveled quite a bit for work and for pleasure over the past several months. Below are some of the funnest examples of peacemaking that I've come across.

Benches and bears in Whistler, BC

Basketball hoops in Victoria, BC

Vibrant alleys in Kelowna, BC

Five Books For Planners, That Aren't About Planning

There are a lot of great books about city and urban planning out there, and I highly recommend you read as many as you can. However, an old mentor of mine once suggested that to avoid overdosing on planning literature, I should read books using the following cycle:

• Read a planning related book
• Read a non-planning related non-fiction book (e.g. a biography)
• Read a fiction book (e.g. a Ken Follett book)
• Repeat

Below is a list of my top five favourite non-planning related books that provide great insight to the planning profession.

1. The Social Animal by David Brooks
A major part of any planning profession is to better understand why humans do what they do. Through a great storytelling method, this book tries to make sense of the craziness of human behaviour. Witty and sharp, this book tells the story of two individuals over the course of their lifetime and exposes the power of our conscious and unconscious minds. The book provokes a lot of good discussion about how we make decisions, our hidden biases and the role of social interaction. Being a good planner is about understanding human behaviour, and this book is a great starting point.

2. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The author of this book won a Nobel Prize for economics. Therefore, you will feel instantly smarter the moment you hold this book in your hands. And then once you start actually reading the words, you'll discover a detailed, articulate and easily digestible book on behavioural economics. In a nutshell, the book summarizes the two systems that drive the way we think and make choices: System One is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System Two is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Examining how both systems function, the author exposes the dynamic processes involved with our thoughts and choices. As it relates to the planning field, this book offers a fantastic perspective on the nature of why people react the way they do to proposed changes (see: NIMBYism).

3. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman
A former planning colleague of mine recommended this book to me. I'm glad she did. The book is a collection of the famous physicist's best anecdotes which range from the development of the nuclear bomb to his days as a painter. The book is loaded with reflective-pause-inducing wisdom and his passion for life is contagious. Perhaps the most important takeaway though is his constant curiosity and passion for the truth. Never stop exploring and don't ever be afraid to ask "Why?".

4. On Writing Well by William Zinsser
One of the most important skills that any planner can have is the ability to write words good. The author of On Writing Well guides you through the process of writing better and finding simplicity, clarity and humanity using your own voice and writing style. You write better good fast.

5. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
In the same way that a child sees an empty cardboard box as a spaceship or a house, a city planner must also be able to see a street as an empty canvas for creativity. If you're struggling to find those creative juices, then Calvin and Hobbes is the quintessential story to inspire anyone to think with imagination and creativity again. Try not to always sees things as they are, see things as your five-year old self would see them.



What about you, are there any books you recommend?

The ABC's of the Planning Profession

A is for Action
What a good plan always takes
B is for Bicycle
Turning sharrows to separated lanes

C is for Car Share
Using our stuff more sustainably 
D is for Density
A great tool, when done gently

E is for Equity
Making partnerships, not cliques
F is for Facilitate
A fancy word for letting people speak

G is for Greenspace
Go outside and play
H is for Happy
How cities should feel everyday

I is for Inquire
When something doesn't seem right
J is for Jane Jacobs
Who knew when it was time to fight

K is for Knowledge
The more you listen, the more you know
L is for Locals
Talk to them for the real down-low

M is for Maps
Bring out your crayons and felt pens
N is for Neighbourhoods
Where strangers can become friends

O is for Open
For businesses made locally
P is for Placemaking
Making spaces people don't want to leave

Q is for Questions
Like, Why Does It Always Have To Be This Way?
R is for Rezoning
Get comfortable with constant change

S is for Sidewalks
The backbone of "A to B"
T is for Transit
The 40 foot limousine

U is for User
Always know who you're working for
V is for Venn
Diagrams tell people so much more

W is for Work
Good things never come with ease
X is for X-Walk
Connecting people with where they want to be

Y is for Yesterday
Always learning from the past
Z is for Zero
A Vision that will make our future last

(Inspiration for this came seeing this and reading this)

Transit in Art

These watercolour paintings by Tytus Brzozowski are spectacular. More here.

The Double-Decker Bus

Print: Charlee Silvester (https://society6.com/product/bus-n7d_print#1=45)

My daughter loves double decker buses. So I wrote a story for her.

The Double-Decker Bus

One Saturday afternoon we took the bus to the beach
It quickly filled with people with more waiting on the street
To fit all these people we had to make the bus bigger and better
So we turned the bus into a double-decker!

Now there's two floors and they're all filled up
But here comes more people trying to catch the bus
To fit all these people the bus needs to be bigger and better
So we turned the bus into a double-double-decker!

Now there's four floors and they're all filled up
But here comes more people trying to catch the bus
To fit all these people the bus needs to be bigger and better
So we turned the bus into a double-double-double-decker!

Now there's six floors and they're all filled up
But here comes more people trying to catch the bus
To fit all these people the bus needs to be bigger and better
So we turned the bus into a double-double-double-double-decker!

Now there's eight floors and everybody's on
Everybody is happy and what could possibly go wrong?
Then we drove into a tunnel and the bus was too tall to fit
So how about we turn the bus into a double-decker rocket ship?

How Many Trees Are In Mount Doug Park?

Have you ever wondered
How many trees are in Mount Doug Park?
Young Emily decided to count them
She got her note pad and made a start

She started in the south
And worked her way north
Counting Maples and Cedars
And Douglas Firs of course

She counted ten, then a hundred
To one thousand and one
Then she got overwhelmed
There was so much counting to be done

Then she spotted an Owl
Perched at the top of tree
He was looking back at her
And he asked quizzically:

"Why are you counting them,
Each one separately?
When they all work together
To support you and me?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders
The Owl was right
She was looking so hard at the trees
That she missed the forest in plain sight

She looked around the Park
And realized that the counting was done
The total number of trees in this forest
Is, and always will be, one.

As seen in the Mount Doug Park Newsletter: http://mountdouglaspark.ca/web/Newsletters/2014-Fall.pdf

No Dogs Allowed On The Bus

Gabby had a dog
And the dog's name was 'Gus'
They wanted to go play at the park
So they decided to take the bus

They walked to the bus stop
And waited with the crowd
But when the bus arrived the driver said,
"Sorry, no dogs allowed"

Gabby and Gus were sad
But she had an idea that was stealth
If there were no dogs allowed
Then she would dress up Gus as something else

So she dressed Gus as a cat
She was a masterful deceiver
But the bus driver said sadly,
"No cats allowed either"

Then she tried dressing Gus as a bird
Then a lizard and then a goat
But no matter what she dressed Gus as
The driver always said, "Sorry, no"

But then she had one more idea
So good that it might just work
Gabby dressed up as a dog
And dressed up Gus to look like her

They walked down to the stop
And when the bus finally arrived
The driver just smiled and said to them,
"Well, you got me this time"

So he let them on the bus this once
As long as Gus promised not to bark
And the girl and the dog
Took the bus to play at the park

The Rock That Was Too Big To Throw

Once upon a time
There was a boy at the beach
Who liked to throw rocks
That splashed in the sea

Big rocks and small rocks
Flat ones and round
He threw almost anything
He could find on the ground

But then he found a rock
That he couldn't lift with his hand
No matter how hard he tried
He couldn't get it out of the sand

So the little boy asked
His dad for some help
But he wasn't strong enough either
In its place the rock held

Then he asked his mom
If she would try too
So the three of them tried
But the rock didn't move

So he asked his grandpa, his grandma
His uncle and his aunt
They said, "One, two, three!"
But move it they can't

So he asked the fireman, the baker
And all the kids at school
A hundred people tried lifting
But the rock refused to move

Just when they were all
About to give up
His baby sister crawled by
And gave the rock a shove

And just like that
The rock became free
So everyone picked it up together
And threw it into the sea

The splash was so big
It went as high as anyone could see
And everyone needed umbrellas
Because the splash rained for a week

Nursery Rhyme: My Umbrella, Keeps Me Dry

My umbrella
Keeps me dry
From those big raindrops
Falling from the sky

My rubber boots
Protect my feet
From those big mud puddles
On the street

My wool gloves
Keep me warm
From those ice cold winds
Blowing from the north

When life gives you rain
And you need a sunny day
Just take a deep breath
And blow those rain clouds away

New Rhyming Story: Making Baby Sister Smile

Our son loves to make our daughter smile. I wrote a poem/story about it.

Making Baby Sister Smile

Brother was happy to get a new sister
And he wanted to make her smile
But a grin on his sister he could not make
No matter how hard he tried

He painted her a picture
Made her a mud pie
Gave her his train
Flew her a kite

Sang her a song
Dressed up as a giraffe
But sister wouldn't smile
Not even a laugh

He climbed Mt Everest
Swam to the bottom of the sea
Built her a rocket ship
Made her a cup of tea

Did a silly dance
Gave her cheeks a tickle
But sister wouldn't smile
Not even a giggle

Read her a book
Built her a giant castle
Squeezed her fresh orange juice
Got her a pony with a tassel

But no matter how hard he tried
After thousands of attempts
He just couldn't make her smile
Not even the smallest flinch

He said, "It doesn't matter if you don't smile sister
Cause I'll always love you dear"
And after hearing those magic words
Sister grinned from ear to ear

(21st Century) Baby's First

Matt's Hat

This is a story

Of a boy named Matt

Who always accidentally

Kept losing his hat

He lost it at the bookstore

He lost it at the pool

He lost it at the museum

And he lost it at school

His mother said, "Matthew

Losing your hat is not funny

Your head will get cold

And they cost lots of money"

First Matt tried tying

His hat onto his hair

But a gust of wind blew

And his hat flew off into the air

Then he tried gluing

His hat to his head

But the glue melted in the sun

And the hat was lost again

But then he had an idea

To never lose his hat

On his head he would wear

A really loud cat

So now whenever Matt

Loses his hat

He just follows the sound

Of the really loud cat (MEOW!)

And now he never loses

His hat anymore

His mom is always happy

And his head is always warm

But Matt has a new problem

He keeps losing his mittens

His idea to fix that

Is for his cat to have kittens!

21st Century Baby's First Words

The SeaBus Song

Perhaps the best song ever written about public transportation is The Wheels On The Bus. Here is a fun variation of the song I created that is about the SeaBus. The SeaBus is the passenger-only ferry service operated by TransLink between Downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver.

 

Lyrics:

The propellers on the SeaBus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The propellers on the SeaBus go round and round
All day long

The waves make the SeaBus go up and down
Up and down, up and down
The waves make the SeaBus go up and down
All day long

The tourists on the SeaBus say "ooooh" and "aaaahh"
"Ooooh" and "aaaahh", "ooooh" and "aaaahh"
The tourists on the SeaBus say "ooooh" and "aaaahh"
All day long

The cameras on the SeaBus go click click flash
Click click flash, click click flash
The cameras on the SeaBus go click click flash
All day long

The captain on the SeaBus says "Land Ahoy!"
"Land Ahoy!", "Land Ahoy!"
The captain on the SeaBus says "Land Ahoy!"
All day long

The Titanic Song (For Kids)

Kids love the story of the Titanic. A big boat crashes into a giant piece of ice and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. It really is an incredible story.

My favourite piece of creative work done about the Titanic is an upbeat campfire song that sarcastically retells the tale. It is a interactive, toe-tapping tune that kids will quickly learn and sing-along too. It's also really easy to play on the guitar.

It is a perfect song for bathtime. Just grab a plastic boat and an ice cube and you're the parent of the year!

Below are the lyrics of the condensed version I sing with my family, with my revisions (in strikethrough) to make it more kid friendly. Here is the tune of the song for reference. Enjoy!

Verse 1:

Oh they built the ship Titanic
To sail the ocean blue
And they thought they'd built a ship
That the water couldn't get through

But the good lord raised his hand
Said this ship will never land
It was sad when the great ship went down

Oh it was sad, so sad
Oh it was sad, so sad
It was sad when the great ship went down
To the bottom of the...

Husbands and wives Iceberg in site
Little children lost their lives Going to hit the starboard side

It was sad when the great ship went down

Verse 2:

Many years had passed
Since the last time it was seen
So explorers started looking
And they built a submarine

And they sent it down below
To the bottom ocean floor
They were glad when the great ship was found

Oh they were glad, so glad
Oh they were glad, so glad
They were glad when the great ship was found
At the bottom of the...

Books and movies
And a song by Miss Celine

They were glad when the great ship was found

The Best Part of Snow

It's snowing here in the Pacific Northwest.  Which is unusual because it doesn't normally snow here very often.  Since it rarely snows here, most people don't have a lot of experience with snow, therefore chaos will ensure:

• People go straight to the store and buy expensive snow removal machines (and then not use them again for another decade)
• SUV's will be driven as if there is no snow on the ground = rollovers in ditches
• Full grown men will confidently spend entire mornings trying to build igloos for their children

My favorite part about the snow is always the silence.  Growing up in a rainy climate, we're used to our weather making noise.  Rain pattering on the roofs, wind blowing in the trees and the waves crashing on the beach.  But snow snow is different.  It has no sound.  And that is my favorite part about it.

The rain pitter patters as it falls on the streets

The wind blows the branches creaking the trees

But snow is a ghost without any sound

Close your eyes for a second, and it appears on the ground

Traffic Jam

Honk! Honk! says the traffic

Stuck on the highway again

With Mom, Dad and baby brother

In our big red minivan

I close my eyes and daydream

Of flying over the cars below

But when my eyes open

I see bumper to bumper, row by row

Maybe we should have gotten tickets

For the fast commuter train

Or hopped on the RapidBus

And zoomed down the bus-only lane

Maybe we could have bicycled 

And pretended we were in a race

Or maybe put on our running shoes

And walked at a ginger pace

I wish we could escape this traffic

Where time is wasted so slow

Maybe we could even get a home that's closer

To where we always need to go?

The traffic finally breaks

The slowness comes to an end

But tomorrow we'll wake up

And do it all over again

The Boy Who Lost His Imagination

Once upon a time
There was a boy named Dean
Who spent all his free time
Staring at his screens

While his friends played and laughed
In the sunshine outside
Dean stayed indoors
With technology in front of his eyes

He watched videos and played games
He swiped and he tweeted
His tablets and smartphones
Were all that he needed

Always on-line
And rarely at-play
One day his imagination
Got up and walked away

Dean barely even noticed
That something was even wrong
Because he never used it
He didn't notice his imagination was gone

Later that day
Dean came across some other boys
Who were playing with a box
With an incredible amount of joy

"What are you doing"
Said Dean looking stunned
"Why is this empty box
Giving you so much fun?"

"It's not a box, it's a spaceship"
Replied one of the boys
"Can't you see the rockets? Or the blasters?
Or hear the noise?"

But an empty box was all
That Dean could see today
Because Dean's imagination
Had got up and walked away

Next he saw some girls
Who were playing in a tree
Smiling and laughing
Swinging acrobatically

He asked, "What are you doing
Up there in that tree?"
"What is so fun
About some branches and some leaves?"

"It's not a tree it's a castle"
Replied the little girls
"Where we fight dragons and monsters
And try to save the world"

But he didn't see any castle
Only a tree on this day
Because Dean's imagination
Had got up and walked away

When he got home he said to Grandma,
"The other kids all play and laugh
I want to be like them too
So how do I get my imagination back?"

His Grandma said
"Dean, if you want your imagination to return
There are a few things
That you're going to have to learn"

"Put down the smartphone
The tablet and the games
Read some books, sing some songs
Draw some pictures, play in the rain"

Dean listened to his Grandma
And he did just that
And just like she promised
His imagination came back

From then on he spent
Much less time staring at screens
And instead used his imagination
For spaceships, castles and dreams