Bold Vision for 22nd Street Station Area

Project Update – March 22, 2024: Design Workshop

The project team held a multi-day design workshop from March 5-7, 2024. This workshop was a first step in integrating the input, priorities, and feedback from community with ideas surfaced in the Ideas Challenge, as well as other more technical considerations.

The project team explored opportunities to:

• advance a vision for a complete, high-density community with diverse housing options,
• create an enhanced network of greenspaces and gathering spaces to support livability, connectedness and resilience,
• provide safer biking and pedestrian infrastructure,
• create low-carbon buildings and energy infrastructure, and
• identify Coast Salish cultural revitalization opportunities for further discussion with First Nations.

Following the design workshop, community members were invited to a public event at City Hall on the evening of March 7. Participants were able to view and provide feedback on the sketches and concepts produced during the design workshop. City staff and the project consulting team addressed questions and collected comments from over 50 attendees.

Participants at the March 7 public event look at an illustrated map.

Attendees view the information boards of reGENERATE Ideas Challenge winners.

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The City has launched a visioning process to imagine the future of the neighbourhood around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station. Join us in creating a climate-friendly neighbourhood where everyone can thrive!

Background

The area around the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station is identified in the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) for higher-density development, with good access to transit and amenities. With input from the community, and in collaboration with local First Nations, the City is developing a vision for the future of this neighbourhood. This vision will help set the land use framework to enable growth and change in alignment with community aspirations and priorities.

To support the City’s commitment to climate action, the vision will focus on identifying how to create a climate-friendly future. This vision will show how the area can transform into a place where people can live better with the effects of climate change, and to help stop climate effects from getting worse over time. The City is also exploring with local First Nations how the vision for this neighbourhoood can advance truth and reconciliation.

Process

To reach a bold vision, we will integrate ideas and direction from local First Nations, City Council, the community, participants from the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge, and technical expertise. Ideas and directions were gathered through the fall and winter of 2023 and early 2024, and input from First Nations continues to be gathered. Bringing together these ideas and directions began with a three-day design workshop in March 2024.

Community Engagement

In fall 2023, we generated ideas by engaging with the community through a series of online and in-person events. Some of the past events included:

• Public engagement event at the Anvil Centre
• Drop-in session at Connaught Heights Elementary School
• Pop-up sessions throughout the city
• Online community survey, Ideas Board, and Virtual Ideas Jam
• Participation in the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge

A summary of community engagement activities and findings can be found here.

reGENERATE Ideas Challenge

As a way to surface new ideas on planning for a climate-friendly community for all and inform the vision, the City hosted the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge, from November 2023 to January 2024.

We received 82 submissions from diverse countries, including many submissions from youth and local community members. Submissions were shortlisted to 20 ideas. After careful deliberation by a diverse jury panel comprised of an architect, climate and community planners, and community representatives, four winning ideas across three categories plus two honourable mentions were selected. The public also voted for their favourite design. These winning entries embody the creativity, passion, and enthusiasm of proud community members and environmentally-conscious professionals towards shaping an inclusive and climate-friendly future.

Further details of the Ideas Challenge can be found on the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge webpage.

A summary of the winning submissions, the jury’s statements, as well as the full shortlist can be found here.

In addition to community input, all ideas put forward in the reGENERATE Ideas Challenge will be taken as inspiration and may be integrated into the neighbourhood vision. Ideas responding to truth and reconciliation (a foundational value underpinning the vision process) will be brought to First Nations for their consideration first.