Grandview Woodland is a vibrant, and diverse neighbourhood located in the east side of Vancouver with Commercial Drive at the heart of the community.
In 2012, the City of Vancouver launched a Community Plan process for the area. This plan updates an earlier neighbourhood plan from 1979-1982, and will set out a series of long-range directions for the Grandview Woodland. CitySpaces was hired by the City to run the graphic facilitation at a series of public workshops, these consisted of the below themes and their subthemes.
Arts & Culture in Grandview Woodland
The area is home to a significant number of people associated with the cultural sector. ‘Arts & Culture’ was identified as a key theme in the community planning process. During the workshops the graphic facilitator guided the public through the below subthemes when in considering the future of ‘Arts & Culture’ in their neighbourhood:
- Creation/production spaces
- Presentation spaces
- Art in public spaces
- Cultural traditions and sites of memory or celebration
- Creative commercial
Heritage & Character in Grandview Woodland
The area of Grandview Woodland has a unique local character. The City defines it as ‘”shaped by the palette of older heritage homes and newer architectural traditions, the intriguing streetscape and landscape features, the many social practices that define the neighbourhood, and the different layers of industry, culture and commercial activity.” During the workshops the graphic facilitator guided the public through the below subthemes when in considering the future of ‘Heritage & Character’ in their neighbourhood:
- Heritage Buildings
- Neighbourhood Character
- Natural Heritage
- Social and Cultural heritage
Housing in Grandview Woodland
Grandview Woodland has a range of housing, this includes apartments, co-ops, single-family, heritage homes, duplexes, and social housing facilities. During the workshops the graphic facilitator guided the public through the below subthemes when in considering the future of ‘Housing’ in their neighbourhood:
- Homelessness and supportive housing
- Non-market (Social Housing and co-ops)
- Market Rental Housing
- Secondary Suites, Laneway Houses and Rented Condos
- Home ownership
Transportation in Grandview Woodland
The area has a number of transportation issues that were identified by the City – this consists of neighbourhood walkability, to the provision of bike infrastructure, key arterial streets, to the current situation with street parking, traffic safety and goods movement. During the workshops the graphic facilitator guided the public through the below subthemes when in considering the future of ‘Transportation’ in their neighbourhood:
- Walking
- Biking
- Public Transit
- Motor Vehicles (including cars, trucks and parking)
- Commercial High Streets
(Grandview Woodland photo by: City of Vancouver)