Monday, January 31, 2011

UPCOMING EVENT: Leo, Kelcey and Galston invade the A-Zone

Coming up on Sunday, February 13, 2011 CKUW 95.9 FM and The Uniter will present:

Winnipeg: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a panel discussion on transportation, infrastructure, debt, poverty, housing, urban development and sprawl in Winnipeg. This will be at the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee House, 91 Albert Street, at 7:00 pm

Moderated by ace Uniter reporter Ethan Cabel, the panel is made up of Professor Christopher Leo, Brian F. Kelcey (of State of the City infamy), and myself. Ambitiously, the talk will cover transportation, infrastructure, debt, poverty, housing, urban development and sprawl in Winnipeg--all before 9 pm.

There is no cost, but a $5.00 donation at the door would be appreciated (the event is part of CKUW's annual Fundrive campaign).

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And speaking of CKUW, here is an interview Scott Price did with me a couple of months ago, where we talked about downtown development: the inhibitive power megaprojects have on private initiative; why governments should get out of the parking lot business; the realities and perceptions of safety; and why downtown needs to be a mixed-use, sidewalk-oriented residential neighborhood more than anything else.

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McDermot Avenue, west from Main Street, c.1909

A neighborhood in transition: Albert Street, c.1910. By 1914, almost all of the district's houses and other small wood-framed buildings had been replaced by substantial brick and stone buildings. Between NIMBYs and planners, this would not happen today

Wading pool in Norquay Park, Lorne Avenue and Beaconsfield Street, c.1926

Unity Pool Room, 795 Main Street (near Sutherland Avenue), c.1945

Broadway, c.1950.

Vestibule of the Royal Alexandra Hotel, c. 1966


Market Avenue East, c.1969. A key component of the masterplan for Urban Renewal Area no. 2, these buildings were demolished to make way for the Manitoba Theatre Centre (and a large parking lot, but that kind of goes without saying)