City enlisting student creativity to reimagine downtown Calgary's west side
The City of Calgary is looking for a few young minds to help re-imagine downtown's west side.
That's the idea behind the first Sketch Mob, on Saturday, Jan. 28, an event where students and Calgarians have the opportunity to hit the streets of the west side of downtown and then draw it.
The idea is fuelled by people like University of Calgary student Ian Hernandez, who lives in the area and wants to activate young minds to help brainstorm some ways to kick-start the neighbourhood.
"Sketch Mob is about empowering student and youth voices to take an active role in the future of their downtown and in how their downtown community is planned," said Hernandez, who leads the Urban Calgary Students Association. "A lot of students live or visit downtown and it’s important that they have a stake in its future."
The first Sketch Mob will focus on three Downtown West locations: 11th Street S.W. between 6th Avenue S.W. and 9th Avenue S.W.; 10 Street S.W. between 6th Avenue S.W. and 9th Avenue S.W.; and 6th Avenue S.W. and 4th Street S.W.
"A strong downtown should be welcoming to people of all ages, especially our future workforce. Supporting Sketch Mob and seeing youth reimagine underutilized public spaces in our downtown is a chance to see what matters and what could be possible," said Kate Zago, planner for the City of Calgary.
"Student voices need to be prioritized when it comes to thinking about downtown revitalization, as they have often unheard perspective on urban planning, public space development, and transportation planning," she added.
Sketch Mob kicks off at noon Saturday in city hall's innovation lab, in the main atrium. All Calgarians are invited to join the mob. Participants will break into groups, then head out to sketching sites, to talk about what they see, how spaces are used and how improvements could be made.
Then they will get to work on their sketches.
"Public spaces are not static and we want young people to view them in that light," said Hernandez. "Downtown public spaces are constantly evolving and Sketch Mob lets young people look at these places in a different light and take ownership of the future of their neighbourhood."
The completed sketches will be displayed online and at the Central Public Library in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.