Riverfront remake: What vision is the city crafting, and for whom? 

Part of a series of forums that Douglas College is hosting in partnership with SFU and the City of New Westminster. The goal of these forums is to provide an occasion for frank discussion on important issues facing urban and suburban communities, to both inform and learn from academics, practitioners, and citizens. New Westminster's most significant cultural, economic, and natural asset, the riverfront, is slated for major change. How is the city going to balance history, housing, business, and tourism, while creating a vibrant and welcoming space for all? Welcome and Moderator: Rini Sumartojo (Geography), Humanities and Social Sciences (Douglas College). Panelists: Mark Allison, Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Sustainability, City of New Westminster. Mark is a community and regional planner, systems engineer, and scientist. Previously, he has held positions overseeing the Whistler Center for Sustainability’s Advisory Services, as well as acting as the senior policy planner for the City of Surrey. Mark has long been an advocate of sustainable development, smart growth, and transit-oriented development. In addition to his most recent positions has worked as a transportation planner, a regional growth strategy coordinator, and a sustainability planning consultant. (3:13) Dr. Eugene McCann, Humanities and Social Sciences (SFU). A professor of Geography at Simon Fraser University, he researches urban policy making, policy mobilities, planning, public space, and urban politics. He has a long-standing interest in the policies of city marketing. Eugene is the co-author of a book entitled Urban Geography: A Critical Introduction as well as the co-editor of two books: one entitled Mobile Urbanisms: Cities and Policy Making in the Global Age and the other entitled Cities and Social Change. He’s published in a wide range of journals and is the managing editor of the journal Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space. (21:17) Q&A with panelists (45:26)