Mobile Workshops, July 18, 2008

List of Workshops
Homework

The mobile workshops at PN2008 offer an opportunity for conference participants to learn about issues in Winnipeg, and to share their knowledge and network with local community-based organizations and activists. Some of the workshops are organized geographically. While each neighbourhood-based workshop has a particular theme, a range of issues relevant to the particular place will be discussed during the day. Other workshops follow more specific themes and will cover broader geographical areas. But even in these cases, the focus themes will intersect with a range of issues.

A number of issues run through almost all of the workshops. First, Winnipeg has the largest urban aboriginal population in Canada. Aboriginal people are disproportionately represented in the city’s low-income neighbourhoods and concerns of aboriginal communities tend to get less attention than they deserve from policy makers and city politicians. Planning for social justice in Winnipeg cannot be meaningfully addressed without engaging with aboriginal communities and, their cultures.

For many in the PN community, community economic development is a major interest. Winnipeg is known across Canada and the continent for its CED initiatives, many of which struggle to survive in a political climate of neo-liberalism. Although none of the workshops specifically focuses on CED, again it is present in the content of almost all of the mobile workshops, in fact many of the organizations that we will visit are members of the Canadian CED Network (CCEDNET).

Finally, housing issues figure prominently in many of the workshops. Housing prices remain low in Winnipeg relative the most of the rest of the continent, but affordability and access to good safe housing remains a major concern as the downtown and inner city continue to suffer the results of disinvestment as the city sprawls.

List of Workshops

1. Gentrification or Revitalization: West Broadway and Downtown?
This workshop examines issues of revitalization in a neighbourhood adjacent to downtown, and in the downtown core itself. The West Broadway neighbourhood is attempting to provide innovative models of affordable housing while confronting issues of gentrification. At the same time, agencies attempt to attract investment back to the urban centre, raising questions about who should be included in the target markets for downtown living.
More Information (coming soon).

2. Spence Neighbourhood – Community University Relationships
Located in the shadow of the University of Winnipeg, Spence neighbourhood faces unique challenges as it attempts to revitalize itself and meet the needs of its residents. The university of Winnipeg is a strong presence on its eastern edge and is expanding. While the issues of power and community/university relationships are at the core of this workshop, housing, community gardens and other initiative will also be addressed.
More Information (coming soon).

3. North End – Employment and Training The north end of Winnipeg has functioned historically as an immigrant reception area. Although it is still accommodates many new Canadians, in the last few decades it has emerged as the centre of a rapidly urbanizing aboriginal population. This workshop will focus on the broad array of employment and training initiatives and the agencies and institutions that are sponsoring them.
More Information (coming soon).

4. Homelessness and Public Housing
This workshop will address two related issues: projects and programs aimed at addressing homelessness, many of which are related to the Winnipeg Housing and Homelessness Initiative; and attempts to revitalize Lord Selkirk Park, a North End Public housing neighbourhood.
More Information (coming soon).

5. From the City to the Reserve and Back Again
More than 10% of Winnipeg’s population is comprised of aboriginal and First Nations people. Although these are among the fastest growing populations in the city, the issues and challenges they encounter reach beyond the urban area to home reserves across the province and western Canada. This workshop will visit urban aboriginal agencies and organizations as well as travelling out to a reserve (reservation) within driving distance of the city.
More Information (coming soon).

6. Art and the City
Winnipeg is known for its innovative and progressive arts and culture scene and is respected for its precedent-setting community arts initiatives and activism. This workshop will include visits to organizations and agencies actively involved in community arts practice. It will also include the opportunity to get involved in an exercise to explore the dialogue between the arts and urbanity.
More Information (coming soon).

7. Urban Ecology in a River City
Winnipeg can be an oasis in the prairies, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. This workshop will visit organizations that promote urban ecological issues as well as urban agriculture. It will examine issues related to the rivers, and engage with one Save Our Seine, a group that is attempting to preserve the ecological integrity of a smaller river threatened by urban development. Depending on the weather and water levels, this trip will include a canoe trip.
More Information (coming soon).

8. Revitalizing Neighbourhoods within a Context of Sprawl
This workshop will showcase the different eras of Winnipeg's development, from recent subdivisions in the south end of the city to the original inner-city neighbourhoods. Initiatives from the public sector in both neighbourhood planning and infill development will be emphasized. The workshop will then review current efforts to revitalize Winnipeg's oldest residential neighbourhood (Point Douglas) through community development and design.
More Information (coming soon).

9. Youth and Age Friendly Cities
This workshop will address two demographic groups that are often excluded from planning processes. youth initiatives are particularly important in the inner city and this workshop will focus on organizations addressing aboriginal youth. Winnipeg’s car dominated urban infrastructure is also a particularly challenging environment for older adults, and workshop participants will engage with community organizations that are working to make communities more “age-friendly.”
More Information (coming soon).

10. Green Buildings and Active Transportation
Transportation and building design are integral aspects in planning for sustainable communities. A green building tour will give participants a firsthand look at green building projects and an understanding of the non-automobile transportation infrastructure and initiatives in Winnipeg and the grass-roots organizations groups that are advocating for them.
More Information (coming soon).

Homework

Unlike some other conference tours, Planner Network attempts to build some engagement into the mobile workshops. Those who sign up to participate in workshops may be asked to bring information about related situations in their cities and neighbourhoods, to help build the local knowledge base in Winnipeg.

BACK TO CONFERENCE INDEX