Making Over Owen Sound's Harbour as a Vibrant Space Where Community Comes Together
Urban designer Christy Hempel continues her series about building strong towns with inspiring examples of vibrant harbour spaces and a Lego model of what Owen Sound's could become.
How are vibrant communities created? One way to kick-start a conversation is to look at what has already been built, and at how hopeful people have brought ideas to life in our town.
I painted this snowy thank-you card back in 2009 for the “Scenic Order of Good Cheer,” a local service group that imagined, raised funds, partnered with the City, and then constructed this playful space where families could enjoy outdoor sports.
The location fortified one of our city’s most beloved and well-used spaces — Harrison Park. This group of ordinary folk, “a couple of fishermen and their wives,” are responsible for many public projects that focus on future generations.
In that watercolour, my teenage sons are enjoying a casual game of pick-up hockey. Between snowboarding at night, tobogganing at the park, cross-country skiing in school, and the buoyant exhilaration my kids felt with every snow day announcement, they grew to love the crisp white winters we are blessed with here in the province’s snowiest city.
In a column last spring, Joel Pennington described admirable public spaces in Mexico; specifically, their vibrancy, authenticity and sense of pride. “The sense of belonging was palpable,” he wrote.
Joel wondered how a country with so many governance and financial problems could accomplish something we seem to struggle with: “This isn’t Denmark or New Zealand we’re talking about; this is Mexico,” he pondered.
At the end of that column, he asks, “What have you seen, close to home or on your travels, that you’d like to see happening in Owen Sound?”
Well, I observed a ‘palpable sense of belonging’ right here in town as my grandkids skated at the Good Cheer rink at Christmas time. There is a strong sense of place there. And I wonder what people from other communities might remember after visiting Owen Sound?
Do people feel like they belong in our public spaces?
We lived in Denmark for six years, and I confess to some envy of many things Danish (my husband and I call this “Scandinenvy”).
But Owen Sound is what it is — not Europe or Mexico, not New York or New Zealand. That doesn’t mean some lessons from abroad couldn’t kickstart our collective imagination.
This fall, Grey Roots invited me to submit a small Lego model for their new exhibit, on the theme of “Hope.” One topic seemed especially well-suited to this little challenge: a hopeful scene of a bustling Owen Sound Harbour. I chose a playful medium to respond to Joel’s question.
As far back as I can remember, everyone from daydreamers to city leaders has been united in calling for investment of imagination and effort along our riverfront, all the way from Harrison Park to the bay. It’s a fine focus to rally around.
Some ideas in this vignette are fanciful; many others are practical. A robust, practical vision for Owen Sound’s harbour is feasible. The model draws on ideas from my travels and research, where I immersed myself in new places while thinking about what solutions could be applied to problems back home.
Design students have contributed original thinking, too, adding new research from other towns that have built on former industrial lands called “brownfields.” These polluted, dispiriting places have perplexed city-builders for decades. Solutions abound, and some are quite cheap and doable with the right mindset.
For example, Mudtown Station anchors the neighbourhood. It’s a fabulous example of adaptive re-use. When we moved away, it was a boarded-up heritage CP Station, and when we came back, it was a bustling brewery and restaurant with a patio!
In our model, a picnic space, a playground, and a fountain have been built nearby.
I envision a harbour walkway that is active in summer, with boats docking along the floating walkway, and art festivals, ice cream stands and pop-up shops in shipping containers to keep the place hopping.
Folks enjoy fishing and swimming in the Harbour (Lego isn’t tiny enough to depict the “Good Cheer Climbing Wall”, so take my word for it).
In winter, Christmas markets sell mulled cider and crafts in cheery huts. There is talk of building a sauna for winter bathing.
Next, imagine the College hosting its marine engineering, arts and environment faculties in a downtown campus.
In our model, a long-term phytoremediation program is underway, using plants to remove pollutants from soils here and elsewhere in town, such as the sunflower meadow and dog park to the north.
Industrial activity continues, but owners have partnered with the college to use cement silos to project films.
Imagine an influx of residents and high-rise housing bringing added vitality. Below-grade parking is not practical. Instead, parking is located on the ground level, with new gardens and landscape on upper-level terraces.
Some residents choose not to have cars; buses are frequent, and walking and biking are enjoyable here. People share cars. Shopping, groceries, and community services are nearby.
Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, asserted that four critical ingredients create vibrant urbanism:
compact development
varied buildings
mixed uses
and short blocks.
Contamination is a reality in our harbourlands, but the private landowners controlling these properties don’t appear seriously invested in contributing to our City’s 2050 vision. Aside from a preposterous planning application for a gigantic aggregate yard back in 2014, we haven’t seen much.
How are they planning for this key neighbourhood? Can we nudge them along?
Is it time to revisit our taxation policies for underused harbour lands with no soil remediation in the works or urban planning on the horizon?
It took Hansa Financial decades to move along with housing on the Harbour West site. Speedier progress on the east side would be welcome.
After all, significant construction on this land is Owen Sound’s best hope for the kind of compact, mixed-use development that strengthens a city’s core.
Thank you to sponsors of The Owen Sound Current Writers’ Fund, who make these community contributions possible. Contributions from the community do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
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