The City of Vancouver will hold a city-wide block party, use social media and improve development signage in an attempt to smooth the wheels of change in the city, according to a report released yesterday.
The Civic Engagement Task Force was struck in fall 2012, with the goal of improving how Vancouver residents interact with the city. It followed years of Sometimes tense relations between residents, the city and developers over projects such as the Rize Alliance condos at Kingsway Avenue and East Broadway.
Critics of the current civic engagement process have said that residents often come into the process too late and that the city was not taking advantage of technology such as social media.
The task force’s first report recommends implementing:
- a mobile city hall, which would provide basic city services in neighbourhoods far away from city hall;
- participatory budgeting, where residents could make budget decisions on local neighbourhood improvements;
- redesigning development signage, to make it easier to read and understand;
- an Open Doors event, where residents can tour well-known city buildings;
- a city-wide Block Party Day;
- bringing 3-1-1 online;
- starting an “engaged city” Twitter handle; and
- launching an online engagement forum.
The city plans to introduce the changes within the next 16 months.
Mayor Gregor Robertson will be taking the @engagedcity Twitter account for a test drive today in an hour-long Twitter town hall, hosted by Vancouver social media company Hootsuite. The event starts today at 11:30 a.m.
