Win tickets to an evening with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Candy Chang, and Teju Cole

Researching the City

Date & Time: Friday, October 30 5:30 – 8:30
Location: SFU Segal Conference Centre, 515 West Hastings

Think research is boring and unrelated to the real world? Think again! Research in the City is an inspirational evening showcasing how seemingly "abstract" research activities have real world impacts on our cities.

Through a series of rapid-fire presentations, researchers will showcase how their work contributes to -- and learns from -- cities and their residents. We will look at how research in areas including public policy, economic development, social justice, and health and well-being can benefit cities.

Presented in partnership with SFU Vancouver, the Department of Urban Studies, and the School of Public Policy. Joy Johnson, SFU's Vice-President, Research will host the event.

Cost: FREE
Website & registration: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/researching-the-city.html

Housing in the City: Beyond the Headlines

Date & time: Monday, November 2, 6:30 – 8:30 Reception to follow
Location: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street
Partners: Tyee Solutions Society, Canadian Housing & Renewal Association, SFU Department of Urban Studies

Headlines remind us constantly of our housing crisis: prices run amok, renovictions, and near-zero rental vacancy rates. This evening of story-telling will consider the landscape of housing in Vancouver and beyond, with an eye on working households, at or below median income, in urban centers across Canada.

Seven experts will tell stories about their efforts to move us closer to the goal of affordable, suitable, and secure housing for all. We'll hear from David Ley (UBC Geography) on regulating foreign investment; Marla Zucht (Whistler Housing Authority) on market-controlled ownership for local residents; Tom Lancaster (Metro Vancouver) on how to build more rental; Gail Joe (First Nations Market Housing Fund) on Aboriginal-led housing developments; and others yet to be announced.

Audience members will be invited to submit their questions to Tyee Solutions Society's journalists, to be used in follow-up features over the following weeks.

This public event is part of a year-long Tyee Solutions Society project called 'The Housing Fix,' which aims to promote a national non-partisan dialogue and real policy changes on affordable housing, through open source journalism and invited-expert workshops in Vancouver (Nov. 3) and Ottawa (Jan 2016). Find dozens of in-depth articles on housing issues, as well as information about where the major political parties stand on housing, here: http://thehousingfix.ca.

Cost: $10 adults;$5 student and seniors
Website & Registration: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/beyond-the-headlines.html

TILT City: Engaging the Streets

Date & time: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015; Check in starts at 8:30 a.m.
Location: The Permanent, 330 West Pender + 15 min walking radius, Vancouver
Partners: HCMA Architecture + Design and TILT Curiosity Lab

Make your mark! Join other engaged citizens for this one-day interactive event that gives you the chance to temporarily transform spaces in the public realm! Spend the day collaborating in teams to concoct, craft, and communicate your urban interventions!

Teams will work together to design and engage the streets at a randomly assigned public space in downtown Vancouver. Each team will be given a small amount of money, the ability to access a "commissary" of materials and will have the morning to work together and plan their engagement action.

We'll come together at the end of the program to share our experiences and then everyone will receive a free ticket to attend We The City: An Evening at the Centre that night where photos and video of the urban activations will be presented.

Cost: $20 per person
Website & registration: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/tilt.html

We The City:An Evening at the Centre Co-presented by Vancity

Date & time: Wednesday, November 4, 7:00 – 9:00
Location: The Centre, 777 Homer Street
Partner: Vancity

This year's signature event features compelling talks by a trio you won't want to miss. They will be reflecting on how the arts create, reveal, critique and enhance the identity of our urban centres. How do they foster connection, incite social change and build capacity for healthy communities?

Speakers:

• Buffy Sainte-Marie: Multiple award-winning Cree singer-songwriter, activist, visual artist, and educator, Sainte-Marie has been an unstoppable Canadian icon since the 1960s.
• Candy Chang: Taiwanese-American artist renowned for interactive public installations that provoke civic engagement and emotional introspection, examining issues from criminal justice and the future of vacant buildings, to personal aspirations and anxieties.
• Teju Cole: Award-winning author of Open City and other works, art historian, and photographer, Cole gave the 2014 Kenan Distinguished Lecture on Ethics at Duke University and is the New York Times Magazine's photography critic.

Mo Dhaliwal will moderate this signature event. Dhaliwal, as a patron of the arts and producer of cultural events, has invested thousands of volunteer hours in cultural projects, most notably through the creation of the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society (VIBC.)

SFU Public Square is proud to have Vancity as the presenting sponsor of our 2015 Community Summit signature event. Vancity is a financial co-operative and a global leader in their values-based approached to building healthy sustainable communities.
Vancity members are eligible for a member perk. Visit vancity.com for details in the coming weeks.

Cost: $20 adult, $5 students and seniors
Website & ticket sales: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/the-centre.html

City Conversations – Would Cities Be Different If They Were Designed By Women?

Date & time: Thursday, November 5
Location: SFU Vancouver, 515 West Hastings, Room 2270

Can we make cities better and safer places for women?

While there are many inspirational women architects, planners and municipal politicians in cities around the world, the biggest decisions about urban development are often made by men.

Does this lack of female representation affect the design of our cities? Would our housing, office buildings, streetscapes, and public spaces look or feel any different if more women were a part of designing them? Would women fare better in cities if they played a larger leadership role?

Exploring this provocative issue will be Ellen Wordsworth, chairperson of Women Transforming Cities, Carla Guerrera, an urban planner with Stantec, and Iglika Ivanova, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Cost: FREE
Website & registration: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/city-conv-summit2015edition.html

THRIVE: Surrey in 2030 – A resident's lab on the future of their city

Think like a city planner, take part in a unique city-building simulation, and experience what it feels like to live in the Surrey of 2030. Apply now to be one of 150 selected residents to build a vision for a city where everyone can thrive.

APPLY HERE: http://websurvey.sfu.ca/survey/220897291

How are we going to ensure there are places to live and work for old and new Surrey residents? How do we build community health and safety? How are we going to provide access to clean air and water for everyone? These are some of the questions that the Residents' Lab will tackle.

As a successful applicant to the Residents' Lab, you will:

• Learn about the opportunities and challenges facing Surrey and address them like a city planner
• Have fun participating in a unique, interactive city-building simulation that will make headlines in the region and beyond
• Use your voice as a resident to help inform the City's updated Sustainability Charter
• Make new connections with other residents and hear their perspectives
• Be recognized by the City for your leadership.

Information and website: http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit/thrive-surrey-2030.html

For continual updates on the 2015 Community Summit, check out http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/community-summit/2015-summit.html