My view of Cambie St.

For many in Vancouver, the Cambie Village is like a plague area to be avoided. Horror stories shared around tables and water coolers tell the grim tale of getting stuck in Cambie’s restrictive and ever-changing traffic patterns as RAV line construction unfolds. Commuters circumvent the district where possible, and some would-be visitors to its restaurants and specialty shops find alternative destinations.

For a local resident traveling on foot, however, much of the neighbourhood is still surprisingly accessible. My partner and I live along Cambie a few blocks from Vancouver’s City Hall. We venture out regularly to buy groceries, visit neighbours, see movies at the Park Theatre and walk to the Mount Pleasant community centre. After a few months of construction, we are experts on where it's still possible to cross the street and the most efficient routes around construction to visit our favourite shops.

Because of where I live, this blog will present a street-level view of the changing Cambie Village in addition to inquiries about policy, planning and community. The Cambie Village comprises the commercial area along Cambie St. just south of downtown, roughly from Broadway to 25th Ave. The built landscape here has experienced changes accompanying RAV line construction with dramatic economic consequences. Some of the changes to the streetscape are permanent; two sizable properties, a strip mall and an older apartment block were torn down to make way for two future RAV line stations at Broadway and King Edward. The face of local business on Cambie has gotten progressively leaner as pedestrian and vehicle traffic has dried up; over 30 shops have closed their doors, and many more are struggling.

Eventually, construction will end and the 30 storefronts that are now empty will be filled again. What kinds of businesses will fill them? Who will be the residents who will shop there? Will they live in new condo development like the flats over the new Capers' building, or in the older rental housing that is still available in the neighbourhood? Will the rapid transit line bring crime, gentrification or both? Will the shared experience of rapid change and economic adversity lead to a stronger sense of community?

This blog is an assignment for an Urban Geography class. It will span UBC’s summer semester, from May to August, 2007. As the questions above indicate, the fate of the Cambie Village and the surrounding residential area that it serves will remain undecided for much longer than that. However I do believe that the summer 2007 will be a pivotal time for shaping the future of the Cambie Village.

Your comments and discussion are heartily welcome.