Hummingbird604.com » Focus on Vancouver

A quick photowalk around the snow-covered Vancouver

Raul — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:30:55 +0000

The Metro Vancouver Recycles campaign

Raul — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:06:41 +0000

I have been in touch with Greg Valou from Metro Vancouver since Vancouver’s first ChangeCamp and a few weeks back, I gave a presentation to their social media working group on why Metro Vancouver (the organization formerly known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District, GVRD) should be using social media. I believe they are moving forward in the right direction. Greg informed me about their Metro Vancouver Recycles online resource the last time I visited their offices but I had neglected to post about it. Since I believe it’s a great resource, here it is.

Our directory of reuse and recycling services is designed to help you answer the question “Where do I take this?” The database contains over 1,300 locations within the Metro Vancouver region to donate, recycle or appropriately dispose of those items you no longer want.

The screenshot below shows you all the different locations where I could recycle my computer parts should I desire to do so (I used WorkSpace as a landmark location, but I should have used The Network Hub since my office is there! Anyways, it’s literally like 5 blocks away from my reference point)

Mangano on “The Business Case to End Homelessness”, @boardoftrade event

Raul — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:07:27 +0000

I have participated in numerous events of the Vancouver Board of Trade, primarily to report on them (as media) but this time, I was invited as a guest of Dave Macdonald, someone whose company I really enjoy and whose insights are valuable to me. Dave is very well aware of my interest in sustainability, social policy and particularly, urban structure and poverty issues. Dave also invited Toby Barazzuol along as a guest. Toby is, very much like Dave, a very smart man (and someone with insight into the actual situation of the Downtown East Side). I preface my post with this overview as it is important to indicate that the people who joined me to this event are very much people who have had the time to reflect on the myriad complex factors that intervene in homelessness.

Credit: D.C.Atty

Quite frankly, to say that I was utterly disappointed with the talk that Mr. Mangano offered is putting it really really mildly. I really didn’t get anything out of it that I couldn’t have gotten from doing thorough research on the internet, on Google Scholar, and talking to researchers who study homelessness. Don’t get me wrong. Mangano is extremely funny, and a good speaker. I am pretty sure he has worked really hard to solve homelessness in the US. I am also fairly sure he is successful and he knows his stuff. It’s the content and delivery of the material that I was definitely not impressed with.

Bear in mind, before continuing on with my assessment, several things. First, I am an academic. Trying to convince me of something without empirical evidence is going to be very, very hard. Mangano started showing slides with data about 5 minutes before the end of his talk. Yeah… not the best timing. Second, public policy is my domain of expertise. I have taught public policy. I conduct research on public policy. My students have conducted research on homelessness, poverty alleviation and urban decay, particularly in the Downtown East Side. I know about how complex the issues with homelessness are. Heck, I’ve written about it extensively! Even though my own focus (environmental public policy) is not directly associated with issues of mental health, poverty, drug use, etc. I am still someone who thinks things through the academic analytical lenses. I know how hard it is to design public policy for homelessness, and I was disappointed that Mangano didn’t provide a list of potential policy options specifically applicable to Vancouver. I am pretty critical when I see people’s presentations, particularly because I am just as tough on myself when I give talks.

Credit: Publik16

The irony for me was that several of Mangano’s main points were things I have talked about before in my own blog! I have written on everything, from the closure of the temporary (HEAT) shelters, to the anthropology of poverty in the Downtown East Side, to highlighting events on homelessness, to the need to provide warm clothing to homeless people in the winter. I even wrote a post on the lessons in public policy for homelessness that Mayor Robertson should think about. I have highlighted Homeless Action Week both in 2007 and 2008. So, this is a topic I haven thought about for a long time.

Mangano expressed a few good points that are very much worthy of highlighting here.

* Homelessness is not dependent on the economy. In economic booms, homelessness increases because of rising housing prices. In economic downturns, homelessness increases because of job loss and other factors associated with lower income.
* Economic principles per se aren’t going to solve homelessness.
* It is important to focus on ONE specific area of homelessness policy – ending STREET homelessness – focus on the most vulnerable and the disabled.

According to Mangano, the following points are key elements to success

- Definite support from mayors and council and the political will to work on the issues of homelessness
- Reframing policy from the social service frame to the business case (how can we serve this people)
- Accepting that solving homelessness will take time
- Strategic timeline
- Identification of successful case studies and strategies and investment in evidence-based options (based on research)
- The business community to invest in this process too.

What didn’t work in the US (according to Mangano)
- Ad-hoc crisis interventions (shuffling leads to morale deflating – stats he provided 75 homeless/day use St. Paul’s Hospital – $ 700 from the moment they step into the hospital onward)
- Good intentions don’t end homelessness
- Increased resources without innovative ideas, strategic planning and long-term strategy don’t work.

I scanned the room as I arrived and I noticed that not only was the room full (for a beautiful summer day, having to shell out cash to participate in an indoor event and have to wear suits, you really must be passionate), there were a lot of well-known advocates for the issue of homelessness, including people from the Vancouver Foundation and the Street To Home Foundation. I recognized many people that I knew from before, like Mike Harcourt, Andrea Reimer (a Vancouver councillor who, the more I talk to, the more impressed I am with). The Vancouver Board of Trade should feel really happy with the attendance, because there were a lot of participants as well as high-level, policy decision-makers in Vancouver were sitting in that room, along with all the other board members and guests.

My overall assessment of Mangano’s talk

Mangano’s talk sounded very much like an ode to Mayor Gregor Robertson. Every opportunity he had he lauded Robertson’s efforts. If I wanted to pay (and in this case, I didn’t pay for my own ticket but Dave did) to hear someone praising the mayor of the city I live in, I would do it. But I really don’t like paying to hear someone do that. Don’t get me wrong. I have met Gregor myself, I have had a chance to talk with him about issues and hear his own viewpoints. Mayor Robertson is (in my view, from my limited interactions with him) someone who has expressed a genuine interest in thorny issues such as homelessness, environmental protection, accessibility to housing, etc. I have very high hopes set on Gregor Robertson, and with smart people like Andrea Reimer in council and a few other councillors and COV staff I’ve met, I am sure Vancouver will look for ways to end street homelessness.

Mangano’s talk was funny and entertaining but he wasted too much time in side stuff and didn’t get into the real “meat” of the talk until the end. And yeah, that part about NOT having questions/answers period? Pretty bad.

One point that really struck a chord with me was Mangano’s phrase “I have been to the Downtown East Side already, I don’t need to go there again”. This phrase sounded to me really dismissive. It sounded very much like “I don’t need to see more, I already know what the issues are there“.

I have to repeat through my assessment (which I’m sure sounds like a scathing indictment) that I am very sure that Mangano knows his stuff and that he has worked really hard to solve homelessness in the US. Sadly, his talk at the Vancouver Board of Trade did not give him enough credit. What he said and the way he delivered it wasn’t really what I am sure he can offer, nor what I needed/wanted to hear.

My expectation coming into this talk was an overview of specific, evidence-based, research-grounded policy options to tackle homelessness in Vancouver. In no way, shape or form did I get this. So what *did* I get, you ask? Well, I got a chance to hear someone who is highly praised in the US as an authority in homelessness provide a few points that I think are worth revising. I expected a talk of much higher caliber, but then again, maybe Mangano’s timeline didn’t provide for enough time to cover everything (although I would have EXPECTED him to be able to manage his time). The fact that he didn’t get into the data until the very end and that he didn’t provide policy options was a real disappointment.

But amongst the great things I got? I got to hang out with Dave and Toby, I got to meet some really nice people, I got to see a Vancouver Board of Trade from the perspective of an attendee rather than as a representative of the media (and remember, I have given numerous keynote talks, so I’m not looking at this from the perspective of a participant but from the perspective of someone who talks to large audiences about complex, thorny policy issues). And I got to talk to Andrea Reimer, Suzanne Anton, Mike Harcourt. So, in terms of being able to access important people and talk about issues, it was a success for me. And in the end, I did hear some interesting stuff from Mangano. Just not enough.

Dave’s assessment of the luncheon/talk can be read here.

Closures of temporary shelters on June 30th – what do YOU think?

Raul — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:10:46 +0000

Those who know me well, know that (contrary to some people’s beliefs) I’ve advocated many other causes other than just environment. I co-organized an unconference on social media and mental health, I’ve raised funds for charities that provide meals for HIV-afflicted people and for cancer research. But I’ve also been a very strong advocate for a national policy on homelessness and for a compassionate approach to dealing with people who don’t have a home.

Credit: Public16

Recently, discussions on whether temporary shelters should close (particularly the one situated underneath the Granville Street bridge – I think that’s the one that people are referring to) have been heated, and some people have indicated that crime rates would go down should these shelters close.

I haven’t seen hard data (not even anecdotal evidence) on whether crime rates are high in the vicinity of homeless shelters. But I’m curious to know what people think? Do you support the Jun 30th closure of shelters? Or should they remain open?

NOTE – Be civil when dropping your comment. I will not hesitate to delete your comment if it’s inappropriate. Remember, I retain all editorial control.

The Lazy Gourmet’s BBQ

Raul — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:08:01 +0000

A couple of weeks back, The Lazy Gourmet invited me to a summer BBQ. While I am no longer the top-ranked UrbanSpoon food reviewer, I remain in the top five and I am also heavily involved with the food blogging scene in Vancouver. The Lazy Gourmet does not actually have a full-blown restaurant (although they do provide to-go lunch options), but more importantly, it is a local business that is heavily focusing on providing sustainable food catering options. I was particularly happy when I found out that the salmon they use is Ocean Wise approved. For me, being a local business with a focus on sustainability and a genuine interest in the community always earns you brownie points. I wish I had had more space to sample all of their catering items. Unfortunately, the BBQ was on a Sunday when I was (as usual) triple-booked. Also, I was on my way for dinner with JT and he would have not appreciated it very much if I hadn’t eaten what he cooked for me! Overall, my experience with The Lazy Gourmet was very positive, particularly when I commented about my editorial and disclosure policy (i.e. I’m not obligated to write about anything nor do I endorse anything that I don’t feel right). I gave Ginger a few tips on Twitter and encouraged her to tell management at The Lazy Gourmet about getting a blog. More importantly, it is key to remain engaged with customers. I have had very little experience with caterers (only having really worked with LunchBox in Gastown for Mental Health Camp) so it was nice to learn more about The Lazy Gourmet. You can read more on their About Us page. Thanks for the invite to the BBQ! Next time, I seriously hope I’ll have more room for more tasty food!

@PaddlingGeek wants you to join a Twitter Dragonboat team

Raul — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:27:54 +0000

Credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Kimm sent me an email recently asking whether I’d be interested in joining a DragonBoat team composed of Twitterers. Sadly, I can’t join, but here is a modified version of her tweet (gives the details).

I was curious if you and or anyone you’d know be interested in joining a dragon boat team this summer of all twitters? There is a fundraiser (BC Childrens Hospital Paddle for Kids) at the end of August this year that raises money for the BC Childrens. At this event people don’t have to be a pro at paddling but just have fun. Now we just need 20-24 people interested … there will be a fee to join …. to help pay for attending the event and boat rental. 9 weeks of once a week practices.. a water tweet up??

Let me or Kimm know if you’d be interested in joining. For more information on the BC Childrens Paddle for Kids event you can click on the link.

LunchBox, the official caterers of Mental Health Camp #mhc09

Raul — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:39:58 +0000

This post is a follow up of Mental Health Camp, but it wasn’t until recently that LunchBox had launched their website. So, that’s why it’s so late here. Thanks to Darren Barefoot, we were able to meet up with the BC Mental Health Foundation Executive Director, Dee Dee Sung, to discuss the possibility of sponsorship for lunch. For both Isabella and myself, it was very important to provide lunch at Mental Health Camp.

Sharing a meal is such a bonding experience, and we knew that people would be tired if we didn’t have a break (and their glucose level would drop to dangerous levels without food). So we searched around for the best catering company in town. We wanted someone who sourced local ingredients, who might potentially employed sustainable practices and a small local entrepreneurial shop. After a recommendation of Bradley Schende (M2O) we settled on LunchBox.

When I contacted LunchBox about catering to our event and informed them that we had a certain limit to the budget we were able to spend, they were very generous to sponsor the remainder through a generous discount. This gift was very substantive and we were extremely grateful that combined the generous support of the BCMHF and LunchBox, we were able to provide a free, delicious and nutritious lunch to every participant at Mental Health Camp.

I wanted to thank again the BC Mental Health Foundation for sponsoring lunch, and to LunchBox for so generously giving us a great discount that allowed us to cover food costs with the support of BCMHF. From the feedback we received at MHC’09, 56% of the participants absolutely loved it, and 22% liked it a lot, so with over a 75% rate of ‘Excellent’ I would feel strongly about recommending LunchBox if you have any local catering needs. They were also extremely well located for our needs as their office and small restaurant is located right on Railtown (across from the offices of Invoke Media).

The LOUD Awards 2009 Edition

Raul — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:36:22 +0000

Recent months have been particularly tough for the LGBT community, not only in Vancouver but also worldwide. Gay-bashings in the Davie Street area (including one that affected a close friend of mine), the refusal of Vancouver City Hall to allow the Odyssey Night Club relocate in the Denman Street area and the passing (and confirmation) of Proposition 8 in California have been temporary setbacks.

Positive developments, including the recent May 17th International Day Against Homophobia, have continued to occur. The Vancouver LGBT community has not allowed any temporary setbacks to deter them and have continued to move forward, most recently with the recent gala for the LOUD Awards. The LOUD Foundation is a charitably branch of the the Gay and Lesbian Business Association (GLBA) and its mission is to help support the scholarly endeavours of students who show leadership in the LGBT community. The LOUD Awards Gala was superbly organized by and skillfully crafted by Marc Smith (Amuse Consulting), and it was a fantastic celebration of the hard-work of four wonderful students who have demontrated promise in the local LGBT community.

The LOUD Awards Gala took place last Thursday May 28th, 2009 at the Stanley Park Pavilion. This event was also a fundraiser for the leadership and mentorship programs that are supported by the GLBA. Featuring the wonderful Ms. Kim Kuzma, a talented performer and hosted by Tyler Wozny, it was a delightful evening. I was exhausted even before I had agreed to attend (since it clashed with another event I was supposed to be part of, the launch of League of Kickass Business People in Vancouver), but in the end, I am very glad I attended. Thanks also to Blair Smith for introducing me to a few people, that made it easier for me to mingle (although I bumped into a few familiar faces, it was nicer to have people there to ease the introductions). And for the gin and tonic (yes, my favorite drink!).

I also had a chance to talk with Doug Craig, the Marketing and Administrative Executive at the GLBA and indicated that they needed to get on Twitter. Perhaps I should give them a quick workshop on how to use Twitter to spread their message, eh? I do look forward to attending a few more events organized within the GLBT community in Vancouver.

The Regional Assembly of Text (Main Street, Vancouver)

Raul — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:50:01 +0000

Credit: eldan

If you’ve been reading my blog for long enough, you’ll know that I’m a big supporter of small business, eclectic shops and in general anything that has to do with Mount Pleasant and the Main Street area of Vancouver. I live here, and I’m blessed because I get quick access to anything I may possibly need, or within a very quick bus ride. Anyhow, in my previous explorations of Mount Pleasant I had come across The Regional Assembly of Text, but had never remembered to write about it.

I was recently reminded of this cute store, founded in 2005 by Brandy Fedoruk and Rebecca Ann Dolen because I walked by a couple of days ago. The first time I visited was with my friend AF. We both thrive in writing letters the old-fashioned way. I think I’m a natural-born writer, despite the fact that when I was little I never felt competent to write stories. I never thought of myself as a storyteller. At least, not until now that I’ve been blogging for over three years.

In my quest to find more about the Regional Assembly of Text I found this post by Sophie Munn who mentioned she’d like a store like this in her region (I think she lives in Brisbane). One of MANY really cool features of this cute little store is the Letter Writing Club. There is no cost and everyone is welcome. From their paper advertisement:

We provide paper, envelopes, typewriters, tea, cookies & encouragement

The Letter Writing Club takes place every first Thursday of the month at 7:00pm. I seriously hope to attend the next one. If you want to find out more about the Regional Assembly of Text, please check their website or drop by (it’s located near 24th Avenue and Main Street).

Cedar Cottage Greenway (East Vancouver)

Raul — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:29:18 +0000

I take Sunday afternoons and evenings off almost as a ritual. JT and I enjoy spending time together on the last day of the weekend and have an opportunity to relax. Given that today I was dog-sitting, we went for a rather long stroll towards Trout Lake, and we ended up walking along 20th Avenue, going down to 19th and finally, crossing the Cedar Cottage Greenway around 19th and Fleming.

I was perplexed by the beauty of this project, and found out that this had been a long-time standing project. From the City of Vancouver Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood page:

The Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood Greenway transformed the unopened 19th Avenue road allowance into a park-like connection between the neighbourhood and Tyne Elementary School. The greenway follows west from Fleming Street to the adjacent lane. Its design features a winding red brick path, a gazebo with seating, donated perennial flowers and pedestrian lighting. Public art in the form of pebble mosaics are set into the garden area along the path.

This greenway was initiated and built by the community, which continues to maintain it with assistance from the City. Since it was completed in 1994, a community notice board has been added and other improvements to the landscape have been made by residents. This greenway was funded in part by a Parks Board grant and the Public Art Program.

I was pretty marvelled by the greenway. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am always in search of something that will amaze me, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I wish more of these projects were taking place in Vancouver. I wonder how many greenways do we have in other parts of Vancouver. I remember there’s one around 14th and Prince Albert, near Kingsway and Fraser (though I don’t have photos of that one). Hopefully I’ll get to explore more of my beautiful neighbourhood of East Vancouver and will report back.

Flightseeing with West Coast Air

Raul — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:42:39 +0000

A few of my fellow blogger friends (including Rebecca, Sean, Duane, Erica and Grace) were invited by Tourism Vancouver to participate in a scenic flightseeing a couple of weeks ago, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it then. Lucky for me, the folks of West Coast Air offered Tourism Vancouver to give me a chance to participate in one of these flightseeing tours last Saturday and I said “of course”.

My eldest brother has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, but for the longest time, he wanted to be a commercial airline pilot. So, even though I’ve flown enough times in my life (more often than not, commercial flights for academic conferences), I figured I had to try this at least once in my lifetime, on my brother’s behalf.

And am I ever glad I did. If I may say so, doing a scenic flight tour of the Metro Vancouver, part of Whistler and Bowen Island (in general, the islands) was one of the highlights of my time living in Vancouver. I took video of the whole thing, but since it took me HOURS to upload it on to YouTube (strangely enough – I might have made a mistake with the compression settings) – so you have here just a peek at the period when we were descending. Thanks to West Coast Air and Tourism Vancouver for making my flightseeing tour possible!

World Water Day and “The Global Water Crisis” event by WaterDrop

Raul — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:08:07 +0000

You might recall that I wrote a few days back about an invitation that Jered Love and Doug Van Spronsen from WaterDrop made recently. Jered and Doug asked me if I’d be willing to speak about the state of Canadian water within the global water issues context. Of course, I accepted gladly because I believe very strongly in the work that Doug and Jered are doing in regards to highlighting the relevance of water within the context of global environmental change. As I’ve mentioned before, many people are SO focused on climate change that they tend to forget that water IS also a natural resource that faces great challenges in the very near future.

The event took place last night, with a showing of a video that WaterDrop created, a screening of the movie/documentary “Flow” and two talks, one by the folks of Run for Water (I’ll write more about them in the next few days) and my own. I’ll have my slides up on my research site in the next couple of days. On the way back, we were talking about the event and I mentioned that they should be proud, because bringing 70 people to Langley (at Trinity Western University) on a Saturday night to talk water, is not an easy task, and the participants stayed for much longer to talk to the folks who had exhibits at the event (the Township of Langley, Oxfam, the Council of Canadians). They did an amazing job and they also had several people who helped make the event successful, and I personally had a great time.

Water and energy are considered two of the most important and pressing environmental issues in the next 50 years. Unfortunately, so much emphasis is placed on the need for energy resources that not enough attention is paid to the myriad of issues surrounding water. Who has the right to access water? How can we make this access equitable? Is privatization the right way pathway for water conservation? What can we do to re-purpose wastewater and how safe is the technology? There are many, many questions regarding water that are still not answered. My research on water governance aims to tackle just a few of this questions.

Only 3% of the world’s water supply is freshwater (the rest is salt water). This fact comes as a good reminder that today, March 22nd, 2009 is not only the second day of spring, but also the celebration of World Water Day. The theme for 2008 was Sanitation (where my main focus of water research is) and for 2009 is Transboundary Water.

Over the last 60 years there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. We need to continue to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that transboundary water management can provide. [World Water Day UN Site]

In my research, I have examined the way in which wastewater policy is created within a river basin that encompasses territory of five Mexican states (the equivalent of provinces in Canada). The 2009 theme of Transboundary Waters is very timely, because (as I found while conducting fieldwork for this project) water can be used not only as a natural resource but also as a political resource. When water bodies (aquifers or lakes or rivers) are shared amongst two political entities, conflicts about jurisdiction over the water bodies may potentially ensue. Right now, we don’t have water wars, but given the irresponsible consumption patterns that many individuals have, we may see real water fights in the near future.

How many transboundary river basins are there?

There are 263 transboundary river basins. Over 45 percent of the land surface of the world is covered by river basins that are shared by more than one country. Over 75 percent of all countries, 145 in total, have within their boundaries shared river basins. And 33 nations have over 95 percent of their territory within international river basins.

While most transboundary river basins are shared between just two countries, there are many river basins where this number is much higher. There are 13 basins worldwide that are shared between 5 to 8 countries. Five river basins, the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi, are shared between 9 to 11 countries. The river that flows through the most countries is the Danube, which passes through the territory of 18 countries.[UN World Water Day]

On this World Water Day, I encourage all my readers to re-think their consumption patterns, to think of ways to conserve and recycle water, to ponder how can each one of us contribute to the work of non-governmental organizations that are fighting tirelessly to provide safe drinking water to the many people in developing nations that don’t have access to clean water. Happy World Water Day.

Event recap – Shane Gibson’s Manager’s Toolbox Seminar at Vancouver Board of Trade

Raul — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:54:32 +0000

I’ve been very impressed with the recent Vancouver Board of Trade events. I will admit that I hadn’t been exposed to their work (perhaps because for the longest time, before I started blogging and social networking on Twitter I was just focusing on one specific realm, environmental studies and academia). Shane Gibson (whom I consider a friend, but also a very knowledgeable guy) invited me to attend his recent talk within the Manager’s Toolbox speaker series.

Shane spoke on the topic of “How to Succeed in Turbulent Economic Times”. I had previously praised Shane for the kind of work that he did, both with the Vancouver Sales Performance Meetup, and along with Steve Jagger (whom I also consider a good friend), in the Vancouver Real Estate Tech Meetup.

In this particular talk, Shane offered numerous insights that are worth discussing, but there are two in particular that left quite an impression on me. The first one, he made it clear through a historical analysis, that turbulent economic times have been upon us throughout the century! Turbulence is not a sign of our times. It’s been a sign of ALL times!

The second insight that left me pondering was the sheer power of relationship-building. Shane spoke about building relationships online and then bringing them to real life. I think that’s one of the things I like the most about this approach, creating relationships, not looking at people as “clients” or “customers” but as individuals whom you can help reach their goals.

Overall, I was really positively impressed by Shane’s talk, it was very engaging and motivating. And as I told him, that’s one of the reasons why I love participating in the meetups that Steve and him organize: I learn something new every time I attend, I learn something new. I doubt that I would have ever attended a Vancouver Board of Trade event if it hadn’t been for Shane (and Steve as well, as he has given talks for the VBoT several times). It’s good to network outside of your silo, that’s for sure!

The West End evictions and this week’s municipal elections

Raul — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:57:19 +0000

If you are a Vancouverite and able to vote (Canadian citizen, older than 18 yrs old), you probably DO know that Vancouver’s municipal election takes place on November 15th, 2008 (8am to 8pm). You can start doing advance voting at 5 locations in Vancouver (read more here).

There’s an issue that I find has not been discussed at length (or maybe it has but I haven’t read much about it in the past few weeks/months) – the issue of evictions in order to increase rent. While I do not live in the West End, I have MANY very close friends, both civilians and tech/social media/PR people who have their homes there.

It does worry me that evictions to renovate and then increase rents continue to happen. This issue is something that has been written about extensively (I’ve read lots of stories in many major newspapers) . The question I have is – does anybody know if the candidates for city mayor have expressed any formal position on the issue?

Why do I think this issue is relevant, when there are others (homelessness, transportation, etc.) that are also key? Well, simply because if the trend continues in the West End, the likelihood that these kinds of evictions will happen (I haven’t read many reports about occurrences of evictions to increase rent outside the West End) in other areas may increase. My main concern, of course, is my own neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant)!

What do you think of this issue?

Public policy lessons on homelessness for Vancouver’s next mayor

Raul — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:23:35 +0000

Credit: Vlastula on Flickr

Both of the candidates with actually the best shot at actually becoming the next Mayor of Vancouver (Gregor Robertson and Peter Ladner) have participated in debates on (and broadly proclaimed that they’ll work to end) homelessness in Vancouver (you can read a good recap by Tris here). Well, gentlemen, I seriously do hope that whoever wins, will seriously seek some sound advice on public policy, particularly on the issue of homelessness.

I am not an expert in homelessness policy by any means. I am, however, a specialist in environmental studies and public policy, and particularly I’ve researched issues that are clearly the domain of various levels of government. In particular, water governance in Mexico faces many challenges precisely because of this problem – overlapping jurisdictional responsibilities. Homelessness has the same basic structural problem. It should be a shared responsibility, but no actual level of government takes real responsibility and is truly accountable for dealing with homelessness.

In Mexico, wastewater governance and water supply provision, for example, is fully a responsibility of the municipality. That responsibility is enshrined in the Mexican Constitution (Article 115). Unfortunately, municipalities don’t really have a standing in the Canadian political system. Canadian federalism recognizes the Federation and the provinces (and Territories). However, municipalities/cities are not recognized (see Canada’s Cities report) and therefore, the intergovernmental relationships amongst municipalities, the provincial governments and the Federal have become really complicated [EDIT - Found even better sources on the debate on whether municipalities should be granted constitutional status in the site of the Library of the Parliament of Canada and in the Canadian Encylopedia].

This is unfortunate, and it’s a big problem if you think about it, because – who bears the brunt of homeless as a societal issue that needs to be addressed? The municipality. However, how can a municipality address an issue that requires cooperation between provinces, the Federation and the municipality if there is no actual recognized Constitutional status of the city in Canada? (see the sources I’ve included above on the state of the debate in regards to the constitutional status of the municipality/city)

According to Vision Vancouver’s blog, Gregor suggests to “build relationships with all levels of government” as one of the key actions they’ll undertake if elected.

According to Peter Ladner’s blog, Peter suggests that he will tackle homelessness “through a partnership of federal, provincial, regional, municipal governments and non-profit agencies”.

Well, dear candidates in the November 15th municipal election, you will need to not only build relationships and partnerships, but actually establish sound, solid intergovernmental agreements that lead to the implementation at a local (municipal) level of the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Although, that being said, I think we need a sound National Homelessness Action Strategy.

Homelessness is definitely a regional/municipal public policy issue, but municipalities can’t solve the problem by themselves, without the support of the Federal government. For all candidates, I suggest you coordinate your strategy with the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (launched in December 2006).

Under the HPS, the federal government will offer the provinces and territories the opportunity to enter into bilateral partnerships, improve collaboration and develop linkages between the federal homelessness programs and provincial/territorial social services to help communities make strategic investments that will best serve their homeless populations.[HPS About Us]

I would also recommend investing in solid, evidence-based research on homelessness using a global, multi-country, multi-region comparative strategy. Surely, other countries have reduced homelessness. How did they do it? What did they do? What was needed?

I am sure someone must have done good research on the topic. I haven’t, but if I was a specialist in urban issues (specifically homelessness) rather than an environmental specialist, I probably would launch a research programme with applied outcomes (e.g. partner with the local communities to actually effect change).

I was able to find a good article on homelessness and health (co-authored by, amongst others, Dr. Jim Frankish, whose research I do respect a lot).

Homelessness and Health in Canada: Research Lessons and Priorities
C James Frankish; Stephen W Hwang; Darryl Quantz, Canadian Journal of Public Health; Mar/Apr 2005; 96.

[Link here]

Additional resources – Not a research paper, but Monte Paulsen’s post on The Tyee “Seven Solutions to Homelessness” is a great read.

One last word – whoever wins, please don’t just give us empty promises.

DO THINGS THAT WILL HAVE POSITIVE, LONG-LASTING POSITIVE EFFECTS!

Waste Reduction Week Canada – Oct 19-25th, 2008

Raul — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:02:36 +0000

This week marks the Waste Reduction Week in Canada (from October 19th to the 25th). You may not recall last year’s civic strike (one of many policy and political mistakes) but in case you do, I am hoping this little visual reminder will help remind you of how awful the city looked.

Credit: Rebelcan

As I mentioned a while ago, we live in a rather affluent (and wasteful) society. We buy coffee to go, and then proceed to dump the paper cup in the trash can. We buy disposable diapers and then proceed to wrap them in double plastic bags, because “eeewww it’s poop”. We drive three blocks to buy groceries. And the list goes on.

Waste Reduction Week Canada helps remind us of the many ways in which we can reduce our ecological footprint by minimizing waste. If you need a refresher, I wrote a short post on solid waste management that will give you some useful reading material.

The website of Waste Reduction Week Canada offers some really neat factoids (some of which you may or may not know). As a scholar of environmental studies who happens to have worked for many years in solid/liquid/hazardous waste management, I actually do know that landfill sites account for about 38% of Canada’s total methane emissions (according to Environment Canada).

If you need some suggestions on how to reduce the amount of waste you generate, feel free to drop me a comment, send me an email or send me a tweet.

The importance of voting in American, Canadian and Vancouver elections

Raul — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:30:16 +0000

One of the areas where my mother does research is in electoral studies (however, she studies elections in Mexico more than anything, although lately she’s been interested in Canadian elections). She was mentioning how important it was to galvanize people and make them want to go and vote.

It’s true that many, many people refuse to vote because they don’t think that their vote is going to count. I was reading some statistics on how many people have voted in recent Canadian elections and I recall a figure hovering around 64% or so (of the whole electorate).

The most recent election for President was the most contested in Mexican history and I can assure you that one of the reasons for that was precisely that a lot of the people who many people thought wouldn’t vote did indeed cast a ballot.

Even though I’m not American, I’m pretty darn sure I have American readers (and of course, Canadian) so I’d strongly encourage you to register to vote. Hat tips to Steve Jagger who tweeted this video (source: YouTube) where lots of US movie stars encourage viewers to vote.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UaRXvRwhOk&hl=en&fs=1]

Gay-bashing on Davie Street? What’s wrong with this city?

Raul — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:59:19 +0000

I hate any kind of bullying or bashing, but a gay bashing is one of those hate crimes I simply can’t stomach. It’s amazing how much safety is taken for granted anywhere, and how religion, sexual orientation or race can create such amazing divides. We are all human beings, whether we like it or not. I hadn’t heard mention of this until my good friend JT mentioned that tae-kwon-do training may come handy when it comes to having to deal with this type of attacks.

I was reading some of the CTV online coverage and given that these stories indicate that frequently bashing victims fail to report these crimes, I would like to commend the victim (Jordan Smith) for coming forward. And encourage those who have been victims to raise their voice.

It’s somewhat frustrating that so much progress against homophobia has been achieved, yet public safety seems to be compromised in what is supposed to be the safest area for queer people (Vancouver’s West End). This should definitely be an issue that should be covered in the upcoming municipal election – how is public safety going to be enhanced? Tougher laws against bashers? I don’t really know.

This unfortunate and sad event really reminds me of how much sometimes we actually do need superheroes (the first thing that sprung to mind when I read about this was the movie “Super-Amigos”, a Mexican Canadian production that aired during the 2007 Vancouver Queer Film Festival). And those who come forward when being victims of crime (any crime, really) are also heroes. Kudos to you Jordan, and to everyone else who has reported these horrible incidents.

Homelessness Action Week 2008 – October 12th to 19th, 2008

Raul — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:13:20 +0000

Photo Credit: Matthew Good on Flickr

Last week, I mentioned that I was worried about the lack of interest in local/Canadian politics and the excessive focus on the US election on Canadian and Vancouverite blogs and on Twitter. Well, with the news of an upcoming Federal election (October 14th, 2008), I am very, VERY happy to see the interest of our bloggers, readers and Twitterers renewed on Canadian issues

During the same week, I tried to remind my readers that in order for us to really participate, and put the public back into public policy, we need to focus on local issues while maintaining a global perspective. One of those hyperlocal issues that I think we need to focus on is the lack of homes and shelter for homeless people. On a side note, I am not too sure that homelessness will be taken up as a Federal election issue, but who knows.

Even though homelessness is mostly considered a regional, municipal/provincial public policy issue, there is an actual Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (launched in December 2006). From their About Us page:

Under the HPS, the federal government will offer the provinces and territories the opportunity to enter into bilateral partnerships, improve collaboration and develop linkages between the federal homelessness programs and provincial/territorial social services to help communities make strategic investments that will best serve their homeless populations.[HPS About Us]

Homeless Action Week will take place EXACTLY during the 2008 Federal election week, which is kind of timely, if you ask me. Why? Well, because everything is interconnected. With the 2010 Olympics and the discussions around the gentrification of the Downtown East Side, there will be a need to re-examine the Federal strategy on homelessness. And I have the feeling that Homeless Action Week may be the catalyzer for this re-examination.

Is lack of homes (and affordable housing) an issue? Well, let’s examine the data provided by the Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness.

A 24-hour snapshot count conducted on March 11 th, 2008 indicates that 2,592 individuals were found to be homeless in the Metro Vancouver region. This number is an increase of 427 individuals over the 2005 count data, or an increase of 19% over the number of homeless individuals found in 2005, and a jump of 131% since 2002.[HAW Research Page]

So, the question again is … how can you help? In addition to all of those great suggestions provided on the RSCH page for Homeless Action Week, you can also
- Blog about it.
- Tweet about it.
- Talk about it with your friends, family, etc.
- Write about it (in print).
- Discuss it on national media.

And, two additional things you can do…

One, you could donate your time, clothing items or food to local food banks. Rebecca has for very long been a champion of Metro Vancouver’s food banks, most recently raising over $10,000 dollars for the United Gospel Mission (along with Duane and with the generous help of Matt Good, Matt’s fans and many other participants). Lack of food would most definitely be an issue that homeless people face.

Two, you can participate in the events for the 2008 Homeless Action Week. Last year, I highlighted some of the 2007 HAW events and had a chance to participate in a few. As I mentioned in that previous post, sustainability, social change and social responsibility start at home, and Vancouver is my home, so that’s where I am trying to effect change.

On that note, I would like to invite you to follow @vanpoverty on Twitter, as this is a project where I am partnering with the brilliant Joe Solomon (@engagejoe on Twitter) to use our combined blogging/social media powers to bring issues of poverty and homelessness in Vancouver to the forefront.

Banning bottled water in Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver pledge

Raul — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:00:27 +0000

A large portion of my research agenda focuses on water, despite the fact that sometimes some relevant water issues go unnoticed (did you know that 2008 is the Year of Sanitation?). The good thing about studying water is that questions pop always on my mind and there’s always something new to look at.

Being an academic and a blogger, I look at issues through research-trained eyes, and the whole discussion on banning bottled water in Vancouver is one of those debates that attract me. I am hoping to do some research about it in the short term future.

Photo credit: Ianiv and Arieanna

I am particularly drawn to water issues as I’ve done research both in the environmental engineering field (building wastewater treatment plants) and in the environmental studies field (studying water governance and policy). I am trained to examine problems from the social sciences AND natural sciences/engineering lenses.

A few weeks back, Duane kindly invited me to guest post on his blog. We were doing Blogathon and my post examined very briefly the debate on water privatization, but I didn’t delve in depth.

The whole banning bottled water debate in Vancouver touches on two issues. One of them, the commodification and privatization of water. The other one is the potential health-associated risk of consuming water from the tap. Both of these issues would give me enough material to start a new blog. However, I’m going to just focus on one small sub-issue: bottling water for sale and redistribution (and the health effects associated).

We often (but not always) consume bottled water because we feel safer. Sometimes we consume bottled water simply because we don’t have access to tap water at the moment. There are different rationales. However, one associated (implicit) benefit is that we don’t need to worry about our safety and health if we consume bottled water. Is our tap water really all that bad?

When I worked as an environmental engineer, I would get stomach illnesses whenever I would be exposed to wastewater streams. But I have never gotten sick from consuming water from the tap (neither in Mexico nor in Canada). I know, the whole “revenge of Montezuma” joke is based on a perception that potable water in Mexico is really polluted and thus every foreign visitor will get stomach cramps or get ill when visiting if they consume water from the tap. But it has never happened to me (not even now that I’m visiting).

Metro Vancouver is undertaking a project to have people pledge to consume only tap water and reduce the number of plastic water bottles thrown into landfills. I have to say that I wholeheartedly support this initiative. From their website:

Why Metro Vancouver has a Tap Water Pledge
* Metro is committed to reducing bottled water use by 20% by 2010 to reduce the environmental impact of bottled water
* Millions of single-use plastic water bottles (one litre or smaller) ended up in our region’s landfills in 2007
* We want to provide a tangible way residents to support a sustainable practice – using refillable water containers instead of single-use plastic water bottles

[Metro Vancouver: Take the Tap Water Pledge]

The Tap Water Pledge page has information on health risks associated with water, fast facts, etc. that are aimed to help the public understand the rationale behind the project. Interestingly enough, I didn’t find data on the worldwide consumption of bottled water in comparison to Canada and/or Vancouver. I think this would be a broader perspective. From the IBWA statistics page, their 2007 stats report, I found out that Mexico is the second largest consumer of bottled water in the world, with 54.1 gallons per capita (but is this figure per year, per month? If one drinks one litre of water a day, how many gallons is that a year? I hate websites with poor statistics!)

Now, from a social media perspective, I have to say that while I think the page is a good resource, I would probably take a much more “public understanding of science” approach to it. I have to say that it would be fun to undertake this type of project, and it would merge Web 2.0 with sustainability research…. Hmm… good idea!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: For some statistics on bottled water consumption, the International Bottled Water Association has some data. But I couldn’t find anything on Canada. Frustrating.

Adaptation and vulnerability to floods and climatic events in Mexico

Raul — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:18:32 +0000

This post is worthy of much more in-depth content, but I just wanted to show that the municipality where my parents live is really unprepared for extreme rain. The photos and video shown below show the local river almost entirely flooded (and rather polluted, as you can see).

As you can see, cars are at serious risk of being taken by the river. The local authorities are rather unprepared for these extreme rain events. But the funny thing is, I wonder how prepared are the Metro Vancouver municipalities. I will be doing some research on this topic upon my return to Vancouver.

Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty

Raul — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:05:34 +0000

Poverty is one of the societal illnesses that occupies my mind on a regular basis. Not because I live a rather frugal life and I’m on a budget. I’m actually talking about REAL poverty.

Photo credit: DTES.people on Flickr.

While I realize that there are many measurements and definitions of poverty, I was kind of shocked to find out that the World Bank doesn’t have specific pages to analyze poverty in North America. Is the belief that poverty does not exist in North America (USA and Canada, as Mexico is included in their Latin America dataset) so prevalent that US and Canada don’t warrant their own country pages?

Anyone who knows me even a little bit and who has taken the time to read the more serious, less fluffy posts in my blog will know that I’m a big fan and promoter of social activism, particularly in issues of homelessness, poverty alleviation, sustainability and HIV prevention/treatment. This time, I’d like to draw your attention to Blog Action Day 2008′s theme – Poverty.

What is Blog Action Day?

Global issues like poverty are extremely complex. There is no simple, clear answer. By asking thousands of different people to give their viewpoints and opinions, Blog Action Day creates an extraordinary lens through which to view these issues. Each blogger brings their own perspective and ideas. Each blogger posts relating to their own blog topic. And each blogger engages their audience differently.[Blog Action Day site, About Page]

Last year, I participated in Blog Action Day 2007, as the topic was sustainability. This year, I am even more motivated to participate given that my readership has increased, I am much more socially connected (through Twitter and many other Web 2.0 methods) and therefore, my blog may be able to make more of a difference.

So, how can you get involved? You can check the Frequently Asked Questions section of their site. In my case, I will be doing 1/4 of a Blogathon (e.g. only 12 posts) but all of them will be focused on issues of poverty. You are more than welcome to guest post if you feel like it, or link to any of my posts should you want to, but more than anything, do something. Get involved.

I don’t think I should try to coerce people into promoting Blog Action Day or doing something about it, but I am passionate about poverty alleviation, so if you could spread the word, that would be super awesome. Even better… if you can engage in doing something to alleviate poverty, that would be even more awesome.

Thank you.

The Environmental Movement Needs You – Homer Simpson Has Already Joined – Guest post by Lotus Effect

Raul — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:00:18 +0000

This post was contributed by L.E. who blogs at The Lotus Effect.

I love the way Raul phrases his environmental passions: “Being a student of the Environment”. I’ve found myself amongst the dozens of people I know that have put their previous career paths aside and pursued environmentally-related position in hopes of making a difference (and I’ve abandoned any inclination to feel the least bit hesitant to say that making a difference bit regardless of how trite it may be perceived by some).

So I’m confronted with it everyday – people wanting to do something, and we constantly hear.. “Just start anywhere.. it doesn’t’ matter where – the first step will introduce you to a plethora of options, and before you know it, you’ll come across something you’re really exited about.” Well, what if you don’t know where to take that first step? This is where this post comes in, I hope to offer some options of first steps that might lead you to your green passions. So here they go.

1) GREEN DRINKS The perfect combination – environmental geekery and sophisticated discussions with all kinds of people working in, or interested in the environment. I’ve only attended the Vancouver version twice, but it’s been a lot of fun – there is always a mix of veterans and solo flyers that show up without knowing a soul (but that is of course changed after the first beer).

2a) STORY OF STUFF This is a great little description of how the world currently works, some of the problems our actions are causing, and how to get involved in changing these patterns. The point with this one is.. simply reach out and learn more about how the world works, and how we can minimize our impact on the environment

2b) CRADLE TO CRADLE Similar to Option 2), this is a monumental piece of work that redefines the way we approach how we go about building stuff and creating the everyday objects we use. This novel concepts presented in cannot be called short of anything but a paradigm shift in the positive direction of what it means to be human. It’s simple, and beautiful…

If you’re interested in learning more without diving into the book, I’d recommend having a look at the TED talk featuring one of the authors (TED has numerous amazing talks on many other subjects including psychology, art, music, and technology. The one other talk that seems to be somewhat related would a brain scientist experiencing life a stroke in her left hemisphere, leaving her exposed to the raw experience of living life through her right – creative, loving, unified hemisphere – the experience’s lesson – if we use both of our brain real estate (Left AND right hemisphere), then we are much more in tune with others, and the environment around us – have a look).

2c) INCONVENIENT TRUTH If you haven’t seen it yet.. The only thing i gotta say about this one – i think any movie that helps someone win the Nobel Peace Prize might – just might be worth watching.

3) TAKE A HIKE I’m not kidding. Go get outside. Listen to the silence of the air and the stillness of your thoughts. There are many accessible parks in the Metro Vancouver area. Some of my favorites include Lighthouse Park (which is easily accessible by public transit, but surprisingly beautiful and secluded), the Grouse Grind if you’re adventurous, Shannon Falls or Bridal Veil Falls (if you prefer a light walk in the woods), or the Chief if you’re fit and would like a bit of a challenge.

4) LEARN ABOUT WATER Why on earth am i writing about water? An excellent recent film “Flow: For the Love of Water” about water illustrates this resource’s incredible importance. For one second care to entertain the thought of considering how essential water is to our survival, health (as in, the lack of clean water leading to health and survival problems). Climate change is melting glaciers and snowpacks around the world meaning that rivers worldwide are or will be facing water shortages. In 1999, 26 percent of Canadian municipalities reported problems with water availability, including seemingly wet locals such as Vancouver and Victoria (Environment Canada 2001; Boyd 2003). To illustrate the importance of this issue a bit further: 440 of 669 major cities in China face moderate to severe water shortages, and data collected from NASA and the World Health Organization suggest that 4 billion people will face water shortages by 2050 (Lagod 2007).

5) FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE SIDE Learning more about the state of the world can be difficult at times, but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned about environmental issues is the absolute necessity to stay positive, and not let things get to you personally – I’ve just started a blog about this and highlighting the importance of something known as the Lotus Effect (the real definition). Using all the energy generated by anger of learning about humanity breaking environmental laws and transforming it into something positive – action on improving things or leading by example. And last, and most importantly, keeping a sense of humour about it all, and not taking things, and ourselves too seriously.

A great example would be a well-known (and very witty) standup comedian talking about energy and world politics in Robert Newman’s History of Oil (I love it). Another PERFECT example of this would be the words of wisdom by a writer on the Simpsons - Welcoming Homer, the Tree Hugger! I’d like to end on that note, if you don’t visit any other links, visit the last two – I’m particularly fond of always looking at the bright side of things. With Love, L.E.

Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:30:19 +0000

A few weeks back, Rebecca directed Kara Alcorn (Customer Relations, Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.) towards my site and suggested that I talk to her. I have to say that I am very positively impressed with Fresh Start (as we bloggers have begun to call this young company).

Obviously, you’re going to ask me – so what IS Fresh Start?While I am sure you’ll check their site, basically let me tell you that Fresh Start takes the business of recycling one step further, and brings the recycled stuff to charities. Moreover, one element that really impressed me was that they look for local charities within the communities where their clients are located.

Founded in 2004 by Vancouver native Thomas Goodall, Fresh Start Recycling & Disposal Ltd. is committed to reducing clutter in your life while minimizing our impact on the environment by reducing the amount of material that goes straight to the landfill.[Fresh Start Recycling website]

Let me give you an example. Currently, my friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber are in the North Shore area, and are currently renovating their house. Their floor has to be fully torn apart and they need to install new flooring. They’ll probably also need to remove and recycle stuff. The obvious choice of company to do this? Fresh Start, of course!

By demonstrating that recycling can be still a successful business model AND that you can incorporate elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR), therefore enhancing how and where the product is delivered and the ethical/social aspects of recycling within local communities, I think Fresh Start is indeed off to a very fresh start, and a successful one!

Even smarter, Fresh Start maintains a relationship with customers, vendors, potential clients. How? By using one of the most innovative forms of communication – Web 2.0! Yes, sir! Fresh Start has a BLOG. I can’t help but feel really excited about this, because I am always a firm believer that you can meld social media with sustainability, and as you can see, Fresh Start is doing it!

In addition, of course, I should highlight the fact that their office is in Mount Pleasant, very close to my house, as a matter of fact!

Kudos to Fresh Start as well, because they were the first corporate sponsors of my Blogathon 2008. While I am raving about them in this post (and very legitimately, as I do believe in their positive intentions), they did NOT sponsor this post, so this is in NO way paid advertisement. They DID, however, sponsor a forthcoming post that will describe in more detail the whole concept of Recycle, Reuse, Reduce (3Rs), and for their contribution to the BC Cancer Agency and my Blogathon, I am very, very grateful!

Vancouver Young Professionals and Real Estate Tech Meetup recap

Raul — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:15:46 +0000

Demonstrating that everyone can (and should) access technology, the Vancouver Real Estate Tech Meetup (combined this time with the Vancouver Young Professionals Meetup) gave me a really good overview of how real estate professionals are harnessing the power of Web 2.0. It was also very nice and refreshing to see young Vancouver professionals who attended the meetup as well.

Steve Jagger invited both Rebecca (who is liveblogging) and myself to attend this event. While I had decided that I wasn’t going to attend that many events, I figured this would be one that would be fitting, and besides, I was very productive (in regards to my own work) today, so I don’t mind at all attending. I am actually quite glad that Steve invited me because I had a chance to attend Scott Humphrey’s seminar (Scott is a Peak Performance Strategist w/ Tony Robbins), network, socialize AND learn more about myself.

Steve Jagger and Scott Humphrey.

Some of the participants in the meeting

Some insights I gained from Scott’s talk.

Success without fulfillment is a failure. I completely agree with Scott. We should look at our lives and, if we’re not getting the results, we should ask WHY (instead of mulling over and trying to feel “pumped” about change, but not actually engaging in it).

The interactive workshop is targeted towards helping the participants learn more about themselves and how they can achieve peak performance through some strategic thinking.

Three types of fears:
- Fear of success
- Fear of failure
- Fear of unknown

Your beliefs and patterns are what determines your performance (and your future). I completely agree with Scott on this statement. What is holding you back?

R (Results)

What type of belief (B) do we need to achieve R (result)?

When people make excuses about why they don’t get the results they want – maybe they had the wrong beliefs.

What is really impossible in your life? Nothing, really. You need to get out and take action.

1) You have to change your focus.
2) Motion creates emotion.

Leaders DO take action!

Here is the facts – you need to get good results, to get outstanding results, you need outstanding results.

OVERALL SUMMARY

The meetup went really well, atendees were very friendly, Scott is a great speaker and the concepts he was putting forward apply to anyone who wants to grow. Some of his insights were very relevant to what I want to do moving forth. Scott was very motivating and his energy was outstanding.

The only very minor little glitch I saw in the Meetup was that the music volume in neighbouring floors/rooms was a tad too loud. I really enjoyed Scott’s talk and it would have been even stronger without the other room’s music. But the seminar itself (interactive workshop) was outstanding. Way to go, Steve! Good job in the organization of this meetup, and great decision bringing Scott to talk. And of course, thanks for inviting me to come, in the first place.

Steve commented that this could be a potential location for Third Tuesday and I agree, it would TOTALLY fit, the only problem I see is that we would probably have to ask the speaker to speak out, but that’s quite alright. They have WiFi here at Ceili’s. I’ll recommend it to Tanya, and I know Steve said he’d put a good word in for us. This seems like a good possibility.

Unappreciated beauty in North Vancouver

Raul — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:20:46 +0000

It’s a fact: human beings take things for granted. Canadians and Vancouverites are not exempted from this. Why on Earth would people choose to voluntarily pollute their environment is beyond me. Do you want to guess what I found on this gorgeous park, right besides Lonsdale Quay (after having hung out with Arieanna for a bit at Waves on 1st. St. and Lonsdale)?

Yeah… I found THIS…

And THIS…

Does this upset me? YES. IT DOES. The mere reason why I traveled all the way from Mount Pleasant to the North Shore was to enjoy the scenic beauty (which I did), to have a chance to hang out with friends (which I did). However, I was not prepared to be taken aback by the lack of environmental awareness of what is touted as “the most environmentally-friendly city in Canada”. Well… somebody needs to remind its citizens about better environmental behavior.

/end rant.

And here is a gorgeous view that may give you a hint on why I travel to North Van for comfort.

Car-Free Festival: Reporting back on Main Street

Raul — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:18:27 +0000

The Car-Free Festival: Main Street Edition was very much a lot of fun. My friend Karen Parker was volunteering for the West End one, but I wasn’t really much in the mood to swing by (and I had to finish inserting a few references in EndNote). [Sorry Karen!]

For me, eating cotton candy is one of those things that transports me back to a wonderful childhood. I hadn’t had a chance to eat cotton candy since I was 20, so this tasted like a little piece of heaven! I was also very touched by the fact that young kids were helping out and making the cotton candy.

I wanted cotton candy… so they were kind and gave me one!

Main Street was closed between 12th Avenue and 16th Avenue (thank you and kudos to the Vancouver Police Department, the City of Vancouver Fire Department and all other local support, because it was VERY well protected. I felt really safe walking there, thanks to road closures and having an ambulance standing by!). Another really cool element was an exhibition of many different modes of transportation with bikes.

You need balance to do this!

I had an opportunity to speak with a number of people in different booths, which was REALLY cool. Some of them had already read my blog! YAY! Furthermore, there were a lot of exhibits that showcased the amazing stuff we have on Main Street, including the Happy Bats Cinema (who offered veggie dogs, popcorn and soda by donation!). I mean, how cool is that?

The music was fantastic, and I made a point of listening to musicians on all three stages. This photo is from the main stage (on 13th Avenue)

I plan to write more detailed posts with focus on each one of the booths/businesses that were showcased, but in the mean time, I know you want to check my Flickr account for more photos, so go there right now

SIDE NOTES – Some other local bloggers also have done reviews/links/photos of Car-Free Festival. Do you mind dropping a comment and I’ll update this post as I get the links? Thanks!

National Hunger Awareness Day 2008

Raul — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:30:19 +0000

I am very proud of Rebecca’s extraordinary efforts to raise awareness on the need to support local (e.g. Metro Vancouver) food banks. It is always a challenge to pick one single cause or charity to blog about, and I am right now struggling about the decision on which charity to support for Blogathon 2008 (yes, I think we are doing it, as Rebecca is taking it upon herself to organize – I will be happy to provide co-organization support, plus I’ll blogathon as well).

At any rate, with all the comings and goings around this city, I am not sure how I managed to overlook National Hunger Awareness Day.

The mission of National Hunger Awareness Day is to tell the story of the food banks and the people who use them. The goal of the Hunger Awareness Day movement is to raise awareness about the solvable problem of hunger in Canada.[NHAD website]

I am VERY lucky in the fact that, despite how tight my budget has been in recent months, I have always managed to eat well and have never failed to put food on the table. As JT very appropriately says, I may live in a modest residence and be cautious with my money but I don’t live a really frugal life. I’m eternally grateful for that, and I try to live my life to the fullest for that same reason.

Please consider donating to local food banks, your efforts will make a difference in people’s lives.

Homelessness in Vancouver and sustainability: Researching the issue

Raul — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:15:18 +0000

As it turns out, I have been thinking for a while about ways in which I can write more Vancouver-centric stuff. I want to write a well-researched, cogent article on the fact that we need to look at homelessness and sustainability through a more cogent, holistic perspective, not all the “wishy-washy”, “yeah we do care about homeless people, see… we’re buying new buildings”, yadda yadda yadda. However, as an academic and with my research training I feel that I can’t just write whatever comes out of my brain. I need data, I need numbers, I need background reading and I need people to talk to who are knowledgeable in the area of homelessness (I have training in urban sustainability, so I can take care of that side of the equation). All leads much appreciated. Please leave a comment on my blog. Thanks! I’ll save your contact details and get back to you once I’ve done enough research to write a very cogent, solid post. Thanks.