General University Area Updates and Rumours

[danbrotherston]

It would be interesting to see what would happen if the University Planning school were asked to reimagine the block that includes the Columbia Lake Villages up to Fisher-Hallman Road.  In many ways, the University of Manitoba plan is a similar sized property.

Certainly it would be better...

But even the school is questionable...one of the heads of the School of planning (Clarence Woudsma) was interviewed by the National Post a little while ago and stated that you cannot live a fulfilling life without a car. (And this isn't in "the real world in Canada today" it was in a hypothetical perfect 15 minute city). I mean, I haven't had a car in years and I don't miss it, but I guess some academic knows how fulfilling my life is better than I do.

I know folks at the city have candidly told me how problematic they found the University as a partner...certainly the bus station situation confirms that to me. And I also remember when I was a grad student discovering that the university administration and the professors were not the same thing and there was also some...disagreement there as well. My theory: the university admin have a parking garage under their building...they don't actually engage or interact with the larger university at all...but of course, somehow it's the professors that are in an "ivory tower"...