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Opinion

It is rare for a city to be given an opportunity to build a brand new neighbourhood in the heart of its downtown. When it happens, it is usually the result of an industry that was once the economic engine relocating out of the modern core.

In Toronto, the railway lands along Lake Ontario have seen a multibillion-dollar transformation into a forest of highrises, altering the city's postcard skyline image into something resembling lower Manhattan. False Creek was once the industrial heart of Vancouver, but today it is home to 60,000 people living in a signature West Coast condo tower neighbourhood.

When the rail yards at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers were closed 30 years ago, Winnipeg was given that same opportunity -- but our city went in a different direction.

Instead of a skyscraper community, we transformed our land into an important public place that is today a jewel in the city's crown and one of Western Canada's top tourist destinations.

With a world-class museum (Canadian Museum for Human Rights) now open, the focus has shifted to the two largest parking lots in Winnipeg's downtown as the final piece of The Forks puzzle and home to the long-missing residential component of the site. Over the past year, refinement of the long-term master plan for the Railside and Parcel 4 properties has been in development, with the design concepts being unveiled last week.

The goal for the design team (of which I am a part) has been to create the development guidelines for a new, environmentally sustainable, urban neighbourhood that feels as though it's simply more of The Forks, an extension of the core values that have made the site so successful.

The hope is to create a residential village that feels as though it has grown from the site naturally, inspired by and strengthening the special character of the place that we all cherish.

The solution will be a uniquely Winnipeg response.

Instead of the skyscraper communities of Vancouver and Toronto, The Forks neighbourhood will be intimate, made up of low-rise buildings (four to six stories) focused on narrow, winding lanes, plazas, courtyards and high-quality green spaces.

Sunlight will bathe the sidewalks and public spaces. Small buildings will break down the harsh prairie winds. Streets will be pedestrian and built to a human scale. The area will be an example of what an urban neighbourhood can be when designed for people first, instead of the automobile-centric places we so often create.

The challenge is great. Many other cities have tried to build instant neighbourhoods that replicate the feel of ones that have evolved over decades or even centuries. Often, they end up feeling sterile and choreographed, their retail spaces filled with chain stores and residential buildings catering to a uniform, wealthier demographic.

Creating the diversity and authenticity that makes older cities attractive is difficult to achieve in a completely new development. Many of the ideas unveiled by The Forks last week attempt to address this challenge.

An artist's rendering of the proposed development of The Forks' Railside lands in the heart of Winnipeg. (Submitted image)

A fundamental decision was made to create a community that is built to support a range of transportation options, reducing the demand for on-site vehicle parking and opening up valuable land for greater public use. Dedicated cycle tracks will make The Forks a connection point for bike networks in surrounding neighbourhoods such as Osborne Village, St. Boniface and the Exchange District.

The long-term goal is to transform beautiful Union Station into a pedestrian gateway to the site and downtown's central rapid transit hub, providing alternatives for visitors arriving at The Forks from the rest of the city. The neighbourhood itself will be prioritized to pedestrians with connections to downtown amenities that will support a less car-dependent, walkable lifestyle.

Vibrant and economically prosperous urban neighbourhoods are necessarily diverse, supporting the different needs and lifestyle choices of a varied demographic. Numerous, smaller-scale buildings will help achieve this by lowering construction costs and make the site accessible to a larger number of developers -- which will in turn provide a greater range of residential opportunities, from affordable rentals and student housing to higher-value condominiums.

The lease rates needed to support the cost of new construction are often too high to attract commercial diversity, including the start-up business and artist spaces that make a neighbourhood interesting and vibrant. To solve this issue, the hope is to transform the existing areas beneath the raised rail line into affordable work spaces and storefronts that line a public pedestrian promenade.

An important guiding principle will be to ensure the new neighbourhood feels like a place belonging to all Winnipeggers. Small winding streets will invite everyone to explore and wander the shops, patios and plazas throughout the area in every season.

In new buildings, ground-floor spaces will be accessible to the public with commercial and community uses that are oriented to the sidewalks.

Public art will be used to further promote a feeling of uniqueness and authenticity throughout the neighbourhood. (One idea is to have public plazas designed by Winnipeg artists, each with a unique flavour and expression grounded in the local culture.)

Lining these streets and plazas will be the services needed to support a complete urban community at The Forks and throughout the greater downtown. This will include such amenities as cultural and arts facilities, educational spaces, recreation centres, libraries and food stores.

The character of The Forks makes it a place that will likely be able to attract a residential and commercial population that would not otherwise consider a location in the downtown. It is hoped that by capitalizing on this opportunity to offer an urban lifestyle to a wider segment of the population, The Forks will become the catalyst that redefines the experience of higher density, downtown living in Winnipeg, making it an attractive and desirable alternative.

A successful urban village at The Forks will stand as a model of what might be achieved by building a city that prioritizes people first, potentially affecting the choices we make as we move forward in the rest of downtown.

Unlocking the opportunity hidden within these two barren parking lots has the potential to return Winnipeg's core into an active, prosperous and safe urban neighbourhood, beating at the heart of our city.

Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.

bbellamy@numberten.com