“The thing about these public spaces that we forget about is: it’s not just about building them and then getting upset when nobody comes to use it, or if it’s not taken care of and becomes and eye-sore, or maybe if unsavoury types start abusing a public space…
It’s an invitation to be part of something. We shouldn’t be pointing our fingers saying, ‘look what they built, I wish they would take care of it better’, no, that’s not what we should learn from it.
We should be saying, ‘Look what we have here, look at how we can all be part of the buzz, look at how we can invite others to be part of our community, look at how we can share ideas and grow together–even if it’s something as generic as a foosball table in an empty lot next to the C-Train, or a park bench somewhere, or a green space, or a public plaza in front of some businesses.
This is how we build interesting, engaged, and enviable neighbourhoods: by giving a shit about what’s good and building on it, even if nobody shows up on the first day.”