michaelnugent / flickr
[Editor’s note: the transcript below is from an email exchange with Ben Woodyatt, President of the North Van Urban Forum – enjoy the awesome, folks!]
1. Tell us about your organization.
We are the North Van Urban Forum. We are a group of local (North Vancouver) residents and business owners from diverse backgrounds with a shared concern for the shape of our community. We are interested in transparency, dialogue, and meaningful participation in the development of the public realm. We believe that the creation and development of our neighbourhoods must not be a passive activity, but rather should be wildly participatory, a process that fosters enthusiasm and creativity and allows inhabitants and visitors to feel proud of their surroundings, and create a sense of community.
2. What do you do for fun?
We hold events that try to get people talking. Great ideas and insights come from all quarters, not just the people that are paid to come up with them. Transformative imaginings often come from silly places. We invite people to submit their thoughts and fantasies of great public spaces, to share their experiences from around the world. If we want people to use a public space, then (I mean really, you’d think this was obvious?!) we have to build a public space that the public wants to use! Great public space is too important to leave to the official actors alone. The official process should be augmented (infiltrated, even) by parallel processes of community conversation. Democracy is not, or should not be about simply turning up on polling day. It is about turning out to voice concerns, and give vitality to discussions along the way. This is not about protest (you asked about what we do for fun!). A truly functioning democracy should in fact be so collaborative that protest becomes unnecessary. Protest occurs when people feel disconnected from the ongoing creation of the communities they are a part of. It occurs when people feel that all other attempts to be heard (or really listened to) are exhausted. We think it’s fun when people want to discuss their community. When they want to come out and be a part of the community. When they want to participate in its construction/constitution. Rabble-rousing is vital.
3. How do you build community?
By engaging in conversation with everybody. When you develop cordial relationships with all inhabitants, policy makers, community leaders, visitors, business owners, even when you disagree, magical things happen. Especially when you disagree! Conversation, dialogue and participation take all forms, and different forums appeal to different people in different ways. The question is how to spark the imaginative spirit, build wildly engaged communities to be a rich part of. Constantly striving, and pushing for dialogue, transparency and collaboration is key to our goals.
4. Who are some of the people that do this building?
It is the whole community that builds a neighbourhood. As an organisation (we are a registered non-profit society) we are actually a small group of key organisers, coming from different backgrounds. Our key group of founders and organisers includes:
- Benjamin Woodyatt
- Tony Valente
- Elena Giorgetti
- Tyler Russell
- Kevin Lee
- Sandra Grant
- Marianne Ketchen
Check out our profiles on our website here. 
5. Why should people get involved with your organization?
If you live in North Vancouver, visit North Vancouver, own a business in North Vancouver….. or are just interested in the process of community building, urban design, or municipal politics, then you should get involved. We want to hear your ideas, and we want to build a bridge between the voices of the community and the voices of those paid to create it. What makes this a great place to live, and what would make this an ideal place to live? We want to hear from you!
My Three Favourite Things about the North Van Urban Forum are…
1. Rabble Rousing. I love the description of how the organization is “wildly participatory” – managing a community dialogue while accepting/creating/inspiring a culture of dissent is difficult to say the least, so my hat goes off to you folks for being so collaborative.
2. Topical Conversations about Community Building. How our communities look, feel and behave – especially in the Lower Mainland – represents one of the most important topics being discussed from dinner tables to City Council meeting rooms. Reconciling density with green building with vibrancy with fairness and equity is not an easy thing to do. It will take transformative dialogue, creativity and collaboration to imagine, create and play with a shared, positive vision for our communities in the 21st century – the North Van Urban Forum is a wonderful part of this conversation.
3. Tony Valente and Elena Giorgetti are Members! And this Italian-Canadian power-couple is all kinds of awesome!