This City is Ours invites participants to partake in a historical walking tour of downtown Vancouver; exploring public space and the contention that can surround it.

This tour, led by Adrienne Young, Jason Romisher, and Samantha Thompson, is part of Vancouver Historical Tours, a project that explores urban imaginaries in movement, developed with the support of SFU's Department of History. It takes place on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish First Nations, on unceded Coast Salish lands.

Vancouver, as a relatively young city, is often perceived as having very little history. In fact, in its short time a rich historical fabric has formed: comprised of different cultures and communities, conflict and an ever-changing urban landscape. Integral in understanding our current city is having the historical context that can help us interpret the importance of urban sites, even if they look completely different than they did as recently as five years ago. In an age of creative destruction, there is no such thing as physical permanence in an urban built environment. For this reason, Samantha Thompson, Adrienne Young, and Jason Romisher have created a walking tour that provides historical context, particularly offering narratives that are often disregarded by popular discourse. The tour will highlight stories and positions that prevent the erasure of marginalized histories, and provide the opportunity for different voices to be heard. These historical stories are meant to demonstrate that it is possible to create a sense of belonging in the city.

Sites included: Waterfront Station; Steam Clock; Maple Tree Square; CRAB Park; Oppenheimer Park; Carnegie Community Centre; Pigeon Park; Woodward’s; Victory Square; The Lamplighter Pub - we will finish here and participants are invited to join us inside to continue the dialogue after the conclusion of the tour.

Register by email: akollins@museumofvancouver.ca.

Tour Leaders:

Adrienne Young is a master’s student in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia, and holds a BA in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. She is interested in how people interact in and react to buildings and space. Exploring cities is one of her favorite pastimes. She is excited to be participating in this program.

Jason Romisher is a Masters Degree student at Simon Fraser University in the Department of History. Jason received a BA from Queen’s University, BEd from Lakehead University and is currently on leave from a teaching position with Ontario’s Durham District School Board. Jason is passionate about the teaching and studying of history. His hobbies include birding, backcountry hiking and karaoke.

Samantha Thompson is an undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University. She is studying history, geography and urban studies. Samantha’s passions include studying and researching cities and urban spaces, through a critical, feminist perspective. Her discipline focuses on access to social housing, place-making and the role that gender plays in how we interact with the urban built environment. Samantha has a love for writing, hiking, and outdoor education where she works with children in an effort to help them learn about their environment.