Apr 6, 2023
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If We Had More Safe Indoor Spaces for Skateboarding
Its vaulted ceilings may have once carried the tenors and altos of Catholic choirboys, but nowadays the acoustics of the abandoned St. Liborius Church have been repurposed to carry the screeches and echoes characteristic of a DIY Skatepark. We think Vancouver would be cooler if we had an all-inclusive indoor community skatepark of our own...
Dec 13, 2021
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had a Massive Floating Housing Project at the Port
Imagine a colourful, mixed-used, housing complex like Amsterdam's Silodam floating at the foot of Victoria Drive.
Jun 23, 2021
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had Floating Camp Sites in False Creek
Imagine Belgium's Vlot Kamp - essentially eight floating campsites accessed from the shore by canoe - next to Olympic Village.
Apr 21, 2021
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had a Cocktail Bar Hidden in a Skytrain Station
This 15-seat speakeasy-style bar is located behind a nondescript door in New York City's 28th Street subway station.
Mar 12, 2021
VANCOUVER WOULD BE COOLER IF // It Hired Mexican Wrestlers to Enforce Our Mask Rules
Watch lucha libre wrestlers in Mexico City's Central de Abasto market have fun encouraging people to protect themselves and others.
Mar 4, 2021
VANCOUVER WOULD BE COOLER IF // It Stopped Serving Its Worst Restaurant Customers
It should really go without saying that people who disrespect hospitality workers should be denied the privilege of dining out.
Oct 14, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Followed Berlin’s Lead on Marketing the Wearing of Masks
If our approach to encouraging mask use has been too gentle we might consider shocking people with a campaign like this.
Oct 13, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Gave $500 Restaurant Cards to Its Unemployed
Hawaii is giving out gift cards worth $500 to over 100,000 unemployed residents in a bid to save two birds with one stone.
Oct 8, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If Its Pizza Delivery Drivers Told Us Everything Was Going to Be OK
60-year old Vinnie's Pizzeria in Brooklyn must know that times are particularly stressful right now...
Sep 30, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had Tokyo’s Incredible Lost and Found System
Your options for tracking down your lost items in Vancouver are very limited, but what if we had a different approach?
Aug 13, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler if It Followed Florence’s Black Death Tradition of Wine Windows
Florentines had a cool architectural trick to keep socially distant while shopping for wine during times of plague...
Jul 20, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Followed Barcelona’s Lead and Seized Empty Homes
The Catalonian city has notified landlords that they will fill their empty apartments with tenants if they don't do it themselves.
Jul 7, 2020
How Prohibitive Zoning Laws Made Our Neighbourhoods Less Interesting
Small restaurants, cafes and shops deep within our residential neighbourhoods would be great. Too bad they're illegal.
Jun 22, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had Some Garage Bars In Its Neighbourhood Laneways
The idea of the "Garage Bar" as a place to have an unlicensed sip with your friends and neighbours just feels right...
May 21, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If… It Had Kinetic Art Installations Shaped by the Wind
Thousands of tiles are moved by the wind, so that when it blows they flap in concert to reveal gusts and air currents in real time.
Apr 3, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If…It Had a Food Delivery App That Wasn’t Exploitive
To food delivery apps, this virus hasn't been a crisis. It's been an opportunity. Local restaurants are already considering alternatives.
Mar 24, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If…Helicopters Kept Crowds Off Beaches During Pandemics
Police in Italy and Brazil are employing helicopters to clear beaches that have been closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mar 17, 2020
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If…It Followed New York’s Lead and Allowed Take-Out Alcohol
To support its breweries, distilleries, wineries and restaurants, the city should allow people to order booze with their take-out.
Aug 19, 2019
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If More of Its Restaurants Had Lazy Susans
Why does a city that celebrates share plates and "family-style" dining have so few of these clever devices?
Jul 31, 2019
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had Whistler’s Pangea Pod Hotel
After a recent stay at the new hotel in Whistler, we're scratching our heads as to why Vancouver doesn't have something similar yet.
Jul 5, 2019
What If Vancouver Followed Berlin’s Lead and Froze Rents for Five Years?
The rent-freeze starts in January and is retroactive to June, so landlords can't jack up the rent in one last frenzied orgy of greed.
Jun 3, 2019
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Didn’t Occasionally Scare the Living Daylights Out of Us
They could have used any old alarm to warn of fire or accident, but instead they chose the one that terrifies everyone everywhere.
May 13, 2019
We Want to Sleep in the Cockpit of a 747 Permanently Parked at YVR Airport
As much as we appreciate the luxury and convenience of the airport's Fairmont Hotel, it wouldn't hurt to give it some direct competition.
May 6, 2019
This City Is Making It Illegal for New Home Buyers to NOT Live In Their New Homes
There may be no silver bullet to fixing our housing crisis, but if there was a gun full of silver bullets, we'd definitely pull the trigger on this.
Apr 17, 2019
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If Its Restaurant Workers Had a Fully Licensed Member’s Clubhouse
If the annual fees were on a scale of accessibility so a dishwasher didn't have to pay as much as a server, this might work...
Oct 9, 2018
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If Its Mountains Had More Deciduous Trees…
A pair of thrill-seeking skiers turn Autumn in the Cantal forest of Southern France into their downhill playground.
Sep 14, 2018
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If Its Sunniest Blind Walls Had Scaffolded Gardens
The GreenBelly Project is a concept that would see boring, windowless urban walls producing all kinds of deliciousness.
Aug 30, 2018
Vancouver Would Be Cooler If Its People Could Explore a Gigantic Model of It
This massive architectural model of New York City got us thinking how cool it would be to see Vancouver similarly represented.