Course:GEOG350/Archive/2013ST1/oppenheimerpark
The Space
Oppenheimer Park is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), bordered by the streets of Powell and East Cordova, and the Avenues of Jackson and Dunlevy. The Downtown Eastside contains some of British Columbia’s oldest neighbourhoods - one of them being the former Japantown, which is where Oppenheimer Park is located. Established more than a hundred years ago, this park was originally the site of a baseball diamond in the heart of Japantown. Over time (and with the decline of Japantown), Oppenheimer Park has become a gathering place for the citizens of the DTES community; a community that is afflicted with poverty, drug use, and crime. However, it is a strong community nonetheless with a history of social activism, all of which is reflected in the day-to-day activity occurring in the park. After recent renovations in 2010, Oppenheimer Park now offers a soup kitchen, public washrooms, a playground, and other features to the diverse group of park-goers. However, homelessness and drug problems remain prominent features of Oppenheimer Park, making it an area of concern to the Vancouver Police and those living in the surrounding community. Furthermore, many who are newer to the park’s neighbourhood are also affected by it, and at the same time, have played a major role in the gentrification process occurring around Oppenheimer Park. While some measures have been taken to keep the rent at a reasonable price for those living in the Oppenheimer Park neighbourhood, the original DTES residents of the surrounding area are finding themselves being pushed out of their community, with many being forced to congregate in the limited space that is Oppenheimer Park.
History
In 1902 Oppenheimer Park officially opened under the name of the Powell Street Grounds. Opened by Vancouver’s second mayor, David Oppenheimer, the park was later renamed Oppenheimer Park. Oppenheimer was a German born Canadian and is arguably Vancouver’s most influential mayor; under his leadership much of Vancouver’s infrastructure and landscape was shaped.
When the park was created in 1902 it was located in the heart of Little Tokyo. By 1914 the Asahi baseball club was formed, which was comprised primarily of Japanese Canadians and based out of the park’s diamond. This baseball club drew in large crowds to the park, but on September 18, 1941 the team played its last game following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. The event caused considerable fear and prejudice towards the Japanese community that surrounded Oppenheimer Park. The Little Tokyo community rapidly disappeared as many Japanese residents were involuntarily relocated to farms and internment camps.
Shortly beforehand, the area had become a flashpoint for political activism, which it remains today. In 1938 Vancouver’s infamous Bloody Sunday protest broke out, in which unemployed, communist-led workers went on strike during the Great Depression. From the 1940s to the 1980s Oppenheimer remained a popular destination for many families. However, the 1980s witnessed a rapid growth in the crack cocaine trade and drug abuse began to dominate the park’s usage. Due to the intimate link between addiction and homelessness, this led to many homeless citizens living in the park, and with the concentrated use and distribution of a variety of drugs, Oppenheimer Park became a concern to the Vancouver Police. This focus has more recently caused controversy, particularly as the area has become gentrified and more established socioeconomic classes have demanded increased scrutiny.
In 1997 a 30 foot totem pole was carved apart of a community art project. This totem pole was meant to represent all those who have died in the downtown eastside and give strength to those who are still alive; further to this line of thinking, Oppenheimer Park underwent drastic renovations in 2010. Upgrades to the park include a new field house, washrooms, universally accessible walkways, children’s playgrounds, patio spaces, picnic tables and seating areas, a central lawn area, and landscaping. In keeping with the history of the park, sports were integrated into the design; as the site itself is not well suited for baseball, the architects included in place a basketball court and horseshoe pitch. The Vancouver Police and the Strathcona Business Improvement Association have hoped these renovations would help change the both the park’s image and the surrounding community, but regrettably, neither has happened to a significant degree.
Demographics
Demographics in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood that surrounds Oppenheimer park is quite diverse and generally follows different trends than many of it’s surrounding areas. The following statistics are from Canadian Census data, collected in 2012. During the period of 2001 to 2011, the Oppenheimer Park neighborhood witnessed a population growth of 5%. This is comparatively low, with the neighboring areas in the Downtown East Side growing at nearly three times that rate (13%). The resident population is relatively dominated by males and seniors; it is estimated to consist of 65% males, and 21% of all residents can be considered part of the senior demographic. The latter figure is approximately 45% higher than the proportion of seniors in Vancouver overall.
The community is also diverse; 25% of households primarily speak a Chinese dialect, with 30% of the resident population consisting of immigrants. Further to this, 10% of the population consists of First Nations, which is a figure five times higher than the city in total.
The Issues
For the past several decades, Vancouver has experienced consistently increasing demand for real estate. With new wealth being generated in developing countries, particularly China, there has been a considerable influx of investment into the local real estate market. As a consequence of this surge in demand, developers have quickly built out the last remaining areas in downtown Vancouver with large, dense, multi-family communities. The most notable example is Coal Harbour; once complete, the downtown area was left with effectively no waterfront property to develop on. Despite the large number of units placed on the market, the vast majority were sold swiftly (primarily to foreigners), and local developers were forced to look for new opportunities.
Due to the limited number of economical opportunities in the downtown area, and the inherently high land prices resulting from this restrictive environment, property developers increasingly sought out lower-value lands where more financial upside exists. One of the most considerable opportunities existed in the Downtown Eastside, given the suppressed economic potential and ample availability of sites suitable for redevelopment.
A number of companies recognized this potential and began to explore the area for urban renewal projects, most notably Westbank and the Salient Group. The former pursued a bold and aggressive strategy for reforming the neighbourhood into a viable business venture with the Woodwards project, while the latter focused on smaller-scale projects that helped establish the area as one inclusive of higher-income individuals. These two companies, along with a number of retail businesses and restaurants, helped act as a catalyst for change in the impoverished district.
However, local residents did not readily embrace this rapid change. Such development projects acted too quickly resulting in escalating the cost of living for local residents and caused the socioeconomic mix to change dramatically. Efforts were made on the part of city council to mitigate the negative impact of these shifts, such as a mandatory social housing component for rezoned developments amounting to no less than 20% of the constructed units. Most of these policies were ineffective; with social housing defined as accommodation offered at 20% below market rent, even low-income units were placed well beyond the reach of most DTES residents.
This issue of gentrification expanded well beyond the scope of housing as high-end restaurants, cafes, boutique shops, and commercial spaces were introduced to the area. This was primarily a result of external demand rather than internal, as locals found many of these establishments to be past their economic means. However, many supporters of this movement argued that economic development is the only means of lifting such areas out of destitution; with exclusively low-income populations, they become problematic in terms of perpetuating the cycle of poverty. When this change is supplemented with effective policy, it can be used to redefine the socioeconomic nature of a region and better integrate all members of society.
Part of the City of Vancouver’s regeneration policy was to improve the public realm, particularly where social issues such as addiction, homelessness, and crime were especially prevalent. Many cities have had success in implementing such policies; however, Vancouver is unique on a number of accounts, and many of these qualities contributed to the failure of the Oppenheimer Park redevelopment.
This project was intended to facilitate social change in addition to making the area more enjoyable for its residents. The park had previously acted as central location for drug trafficking, prostitution, and homelessness, and by enhancing the space and disrupting the existing social network, the project would ideally serve to dismantle social structures in the area that perpetuated these types of issues. By shutting down the site temporarily during construction, redesigning it to maximize visibility, and making the space a destination for a variety of social classes, it had the potential to make drugs and prostitution less accessible and force those in the area to seek alternatives.
The key issue preventing the intended outcome, however, was the lack of available alternatives. Because of the limited availability of mental health treatment, addiction services, and suitable housing, former users of the space quickly found themselves displaced to a similar situation in a different area. Since then, the Oppenheimer district has again become overrun with social issues, and though the project has perhaps improved the park space itself, it has done nothing to alleviate the underlying social issues that surround it.
The issue at hand is how these types of urban regeneration projects can be used to deal with social issues effectively. What can these projects realistically accomplish? What components and processes must they include to earn community support? And most importantly, what conditions must be in place for them to actively and successfully generate meaningful social change?
In the context of the Oppenheimer Park renewal, we can analyze these questions and draw lessons for the implementation of future projects. Urban redevelopment can act as a powerful driver of reform, socially, environmentally, and economically; but for it to be effective in the long term, we require a comprehensive understanding of the conditions that facilitate its success.
Sources
City of Vancouver, “Downtown Eastside Local Area Profile. “Last modified 2012. Accessed June 7, 2013. http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/profile-dtes-localarea-2012.pdf.
Bollwitt, Rebecca. MS 604, “Oppenheimer Park Profile.” Last modified July 28, 2010. Accessed June 7, 2013. http://www.miss604.com/2010/07/Oppenheimer-park-profile.html. City of Vancouver, “Oppenheimer Park. “Accessed June 7, 2013. http://cfapp.vancouver.ca/parkfinder_wa/index.cfm?fuseaction=FAC.ParkDetails&park_id=180
Julia Aoki. 2011. Tracing histories in Oppenheimer par: An exercise in cognition mapping. Topia (25): 29.
Harris, Michael. "The New Oppenheimer Park." Vancouver Magazine, September 1, 2010. Accessed June 18, 2013. http://www.vanmag.com/News_and_Features/Inside_Vancouver/The_New_Oppenheimer_Park
Vancouver Police Department, . "Man Critical After Overnight Stabbing In Oppenheimer Park." Community and Public Affairs: Media Releases, June 01, 2011. Accessed June 18, 2013. http://mediareleases.vpd.ca/2011/06/01/man-critical-after-overnight-stabbing-in-oppenheimer-park/
McFarlane, Steve. McFarlane Biggar Architects Designers, "Oppenheimer Park Community Activity House." Accessed June 19, 2013. http://www.officemb.ca/work/oppenheimer-park-community-activity-house/.
Scalza, Remy. "Vancouver's Forgotten Japanese Baseball Club." Inside Vancouver (blog), October 5, 2011. Accessed June 16, 2013. http://www.insidevancouver.ca/tag/oppenheimer-park/
City of Vancouver, "Oppenheimer Park Commemorative Project." Last modified July 12, 2012. Accessed June 18, 2013. http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/oppenheimer-park-commemorative-project.aspx.
Lees, Loretta. "Gentrification and Social Mixing: Towards an Inclusive Urban Renaissance?" Urban Studies. Volume 45, Issue No. 12 (2008).
"Downtown Eastside Enquirer." Last modified October 13, 2008. Accessed June 20, 2013. http://downtowneastsideenquirer.blogspot.ca/2008/10/dont-believe-truth-oasis-for-poor.html.
-Ellison, Simmon.2007. Oppenheimer Park: A study of interconnectivity in the public realm. ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing
-Southcott, Tanya. 2012. Park Place: The meticulously considered redesign of Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s downtown east end engages the disparate communities in this neighborhood, bringing vitality and optimism to it’s residents. Canadian Architecture 57 (8):23.
-Ley, D. "Alternative explanations for inner-city gentrification:A Canadian assessment." Annals,Association of American Geographers. no. 4 (1986): 521-35.


Group 12 - Gentrification of the Downtown Eastside
Luke Harrison, Helene Miles, Darla Smith
http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:GEOG350/2013ST1/DTES
Group 13 - Dunsmuir and Georgia Viaducts
http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:GEOG350/2013ST1/Dunsmuir_and_Georgia_Viaducts
Group 14 -Wreck Beach
Kenzie Hull, Amy Luo, Andrew McLellan, Stephanie Soo
http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:GEOG350/ST1/Wreck Beach
Group 15 - Gentrification of Downtown Eastside
http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:GEOG350/2013ST1/Gentrification_Downtown_Eastside