I Cheated A Little Bit

This map is made up. I'm sure you've noticed. Made up probably isn't the best way to put it. Let's say it's currently just a dream. It's a map of Future Edmonton, stolen (with thanks) from a powerpoint presentation by the City of Edmonton.

I don't know if it's just me, but I can't stop thinking of Edmonton compared to the infrastructural juggernauts from around the world; the cities where, despite their extreme sprawl, one can get absolutely anywhere with just a transit pass. (Key word: Transit Pass.) Sure we can get anywhere in Edmonton, just as long as we own a vehicle. In the best and brightest cities in the world, its faster to take transit than your own vehicle.

I'm guessing a lot of your are examining the above picture, trying to figure out which of these hypothetical stops is nearest your home. In most cases, there's going to be a stop nearby. Now imagine you are a still a student (circa...2050?) waking up for school in the morning, walking (or bussing) the short distance between your house and the brand new LRT station nearby, only having to take a single train to University. No traffic, no noise, just pure locomotive paradise.

It sounds nice, doesn't it?

Despite all of the wonderful anecdotal maps we've been provided in class, they all focus on the small details of everyday urban life. I love these. I really do (I'm even warming up to Hitotoki). However, I think it's just a product of my futurist personality that I can only see Edmonton for what it could be: a massive, dense, smart city that prides itself on being able to get wherever you want in a flash and do whatever you want with relative ease.

(For those whose interest I've piqued, the aforementioned presentation as well as this website is chock full of information pertaining to LRT plans for the future, including concept drawings of stations throughout the city.)

L'introduction: My Edmonton

The title is a reference to an Edmonton band by the name of Shout Out Out Out Out. I'm hoping at least a few have been introduced to the synthesized bliss of their catalogue, or the seismic energy of one of their live shows on the feebly supported Starlite Room floor.

Miniscule in size, but close-knit at heart, the local arts scene - whether it's local musicians, Varscona improv, or Citadel theatre - is what separates Edmonton from the rest. The various artistic endeavours of my fellow Edmontonians are essentially the only thing that brings me out of my house on the cold nights.

I've noticed that not a whole lot of artists make it out of Edmonton. What is created here, stays here. It's our lack of international (or even national) attention that creates a cohesive group of like-minded artists who do their best to bring art to the land of the dead.

Oddly, the place that I spend the most time is also the place I spend the least time. During the day, my travels always find me going through downtown. To get anywhere through public transit, one must go through downtown, and I love it down there. The beautiful squares are welcoming and the shopping isn't that bad, but it pales in comparison to bigger cities. In the Torontos and Vancouvers and Montreals, their downtown doesn't die at night. I wish I could spend my nights downtown, but when the office workers go home, the city goes to sleep.

So I spend my nights in the houses of my friends; those who are stuck in the same city as me; the city that sprawls for miles in every direction. I like to think of Edmonton as a city by the sea. On one side, we've got mountains. On the other, the brutal(ly boring) prairies are like a vast body of water that nobody wants to sail across to get to the Eastern provinces -- the provinces that are alive.