Spirit squares: Planning for public space in Vancouver Island municipalities

Abstract

Vibrant public spaces, such as squares, are important to community life, and it is essential that cities and towns are able to provide the required infrastructure to support those spaces. From 2006 to 2009, the Province of British Columbia, Canada, administered the B.C. Spirit Squares Program which made grant funding available to municipalities for the planning and construction of public space infrastructure. Over a three-year period, this intergovernmental grant program funded the creation of 63 public squares across the provincial region. Through qualitative interviews with key participants, an urban design context analysis, and a site analysis, this research evaluates five Spirit Square projects that were constructed on Vancouver Island. The evaluation assesses these projects against the BCSS project principles that were used guide grant funding. This research is inductive and based in grounded theory, meaning that there is no starting hypothesis. Instead, a mixed methods approach is used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data to gain an understanding of these projects, and to develop further recommendations. Research finds that each square met the grant program’s project principles in various ways, and recommendations are provided for planners undertaking future projects. Recommendations are also made regarding future grant programs, and the role of planners in the delivery of public space infrastructure at the local level.