Pecha Kucha the sequel draws larger audience

Nov. 20 was likely the final Pecha Kucha presentation of the community consultative portion of  the Jasper Community Sustainability Plan.  

Moderated by Chris Garnham, vice-chairman of the working group, the evening – with about 60 people in attendance – was as lively as it was informative.  

Relying on the Pecha Kucha (Japanese for “the sound of conversation” according to Garnham) formula, 20 slides each shown for 20 seconds, the night began with Mike Wesbrook’s presentation on the three aspects that sustainability entails.  “One is the cultural-social aspect, one is an environmental and health aspect and one’s an economic aspect,” said Wesbrook.  

Some specific recommendations that emanated from the presentations about this integrated approach were the concept of slow travel, electric transit within the city, bringing back the Jasper white bikes, affordable housing and combined live-work units in the downtown area.  

Discussions followed each presentation, the most notable being the possibility of a dam across the Astoria river, which would provide power for the whole community while replacing the ATCO natural gas project.  

There was also concern by some residents, including Wesbrook, about the approach taken by FoTenn Planning & Urban Design, the firm hired to assist and coordinate Jasper’s sustainability plan.  Is FoTenn taking a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to Jasper’s plan? Not so, said Andrew Sacret, Urban Planner at FoTenn. 

“Jasper is a community in many ways like many other communities, but we also understand that it’s a unique place,” said Sacret.  “I think that if we did do a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach, we would just go ahead and write the plan,” he said.  

The Pecha Kucha format provided “a mechanism to engage the community,” said Ron Hooper, chairman of the working group and former park superintendent.  The working group, which Hooper chairs, provides advice to the steering committee, composed of the mayor and council and the Parks superintendent. They hope to have the plan wrapped up by the summertime, said Hooper. 

By providing the opportunity for public consultation, Hooper hopes community members will take ownership of the plan, ensuring it succeeds. “It’s not government that has to do this, it’s everybody,” he said.

The “three pillars of sustainability are environmental, social and economic,” but Hooper was quick to add that the working group added culture as a fourth element, and governance as the fifth.  The goal of this plan is not simply to balance these elements, “it is about integrating them.”

Two of the most entertaining presentations of the evening were Chris Garnham’s allegorical tale of Jasper as an island in a sea, ruled by a king as it developed and Graeme Kennedy’s satirical depiction of Jasper development.  As part of the Jasper Youth Sustainability Group, Kennedy and his classmates produced a movie, which included spoofs of the Simpsons, Star Wars, Sarah Palin and Bob Dylan’s video of Subterranean Homesick Blues.  

The evening concluded on topics related to Jasper’s youth, finally degenerating into a discussion on the futility of the democratic process in Canada.  

For more information on the Jasper Community Sustainability Plan, visit http://jasperplan.wordpress.com.