A project for 2009 for my blog

With the local elections over, I was trying to think of a theme for 2009 for the blog and I have found one. I will still be posting ideas and thoughts about the city as they occur but I was looking for something bigger to go on for the year. One of the things that matters to me most is livable neighourhoods. For 2009 I will be looking at neighbourhoods one after the other and seeing what I like about them and what I think could be done better - what would need to happen to make them more liveable.

I will be starting with the Victoria and Saanich neighbourhoods because the cities both have plans in place for their defined neighbourhoods. I will not be using their definitions all of the time because there are numerous cases where a municipal boundary carves up a neighbourhood.

Here is a quick run down of neighbourhoods, as I look at them I will define them better.
Victoria Neighbourhoods

• James Bay
• Fairfield
• Humbolt Valley
• Downtown East - Harris Green
• Downtown North
• Fernwood
• North Park
• Quadra Hillside
• Oaklands
• Jubilee
• Rockland

Saanich Neighbourhoods

• Tillicum - Burnside (includes Burnside residential area of Victoria)
• Cadboro Bay - Ten Mile Point Arbutus
• Gordon Head
• Mount Tolmie
• Cedar Hill
• High Quadra - Lakehill
• Broadmead
• Cordova Bay
• Maplewood - Quadra
• Royal Oak
• Carey
• Strawberry Vale - VGH

Oak Bay Neighbourhoods

• Uplands
• Henderson - inculdes Saanich panhandle
• North Oak Bay - Estevan
• South Oak Bay - Gonzales - includes part of Victoria

Esquimalt/Vic West Neighbourhoods

• Esquimalt Village
• Craigflower - Vic West
• Rock Heights - Coville - Parklands
• West Bay - Work Point
• Songhees
• Saxe Point

I will be looking at heritage, parks, schools, walkablity, cool streetscapes, affordability and the degree of NIMBYism. No neighbourhood that is strongly opposed to development and change is likely to be vibrant and livable.