Do you love the downtown? Or do you feel, quite frankly, it could use some improvement?
Regardless, the Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Area hopes you'll consider participating in a project called Expressing Vibrancy where you'll get the chance to share your opinion of the city's core.
All you have to do is take a one-hour tour of a street in the downtown, and then share your perspective. Everyone aged 15 and older is welcome to participate.
There's several Expressing Vibrancy sessions coming up this week — specifically on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8 a.m., noon and 8 p.m.
The 8 a.m. sessions start at Kuppajo Espresso Bar, the noon sessions at Fromagerie Elgin and the 8 p.m. sessions at the Laughing Buddha.
Downtown Sudbury has contracted the non-profit arts service organization CoBalt Connects to run the Expressing Vibrancy project.
“We don't ask 'What do you think about park benches?', but we ask what makes them feel comfortable in a neighbourhood,” said Jeremy Freiburger, chief connector and cultural strategist with CoBalt Connects.
“The questions are very open. We're really letting them set the tone for what they want to talk about.”
CoBalt Connects has already completed a similar project in Hamilton.
Expressing Vibrancy has three stages. The first step, gathering information about downtown's assets, has already been completed. The second step is this week's consultation sessions.
The third step is pretty interesting — this fall, volunteers' brain waves will be measured as they view images of the downtown, producing a scientific reading of how they actually feel about the city's core.
CoBalt Connects will then write a report, which Downtown Sudbury plans to present at its AGM next year.
Downtown Sudbury executive director Maureen Luoma said the project gives her association some concrete information to inform future decisions about improving the downtown.
“We may in our minds think that we want park benches, but from the findings here it may be that we need more flowers,” she said. “I think it will either help to reinforce or to tweak new ideas.”
Expressing Vibrancy is supported through a $8,250 grant from the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation.
“The GSDC is committed to assisting groups wherever we can to improve their projects and their surroundings,” said Greater Sudbury Development Corporation chair Wendy Watson.
“We were only too pleased to receive this request from Downtown Sudbury for some support. We were happy to be able to supply some funding to assist in this effort.”
Learn more about the project at expressingvibrancy.ca. Those who wish to participate in one of this week's consultation sessions are asked to do so on Event Brite.
