From Our Home to Yours....

 The very best of the holiday season to you and yours.

May the new year bring many new and exciting opportunities to come together as a community and continue working on creating a vibrant, healthy and liveable city.

Peace and Joy.....

Pop UP Newton Art Walk- Fall 2015

A few pics from the Pop -Up Newton Art Walk held earlier this fall. It was a magical night and one that we hope will be repeated again and again. Stop by the AGENT C Gallery Thursdays and Saturdays 12-4 to see some wonderful art and then stroll farther north to check out the Cabinets of Curiosity. Grab a coffee and treat at Espresso Cafe while you're at it. Maybe pick up some authentic Filipino food at the tiny grocery just steps away? 

Lots to enjoy on this 2 block stretch in downtown Newton. 7300 block of 137th Street north toward 74th Avenue.

Rhiannon Paskall joined in the festivities.

Food Trucks! We had Food Trucks!

City Councillor Judy Villeneuve  spoke about the importance of Arts and revitalization

Philip Aguirre of the Newton Business Association spoke

MLA Harry Bains whose office is on the block said a few words

Happy participants having fun creating art on the sidewalk!

One of the Cabinets of Curiosity

Beautiful sculptural piece, part of the Cabinets of Curiosity

We were treated to lovely music in this little courtyard- perfect for an autumn evening

Jude Hannah- ReNewton and Councillor Judy Villeneuve  at Agent C Gallery

Agent C Gallery After Dark.....

The most important thing to remember when talking about revitalization is that the community has to support local businesses with their dollars! Bemoaning businesses closing is hypocritical if you never frequented the establishment. We're all in this together. It means so much to our local economy and the quality of life here in the downtown area. Please, as the holidays approach, spend your dollars here in the neighbourhood. Thanks!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy......

With the odd exception,  I will be taking a break from this blog for the summer.
  Will still be active on Twitter @ReNewtonNation posting the best of local and international placemaking and urbanist ideas and strategies.
 Have a safe, happy and beautiful summer!



 

Stop by Starbucks Newton 11-3 today. Help Stamp Out Cancer!

 Happy Saturday Everyone!

 Please stop by the Starbucks near the Organic Grocer in Newton today between 11-3 . Say hi, and help kick cancer in the ass. Donate to the Canadian Cancer Society. Two cute young girls will be there and then one old woman this afternoon ( that's me :D) Help Rhiannon Paskall and her friend raise a record amount today !

The Future Lives Here: in Newton

 Wednesday, April 22

5:30-8:30

 Newton Community Hall

City of Surrey presentation:

 The Future of the Newton Town Centre.

What's in store for the centre of Newton.

 Share your thoughts as a resident or business owner or simply as an interested Surrey citizen.

What do YOU want to see happen, really happen now?

A Change of Direction....

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. Have been working on a few new projects, one of them a  new and separate blog focusing more on issues throughout the Metro Van region in general. Social, economic, cultural, and a good dose of  'what have you'.

 Lots going on in the world  and here at home in south Newton. Will be blogging about the local news and what's happening on the streets here in this part of Surrey, BC. Much to discuss. Some difficult issues to deal with. But, deal with them we must.

  The ReNewtonNation blog started 3 years ago almost to the day.What began as a movement to bring focus to the remarkable and rapid decline in the neighbourhood and the dire need for revitalization has taken a few twists and turns along the way. 
Most recently ReNewton has been looking at the continuing problem with crime and safety. I'll be writing about that soon. 
Stay tuned...

Facing reality.

I've spent the last two days sitting in a courtroom at the preliminary inquiry relating to the Julie Paskall ( our Hockey Mom) murder case.
 It has not been easy.
There are times when you just can't ignore reality. These 2 days brought that home loud and clear. We need to do better.

Yosef Gopaul goes on trial on March 12, 2015 at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster.

 

 At the moment, writing about pop-up shops, placemaking, sidewalk cafes and all  of the lovely things that make for a happy city is the furthest thing from my mind. 

I'll be back soon.
-JH

New Year, New Newton ?

Downtown Newton Business Improvement Association and ReNewton

 in The Now Newspaper January 15 edition.

Read here

 May this be the year that Newton rises up and shines!

What Role do Arts and Culture Play in Community Revitalization?

"....in order to be successful, cities are going to have to be dense, diverse, animated and interesting.

That only happens when arts and culture are at the heart of communities".

Here in downtown Newton we have the  jumping off points to creating something magical, vibrant and authentic.
 A new business improvement association, several international food shops, Surrey artists' fave hang out  Deserres ,  an intimate cultural centre with lots of potential, and a core community group of individuals who are more than ready to get to work.
What we need now, as the video states is a ' coalition of the willing'.
Let's hope 2015 is the year that Newton finally gets its due.

 I hope you're as inspired  as I am by this brief video.

2014 Moments

Happy New Year ReNewton Nation!

 that's you guys :)

Thanks for supporting ReNewal and ReVitalization of downtown Newton.

May 2015 will be our year to shine!

Downtown Newton's Time to Shine...

Downtown Newton is a great place to be. 

There are lots of fun shops, cafes and places to explore here. We're  even working on a self-guided walking tour! 

  However, one thing that is mentioned in conversation is that after dark, we're not getting as much bustling family oriented activity on the streets as we'd like.  We want to encourage more families to use the downtown area at different times of the day. Right now that's not happening as much as it could be.

Downtown Newton has a lot of city owned vacant land and it's not being utilized in any capacity. Sooo.... here's an idea that could make use of the area to the south of the existing  community centre. How much fun would this be?  Hot chocolate and popcorn anyone?  Evening skating with the little ones? Remember  how well used the artificial ice rink  was at Holland Park during the 2010 Olympics? And in the summer why not switch it up and bazinga! It's a roller-skating rink.  

Our downtown centre has great 'bones' and so much potential as a  little urban village. Let's get moving and capitalize on that.

Let's encourage family friendly activities in our downtown core.
 This is just one idea. Can you think of a few of your own?

Just look at what can be done with a vacant commercial lot, some lights and a little community spirit.  Don't forget the  paint! Paint is the fastest, cheapest, easiest way to transform a space.

ReImagine    ReCreate    ReNew

Still reading?  Here's something to make you smile.

A Note of Thanks....

Just a brief note prior to Saturday's election day in Surrey.

There are worthy people on all slates and dedicated independents who faced an uphill battle.  A few months ago I gave an open invitation to all candidates to come to my south Newton neighbourhood of Panorama Northwoods and join me on a little tour. I wanted to show the dramatic changes in my community over the past years.  I wanted to show how rampant development has impacted our neighbourhood. I also wanted to show the parts of  downtown Newton that often go overlooked. We have the best deli in the city Greco's, the most amazing art, craft gift and toy store DeSerres and the city's highest rated fine dining restaurant The Old Surrey Restaurant 

But, the truth is the last decade hasn't been kind to Newton in many ways and that needed to be acknowledged and really seen and explained firsthand.

  These candidates came to my home, walked through our woods and got to see  up close what our neighbourhood's concerns are.

Thank you to:

Council candidates:

Darlene Bowyer, 

Vera LeFranc,

Martin Rooney,

Beau Simpson 

and Judy Villeneuve

Mayoral  candidate: 

Barinder Rasode 

Whatever the outcome is at the end of the day tomorrow, I think the message has gotten through loud and clear. 

Newton is worth it. 

The people who live in this, the largest  town centre in all of Surrey deserve and have waited for a bright new future. 

Let's hope they get it.

Putting the 'New' in Newton.

From City of Surrey 's "Build Newton" Booklet

June 2010

Plans for a revitalized town centre in Newton have been sitting on the shelf for far too long. 

 We encourage all residents of Surrey to lobby hard for action in this area. Newton is the heart and soul of Surrey, and has undergone dramatic change over the past 5-10-15 years.  We need to bring back the best of what we once enjoyed. Busy shops and offices, restaurants ( still really miss Earl's on KG & 74th!) Together we can do this.

Decisions were made and priorities were established that have in many cases, impacted the quality of life for families here. When our new mayor and council are elected, please join us as we raise our voices for a more vibrant, dynamic downtown.   We will be organizing  and asking  The city of Surrey to implement the long awaited plans to put the "New" in Newton.

 Your single voice makes a difference. 

Get ready to use it!

Attention Downtown Newton Businesses!

Are you a business owner/manager in Downtown Newton?
Would you like to be featured on the ReNewton blog?
 Send a message to hey-jude@telus.net for details.
We'll be picking a few businesses to highlight in an upcoming post:

  "ReNewton Raves and Faves" 

Because Every Single Person Has the Right to Live in a Dignified Environment.

My View

The Now Newspaper

Thursday October 30, 2014.

3 things to feel good about & one last request.

 Hey ReNewton Nation friends,

 Three things to feel good about today.

 1. The Newton Business Improvement Association is up and running!  Philip Aguirre from the landmark Old Surrey Restaurant in the heart of downtown Newton is the executive director. 

We're excited  to see what events the NBIA has planned for the DT core.

2. The pay parking that was in place for the last few years on the 7300 block of 137th St. has been eliminated. You now have 2 hours free  parking. This was something the business owners had fought hard for. Already there is more foot traffic on the sidewalk and in the shops and that's a good thing for everyone. Well done! And thank you to Councillor Judy Villeneuve who had a key role in this change.

3.  The people of  Newton, an area that emcompasses Sullivan Heights, Panorama Village, Strawberry Hill as well as Hyland and Panorama Northwoods are coming together as one voice.

They are demanding that attention be paid to our downtown core and the south King George corridor. This neighbourhood has been forced to absorb a disproportionate number of socio-correctional services and facilities with nothing positive given in return. 
The effects of this shift in demographics has been startling for this long time south Newton resident to witness. While other areas of Surrey get new multi million dollar recreation facilities and upgrades, Newton, with the largest population in  the city, is left to make do with inadequate and aging buildings. Now we hear that the top priority for rapid transit won't be  south along King George, but east  along 104th Ave. Newton residents deserve better than this, and they are coming out of the woodwork to have their say.  

These taxpayers aren't going to sit back and allow places like the boarded up gaming and retail complex at King George, 70th Avenue and Hall Road to sit abandoned for 16 years.
 That's how long the public market property on 64th Avenue and King George  has stood ( barely), unoccupied and rotting

King George and Hall Rd. near 70th Ave.

 16 long years is enough.  

We have asked for the city to purchase the property. We have pleaded, begged, and done everything we could think of to have the city of Surrey enforce its unsightly property bylaw. ( This place fits the criteria and then some) and yet, this eyesore remains as a constant visual to everyone who travels through the extremely busy intersection at King George & 64th Ave: "This is Surrey"

And we wonder why we can't shake our bad reputation...

 Abandoned building King George and 64th Ave.
Mayor Watts, as one last act before leaving office we're begging you, please tear down these walls.

Newton residents know they deserve better than this.

And that's something to feel very optimistic about.  

ReNewton ReMinder:  Voting day is Saturday November 15.

Downtown Newton Deserves Better.

Maybe low-income neighbourhoods would function better if cities provided them with the same amenities and maintenance as well-off areas. The best way to create an equal society would be to treat people equally. -Angela Chapin

At the official opening of South Surrey Recreation and Arts Centre 

Teen Skate in Newton cancelled in early December 2013 prior to the murder of Julie Paskall 

Open House  at Surrey City Hall Spring 2014

Gorgeous First Nations Art at South Surrey facility

A city is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.  They, more than anyone deserve the best recreation, arts and cultural facilities that the city can offer. An aesthetically beautiful  community centre and first class facilities should be available to every person who calls Surrey home. Some parts of this city enjoy  state of the art facilities, others do not.

Time after time, we hear how children and  lower income families benefit from having access to  sports, arts, music classes & facilities that don't look like they are inner-city.  It makes a difference in their lives.  And it matters to everyone else too.  Think of the money it costs you as a taxpayer when even one teen gets off track and ends up in the court system. Add up the costs of policing, lawyers, drug addiction treatment, housing costs, and well, it doesn't take a genius to see that investing in people is the smart way to run a city, and saves taxpayers money in the long run. 

Downtown Newton  needs a South Surrey type recreation  and arts centre. It is stunning, and it shows that the residents  for  whom it was built are valued. We need to give children and youth an alternative to  loitering & being out on the street where they are vulnerable to drug dealers and crime.  We want to believe that the diverse group of people who call Newton home, 140,000 strong and growing, will get the same treatment. Nothing less than the best.  Because if the future truly does live here,  investing in our children and families now is a good way to prove it.

-Jude Hannah  

It's Newton's time to shine. The future lives here. 140,000 strong and growing.

Recommended Reading by Angela Chapin:

How Mixed-Income Neighbourhoods Can Succeed.

-by Angela Chapin

Before I even walked through the door of a Toronto apartment earlier this month, I decided not to rent it. It wasn’t a crumbling walk-up or a rotting deck that turned me off. It was the building manager. On the steps outside, the young man bragged about how he had kicked out 24 of the building’s 26 original low-income tenants. He spoke with the excitement of someone who’d just set a record for keg stands. His lack of compassion was the verbal cockroach I needed to say “no thanks.”

But his message is one more and more people want to hear: you can live surrounded by people like you.

Neighbourhoods are becoming more segregated by income. A recent Pew study found the number of mixed-income neighbourhoods in America has decreased by almost 10 per cent since 1980. In Canada, rich and poor neighbourhoods have become even more polarized because of diverging family incomes and a tendency for people to “live nearby like,” according to the Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network.

The main obstacle to social mixing is that humans are tribal. We’re also hypocrites. While I chastised the insensitive building manager, I also want my immediate neighbours to be like me. Before I moved into my last place I had the choice between a bigger apartment in a “sketchier” building or a smaller place in a building with tenants who were also in their late 20s with steady jobs. You can guess where I ended up. The human instinct to favour the familiar exists in all people. Its the job of good policy to help us overcome our tendency to discriminate.

Mixed-income housing developments have been heralded by urban planners as a solution to residential segregation. They offer market-priced and affordable housing options to attract diverse renters to one area. But while this strategy may create physical diversity, it fails to break down class stereotypes.

Mixed-income housing dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, but hasn’t successfully created mixed social circles. For the most part, these communities have reinforced the idea that people from different backgrounds can’t get along. Toronto has a handful of these neighbourhoods – most famously the new iteration of Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project. Ottawa has a few smaller ones as well, such as the Beaver Barracks community housing project and Somerset Gardens in Centretown, but more will be built. The Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is keen to partner with private companies to put some of the 10,000 people on a waiting list for social housing into mixed-income communities.

The idea is that if higher-income residents move into poor neighbourhoods, they will improve the area. In theory, the more affluent will attract better schools and businesses to the community. They won’t stand for burnt-out street lights and will advocate for amenities like playgrounds. In reality, most low- and high-income residents don’t interact enough to create any of these benefits.

A study from Case Western Reserve University found that 60 per cent of residents in a mixed-income development experienced an “us vs. them” dynamic. 

The biggest schism existed between renters and owners; 43 per cent of mixed-income residents said these groups did not blend well.

Though they all want community, residents from different backgrounds expect the worst of one another. Mark Joseph, a professor at Case Western, says this self-fulfilling prophecy turns little frictions into big tensions.

Rather than being allies in creating a better neighbourhood, residents from different income backgrounds work against one another. “Often enough the efforts of some of the more politically active higher-income people are directly antagonistic towards lower income neighbours,” says Martine August, a PhD grad from the University of Toronto’s planning department. “Instead of getting together and saying let’s get a ball court for these kids, they say let’s get this homeless shelter out of our neighbourhood.”

The biggest problem is that property managers have not focused on social integration. The buildings look nice, but there are not enough community activities or groups dedicated to breaking down barriers. Residents move in with preconceived notions about the other tenants that fester once they become neighbours.

For August, the success of mixed-income neighbourhoods depends on the urban planning approach. Don’t send affluent people to low-income communities as saviours. Aside from being thinly-veiled gentrification, the idea condescends to the poor residents. “We shouldn’t wait until middle class people value neighbourhoods to invest in them,” she says. Maybe low-income neighbourhoods would function better if cities provided them with the same amenities and maintenance as well-off areas. The best way to create an equal society would be to treat people equally.

Mixed-income communities are welcome alternatives to segregated areas of haves and have-nots. But planners can’t expect that social interactions will grow like rooftop gardens. Residents will unpack old stereotypes into their new apartments. Discrimination towards people from different backgrounds can grow with proximity. The strongest foundation for mixed-income buildings is built on connecting social classes, not just making them neighbours.

Angelina Chapin 

Surrey, time to do the right thing and put people first. It's the only way to move this city in the direction it needs to go.  It's all about people. That's what a city is. People.  

Sneak Peek at new ReNewton Logo!

We're working on a whole new look and website for ReNewton.  

Here's a sneak peek at the new logo. 

What do you think? 

We love it!

Friends of the Grove Still on a Roll!

Friends of The Grove Keep on Spreading Happiness around Downtown Newton!

In Downtown Newton, David Dalley and the Friends of the Grove  

are turning their sights on 137th St this week for  PARK (ing ) Day.

Join the gang on Friday at noon for a celebration of community!

Join friends and neighbours in temporarily transforming a parking spot in Newton on Friday, September 19, at 12:00 noon outside of Espresso Café, #1112-7330 137 Street.

The event is part of the global “Park(ing) Day” initiative:

“The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat… at least until the meter runs out!

Participants are invited to bring items to decorate the parking spot. Items may include chairs, carpets, plants and other home furnishings. Participants are also invited to bring games and activities that will encourage interactions and foster friendships. The parking meter will be feed for the duration of the event, so participants are also asked to bring change to keep the meter running!

Participants are encouraged to patronize local businesses when purchasing food and refreshments during the event.

This community-driven event is not officially sanctioned or endorsed by the City or any of the businesses in the Newton Town Centre area.  This event is a positive, community building gathering, not a protest or act of civil disobedience. Inappropriate, disrespectful or unsafe behaviour will not be tolerated. 

Park(ing) Day takes place on the third Friday in September each year. For more information on Park(ing) Day visit: http://parkingday.org/.

Update on Nix the Pay Parking in Downtown Newton!

Last night at the Surrey city council meeting, long time councillor  Judy Villeneuve  announced that metered pay parking along the 7300 block of 137th Street in downtown Newton will  soon be removed. 

 This is good news for business owners and those who frequent the shops, restaurants and services on the street between Newton Wave Pool  to the south, and the Superstore shopping centre to the north. 

 Thank you to Cllr. Villeneuve  who brought this issue forward and facilitated the change.

Kudos as well  to those in the community who supported this initiative by signing the petition. 
                     
                        We collected nearly 1000 signatures. 

Every one of these names helped make the case that revitalization of the downtown Newton shopping district starts here.

     

 In the coming days we look forward to the end of pay parking and the beginning of a new invigorated retail hub in the neighbourhood.