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.....

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!



 

The Community is the Expert.

A Conversation With @Fred_Kent of @PPS_Placemaking http://t.co/aJGVEv0Yfw via @JLGoodenough #Placemaking #PublicSpace pic.twitter.com/ka7hM9AdeH

— Future of Places (@FutureofPlaces) April 29, 2015

How to Make an Attractive City

If you want to see what a society really believes in, look at what the biggest buildings on the horizon are dedicated to. 
The biggest, most prominent things tell us about the actual, rather than the admitted priorities of a city. We focus on who owns land, but we don't think about who owns space, who has 'air' rights.

-Joseph Campbell

Fixing our Broken Cities. Lessons from Medellin

In case you missed Brent Toderian and Charles Montgomery on CBC's The National last night, here's the full video.

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 Makes a Great Place?

Downtown Newton  has the potential  to be more than just another suburban town centre.

We have the lovely Old Surrey Restaurant heritage building,  but the rest is a bit of a mish mash of architectural styles. Some good, some not so much.
Downtown Newton needs its own brand; its own distintive feel. Luckily that slightly shabby, old bricks and weathered wood look is easy to  replicate.

 We have the most amazing template to work with here: A mix of (potential) parks and public spaces plus the start of a vibrant colourful international  retail mix with a good dose of authentic grit.
The best is yet to come  here. You can feel the desire in the residents and business communities. The place has great 'bones'. Let's get working and  turn this place around. Who's with us?

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!

One Step toward Retrofitting Suburbia

 Think of the places in Metro Vancouver that attract people and commerce. Commercial Drive in Vancouver is one very successful area. People feel good about living, working and visiting this neighbourhood.

 Maybe it's time for Surrey to return to the "old school" main streets that encourage walking and a sense of community. We need to get away from our car-centric culture. In order to do that, Surrey needs to change its  commercial parking requirements.

Sprawling suburban parking acreages are so 70s. Time  for change.   

Full Blog Post by Matt Taylor here

JOY TO The GROVE !

 Saturday, December 13,  4-6 PM

Make plans to join

 Friends of the Grove

 for a fun family event of music, hot chocolate, and Christmas goodies, plus lots of raffle prizes too!

 If you are able to donate a gift card or other prize please send a message to  hey-jude@telus.net

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.

ReNewton's Best of #PLACEmaking video hitlist

A  video collection of the Best of placemaking, urban planning  and how we retrofit suburbia, an idea whose time has come.
Enjoy! A wealth of knowledge and experience right here.

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.

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. 
  
   

New Posts Coming Soon!

 Well, September is here and that means we'll be back at it this week. 

Stay tuned for new posts:  

How ReNewton spent the summer vacation

What's in the news in the downtown and south Newton neighbourhoods

and of course,  thoughts on the upcoming election, just 2 months away.

It's going to be an exciting Autumn in Surrey!

Street Piano Launch Party Pics plus full Video Playlist

 We had a wonderful Monday evening of music and community harmony amid the sounds of buses, car horns and people hurrying home after a busy day on transit. 

The  street piano, generously donated by Sean Pacey and Pacey's Piano is now a fixture at the Newton  Exchange between Coast Capital and the Wave Pool. 

It's yours to play!

  A few images from Monday's launch. Stay tuned for news on the painting portion of this fun, engaging placemaking project in the heart of Newton, Midtown Surrey

Keeper of the Grove David in action

Members of Make Music Vancouver and the Piano Teachers Federation

Vladislava Mars performed her own Philip Glass inspired compositions.

A little sparkle in the trees

Children are born to play music!

Taking a break from snapping photos to soak in the tunes.

Neighbours came out to enjoy the twilight concert

These two met on Tuesday and just started jamming

A few videos of performances from Monday's kick-off.

Pianos On the Streets comes to Newton!

 The Grove in Newton has a piano for everyone to enjoy. It will be in place until September 10. 

Tonight at 6 o'clock join Friends of The Grove, as we make beautiful music together with Make Music Vancouver and the Piano Teachers Federation.

 The piano has only been onsite for a few hours and already it's a big hit. Just wait until you see it painted next week!

 We hope everyone will take pride and ownership of the ''People's Piano". 

It's yours, play it.

Update: Last night's Launch Party was a  resounding (pun intended) success! Will post full report later this week with some wonderful heartwarming photos.  Thank you to those who came out to play and those who made up our audience. The event was originally planned for 6-7:30  but at 9 we were still making music. A very special evening in the heart of the city.