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Ask anyone who has lived in Vancouver long enough, and they’ll have a distinct Gastown memory. 

A late night at the Blarney Stone, a first serving job at the Old Spaghetti Factory, a band they discovered at Guilt & Co., window shopping at Inform Interiors, a pair of shoes from a shop hop that has outlasted every other pair in their wardrobe.

Gastown holds a special place in Vancouverites’ hearts. It has a way of pulling people in, slowing them down, and making them feel like they’ve landed somewhere with soul.

For years, that feeling has coexisted with a harder truth. The neighbourhood has faced its share of challenges: failing infrastructure, vacancy, economic pressure, safety and social concerns, and a widening gap between the neighbourhood people love in theory and the one they sometimes avoid in practice. 

That gap has been real and, at times, painful.

But we’ve been working to close it. And we’re starting to see results. Following the 2025 Gastown pilot, people aren’t just passing through—they’re staying. Sitting. Exploring. That shift didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years of intentional, sometimes contentious, experimentation.

Now, as Vancouver City Council........

© Georgia Straight