Exploring Vancouver Neighbourhoods on Foot
Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood is a favourite one to explore on foot by locals and visitors. It has a strong, arts-driven community vibe and is home to many murals that have changed the face of the city. A number of original murals commissioned by the Vancouver Mural Festival every summer since 2016 brighten up many of its streets.
Most recently, the iconic City Centre Motel, located in the heart of this vibrant neighbourhood, has recently been reimagined into a temporary landmark community space that houses 75 low-cost art studios, providing a space for social connection, known as City Centre Artist Lodge.
The VMF has chosen three local artists from underrepresented and marginalized groups to collaborate on the 30,000 square foot exterior transformation of this underused, transitional space. Fiona Ackerman, KC Hall, and Joon Lee will take inspiration from the iconic motel’s original elements to create the largest mural to-date that includes the full building façade and its parking lot. It is a collaborative project that will showcase local talent as they discover each other’s working processes to shape the public spaces that help shape our communities.
Another Vancouver neighbourhood worth exploring on foot is the Commercial Drive neighbourhood of East Vancouver. It is one of the most colourful areas for shopping, dining and nightlife. Eight of its blocks are officially designated Little Italy and offer quaint boutiques like The Found and the Freed antique shop selling coveted vintage bus-sign rolls, and coffee houses, specialty food stores, bakeries and many vibrant live music venues and bar scene.