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From Here Forward shares stories and ideas about amazing things UBC and its alumni are doing around the world. It covers people and places, truths, science, art, and accomplishments with the view that sharing better inspires better. Join hosts Carol Eugene Park and Jeevan Sangha, both UBC grads, in exploring solutions for the negative stuff out there — focussing on the good for a change, from here forward.
[00:00:00] Carol Eugene Park: Hello, friendly alumni. Welcome back to From Here Forward an award-winning UBC Podcast network podcast. I'm Carol.
[00:00:07] Jeevan Sangha: And I'm Jeevan. It's officially September and at UBC that means Homecoming is upon us. Did you get the full Homecoming experience when you were UBC student, Carol?
[00:00:14] Carol Eugene Park: I did not, mainly because I was a grad student and I did not feel the need. What about you?
[00:00:20] Jeevan Sangha: I think actually my first ever football game was the UBC Homecoming game in my first year of undergrad. I mean, I was a commuter student and at that time, campus felt super intimidating, but Homecoming was one of the first events that made me feel like a Thunderbird. So, I definitely have fond memories.
[00:00:34] That sounds super fun. I wish I knew what a Thunderbird chant sounded like, but you can't really help me out there. I too have heard some great stories from UBC friends who have fond HOCO memories. Speaking of which, UBC homecoming is coming up and since we're an alumni podcast, we can't help but shamelessly plug all the events coming up for alumni family. UBC Homecoming is the perfect time to come back to campus and witness the transformation that has happened since you were a student. Even if you only graduated a few years ago.
[00:01:00] Carol Eugene Park: Be sure to check out the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, which is celebrating its. 10th anniversary with a party on the 20th as a part of the Homecoming festivities.
[00:01:09] So Jeevan and I thought it was fitting to revisit our old stomping grounds and take a walk down memory lane, otherwise known as Main Mall. After experiencing a homecoming of our own, we recommend heading back to campus and checking out all the fun events.
[00:01:22] Jeevan Sangha: We stirred up some nostalgia swap stories and chatted about all the new changes on campus since we graduated.
[00:01:28] Carol Eugene Park: Speaking of changes in the last 10 years, the campus has changed a lot,
[00:01:32] Jeevan Sangha: and later we sat down with the co-directors of UBC campus and community planning, Joanne Prof and Matthew Roddis to chat about how their team has approached making the UBC Vancouver campus a place where students, staff, and faculty can thrive.
[00:01:45] Carol Eugene Park: And without further ado, let's go back to campus.
[00:01:48] Jeevan Sangha: And we are live on location today we are at the AMS Nest, at none other than Blue Chip Cafe. How does it feel to be back?
[00:01:58] Carol Eugene Park: I'm a little overstimulated, to be honest.
[00:02:00] Jeevan Sangha: Yeah.
[00:02:00] Carol Eugene Park: It's like really loud and people are staring at us, and I feel uncomfortable, but it's nice.
[00:02:04] Like what did you graduate?
[00:02:06] Jeevan Sangha: I graduated 2022. BA sociology. High distinction. What, when did you graduate?
[00:02:11] Carol Eugene Park: 2020. Not high distinction, but Master of Journalism.
[00:02:14] Jeevan Sangha: Ah, yeah. I'll give her that.
[00:02:16] Carol Eugene Park: A lot has changed, hasn't it?
[00:02:18] Jeevan Sangha: A lot has changed. I feel like it's, it is weird being back after so long in like the best way.
[00:02:22] There's so many, like, so many memories that you just, you forget about
[00:02:25] Carol Eugene Park: like the first time I ever had Indian food.
[00:02:27] Jeevan Sangha: here? Wow. Was it good?
[00:02:30] Carol Eugene Park: It was great. I had that every Fridays before class. Stunning. The first time I had kombucha also here.
[00:02:34] Jeevan Sangha: Wow.
[00:02:34] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah, it was great.
[00:02:35] Jeevan Sangha: So, what has changed for you since you've come here?
[00:02:37] Carol Eugene Park: honestly, like, I got lost coming here. Like, I mean, I feel like the building itself like this, I generally recognize it. What is Blue Chip?
[00:02:44] Jeevan Sangha: I know Blue Chip is huge.
[00:02:46] Carol Eugene Park: Why is it here? Like there it used to be a pizza place.
[00:02:49] Jeevan Sangha: Yes. It used to be a Pie r Squared, And now it's like a beautiful giant blue chip.
[00:02:53] if I was a student now, I would be studying here all the time. For sure.
[00:02:56] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah. And also like at RBC, that was like kind of under construction when I was here. Like is there going to be a bank? We don't know. And now here is a bank.
[00:03:04] Jeevan Sangha: We're at the Alumni Centre at UBC.
[00:03:06] Carol Eugene Park: Do you know who Robert H. Lee is?
[00:03:08] Jeevan Sangha: He is. A distinguished alumnus, from what I've understand.
[00:03:13] I feel like he has ties to UBC Sauder as well. we're at his centre.
[00:03:17] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah, guess how old.
[00:03:17] Jeevan Sangha: the centre? Gimme a range?
[00:03:19] Carol Eugene Park: It's less than 20.
[00:03:20] Jeevan Sangha: 15.
[00:03:21] Carol Eugene Park: It's higher than five.
[00:03:24] Jeevan Sangha: 15 years.
[00:03:24] Carol Eugene Park: It's lower than 15.
[00:03:26] Jeevan Sangha: So, 10 years.
[00:03:26] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah, 10 years.
[00:03:28] Jeevan Sangha: So fun fact, before I started as a student, I had my first ever UBC orientation here.
[00:03:33] Carol Eugene Park: Oh.
[00:03:33] Jeevan Sangha: And it was quite a party. It was at the centre, but we had guides basically take us all around campus. And I remember being like, my God, like this place is so cool and this is like a new chapter. And then they had sort of like a mixer thing upstairs for UBC arts. So, I got to meet other people, and it felt like very much the beginning of a new chapter, when you're young and you're starting your undergrad, the world and yeah.
[00:03:53] So much life happened after. So, should we go in?
[00:03:56] Carol Eugene Park: I want to find the photos of us.
[00:03:58] Jeevan Sangha: Okay, let's go. Let's find it. Do you want to go to the board?
[00:04:01] Carol Eugene Park: Wait, what? Is this the thing that you can touch?
[00:04:03] Jeevan Sangha: Yeah, you can search your name here.
[00:04:04] Carol Eugene Park: Okay. During COVID, we didn't have a ceremony, and I think our ceremony included this thingamabobber. So, what are you doing?
[00:04:12] Jeevan Sangha: So, there is a screen in front of us, we're in the Alumni Centre right now, and essentially every single person who's attended UBC, every single alumni live in this database.
[00:04:21] Carol Eugene Park: Oh wow. This is so high tech.
[00:04:23] Jeevan Sangha: Okay. Should we find you?
[00:04:24] Carol Eugene Park: She's never going to find me. And that is because when I attended UBC, my name that I used as my first name was not Carol.
[00:04:31] Okay.
[00:04:31] Jeevan Sangha: So, name reveal. I want to know.
[00:04:33] Carol Eugene Park: I mean, you had it, you just had to delete the first part.
[00:04:35] Jeevan Sangha: Oh, it was Eugene. Wow. You learned something new every day. So, was it just Eugene Park?
[00:04:39] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah. Oh wait. This is cool.
[00:04:42] Jeevan Sangha: by the number’s timeline.
[00:04:44] Carol Eugene Park: We're
[00:04:44] Jeevan Sangha: seeing a historical timeline of UBC. It's on this interactive screen. Point grade campus opened in 1925.
[00:04:51] Carol Eugene Park: Charles Darwin was here.
[00:04:52] Jeevan Sangha: That's really cool. Museum of Anthropology opened in 1976.
[00:04:56] Carol Eugene Park: The Aquatic Centre opened in 78.
[00:04:58] Jeevan Sangha: Wow. Much earlier than I thought.
[00:05:00] Carol Eugene Park: Rick Hanson. You went here. Kim Campbell. Hey Girly. Do you know who that is?
[00:05:04] Jeevan Sangha: Of course.
[00:05:05] Carol Eugene Park: Okay just double checking.
[00:05:06] Jeevan Sangha: I'm not that much younger than you. Okanagan campus was opened in 2005. It's quite new.
[00:05:11] Carol Eugene Park: Wow. Yeah.
[00:05:12] Jeevan Sangha: Okay. Well, this is like a really cool thing. So, if you're back at campus and you're a UBC alumni, definitely search yourself up. It is like a nice feeling of like pride home coming back. Love it. I've had enough of this. Another element of the Alumni Centre is the lovely Loafe Cafe. I have come here before when I was a student. They have like really good food. Good coffee.
[00:05:30] Carol Eugene Park: Should we ask some people some questions? Hi. So sorry. We're from the alumni UBC podcast and we're just interviewing people to see if they're students or alumni.
[00:05:39] Are you either, why don't you introduce yourself. What's your name and when did you graduate?
[00:05:43] Michelle Alumni: My name's Michelle. I graduated twice. I graduated my Bachelor of Science in 2020, and then my MD this past summer,
[00:05:53] Carol Eugene Park: congratulations. Wow, that's awesome.
[00:05:58] Michelle Alumni: Thanks.
[00:05:59] Carol Eugene Park: So. You had a virtual ceremony?
[00:06:01] Michelle Alumni: I did. And then I had a real ceremony.
[00:06:04] Carol Eugene Park: Wow. What was that like?
[00:06:05] Michelle Alumni: The virtual ceremony was not bad. It was pretty peak COVID, and so I was like kind of expected it. I did it like at home. I was living in Whistler, so it was fun. And then the real ceremony was really nice. We had a couple graduations with the faculty and then with UBC, so. It was nice to have an in-person one too.
[00:06:20] Carol Eugene Park: For sure. Yeah. Is this your first time being in the Alumni Centr?
[00:06:24] Michelle Alumni: No. I like to study at Loafe, but I don't really use much of the other parts. The Alumni Centre,
[00:06:30] Carol Eugene Park: we are doing a walking tour of campus and as alumni. Do you have a favorite spot?
[00:06:35] Michelle Alumni: Okay. I really like the Rose gardens, but like I'm sure that's just like a classic, but I love to go there and read or like eat my lunch.
[00:06:40] I haven't been to the Nitobe Gardens yet, but I really want to go. I heard it's really lovely and I've been here for eight years, and I haven't gone, so that's like next stop.
[00:06:49] Carol Eugene Park:
[00:06:50] Jeevan Sangha: We're going to the rose Garden because of a lovely recommendation from a lovely UBC alumna.
[00:06:55] Carol Eugene Park: Did you go there often?
[00:06:56] Jeevan Sangha: I went there so often. So, I was a commuter student for three quarters of my UBC journey, and I used to park at Rose Garden and also, I was an art student, so a lot of art students had classes in Buchanan, which was right next door. So, it was just like a convenient place to park and it's a really pretty place to chill.
[00:07:12] Beautiful, beautiful view.
[00:07:13] Carol Eugene Park: Isn't that where they sell apples in the fall?
[00:07:16] Jeevan Sangha: I don’t know what you're talking about. UBC Farm. Farm is like on the other side. When I did live on campus, I was just off campus by, you know where McDonald's is and stuff? Yes. Had an apartment there. I would go, I think it was Saturdays they had like a farmer's market at UBC Farm and they had just like so much beautiful like affordable produce that was delicious and like there would be small vendors, but it was just like really cool, unique, like I'm sure it's still open.
[00:07:36] I think it was Saturday or Sunday mornings. And then they do once a week have a smaller popup. We are here at the Rose Garden and. Is this a place that you often went to?
[00:07:44] Carol Eugene Park: Well, no, it wasn't. I think I entered the space once and that was enough for me.
[00:07:50] Jeevan Sangha: Oh, okay. I spent, as I mentioned before, so much time here and I remember if I got here like a little early before class, I would just kind of zone out and look at the view and be like, whoa, this is a cool place to go to school.
[00:08:00] To be very honest. And also, because the anthropology and sociology building is just across the road. So, I often would walk over, hang out there, take a bunch of my, I was a sociology major, so a lot of, so classes were out there.
[00:08:12] Carol Eugene Park: Where did you park?
[00:08:13] Jeevan Sangha: In the Rose Garden. So, it's actually below us.
[00:08:15] Carol Eugene Park: Oh, she's multifunctional.
[00:08:16] Jeevan Sangha: She really is. Yeah. And the law library was a good place to study. So often quiet. So, I would go there past the Chan Centre, which is on our right there is I think at the Royal Theater. And I took Intro to cult film.
[00:08:28] Carol Eugene Park: Oh, that sounds really cool.
[00:08:29] Jeevan Sangha: Yeah. And it's like a really nice, proper theater. It was like a cool experience I felt.
[00:08:33] Look at the roses. Oh my God, I love this.
[00:08:35] Carol Eugene Park: There are many roses. Dime a dozen.
[00:08:38] Jeevan Sangha: I feel like we need to smell the flowers.
[00:08:40] Carol Eugene Park: You can. I didn't take my allergy pills today.
[00:08:42] Jeevan Sangha: It's so nice.
[00:08:43] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah. But it is lovely. do you know anything about the other flowers here?
[00:08:47] Jeevan Sangha: I think they're all mostly roses. They're just like variations of roses.
[00:08:50] But look at this one. You see how it's like iridescent almost?
[00:08:52] Carol Eugene Park: Yeah.
[00:08:53] Wait, am I mixing it up with tulips?
[00:08:55] Jeevan Sangha: What part of it?
[00:08:56] Carol Eugene Park: Because these don't look like roses.
[00:08:57] See tulips and roses. I always get them mixed up.
[00:09:00] Jeevan Sangha: They're like really fragrant. Yeah. I was telling Carol sometimes I would come here in the summer and literally smell the flowers.
[00:09:05] Like it was just so nice.
[00:09:06] Carol Eugene Park: You literally touched grass.
[00:09:08] Jeevan Sangha: This was how I regulated from exam season. Wow. Like very stressful exams and papers.
[00:09:13] Carol Eugene Park: That's actually nice. I feel like this is one of the. Factors that makes UBC really cool is like there are ways that you can regulate your nervous system after writing a horrible exam.
[00:09:23] Touch grass, smell flowers, and you're chilling.
[00:09:26] Jeevan Sangha: Look at the view. It's like built into the campus, which is very cool. Look
[00:09:29] Carol Eugene Park: really nice. It's really nice. It's like a mental health focus campus.
[00:09:32] Jeevan Sangha: Love it.
[00:09:32] Carol Eugene Park: Okay. I just don't think these are roses,
[00:09:35] Jeevan Sangha: Carol. Like, actually don't piss me off.
[00:09:39]
[00:09:39] Carol Eugene Park: And as we mentioned, we also sat down with the co-directors of UBC campus and community planning.
[00:09:44] Jeevan Sangha: Turns out there's a lot that goes in building a campus as sophisticated as UBCs, and even as students, we sometimes forget that there are real people behind every decision that shapes how the UBC campus looks and feels.
[00:09:55] Carol Eugene Park: For Joanne and Matthew, that means their team covers a lot of bases. From neighborhood planning and urban design to building climate action plans and engaging with the community to ensure the needs of residents are being met
[00:10:06] Jeevan Sangha: and campus is still growing, their team is currently executing the Vision 2050 plan, which maps out how the campus will change over the next 25 years.
[00:10:14] It was a really great chat, so let's jump in.
[00:10:16] Matthew Roddis: My name's Matthew Roddis. I'm the co-director of Planning Design Campus and Community Planning,
[00:10:22] Joanne Proft: and I am Joanne Proft, co-director with Matthew, and my focus is on community planning.
[00:10:27] Jeevan Sangha: Amazing. And can you, for those who are maybe not familiar, can you tell us a bit about the work that UBC, campus and community planning?
[00:10:34] Joanne Proft: So, campus and community planning, we like to say that we really helped shape campus that supports first and foremost, the academic mission. And on the other hand, the evolution of the campus as a sustainable community. And we're kind of similar to a municipal planning department. We, sort of a quasi municipality
[00:10:52] And so this includes developing, long range land use plans for the campus, neighborhood plans. We do urban design. We plan the public realm. We also, have engineers on our team for things like transportation, road design, rainwater management. We also develop operational sustainability plans.
[00:11:12] We have a really ambitious climate action plan for the academic campus as well as our neighborhoods. We also have a development review and regulation department that, oversees the approval of plans building plans for the campus and the neighborhoods. As well as, making sure that buildings and, and other spaces are compliant.
[00:11:33] We have a community development and, engagement group that, we work very closely with making sure that there is a lot of input and engagement on all our planning. And we partner with the University Neighborhoods Association to make sure that the, the needs of the residents are met.
[00:11:48] And then finally, we work with province and other jurisdictions like Metro Vancouver and City of Vancouver and Musqueam and others on areas of shared interest. We have a number of roads that, we share jurisdiction with the province on. And I should mention rapid transit. We're partnering very closely with the province and others on that and other things like environmental protection. We're in a very sort of sensitive area at the end of the peninsula, so, we have concerns around, making sure that, we're good neighbors and, we're being mindful about things like cliff erosion and the forests and the beaches and so on. So that's kind of a snapshot of the kind of things we do.
[00:12:25] Carol Eugene Park: So just to start off a little more light, what are some milestones, within community planning and design that you two are respectively very proud of?
[00:12:33] Matthew Roddis: There is a really significant change in the public realm on campus, probably over the last 10 years, and depending on when, your listeners were here, I think if they were to visit the campus now, they would see a really marked difference in that. So, for instance, main Mall was really transformed from a street with cars on it to a pedestrian thoroughfare.
[00:12:54] And I think that really signifies a commitment to making good space for the community here. And so, I think that's been, I think, a really obvious change to the campus over the last number of years. Maybe just one more is, I think there's, with the increase in student housing on campus I think there's a much more alive kind of campus where there's a lot more vibrancy than perhaps in years past with students being on campus, more so than they have been in the past. And I think that just brings with it a certain level of activity that I think is really different from years past.
[00:13:27] Joanne Proft: Yeah, and I just adding to that, I think you know, campus Vision 2050, which we're going to talk about later in the conversation, and that was really building on past plans, significant past plans, 2010 campus plan, really was pivotal in terms of calling for and setting up the conditions for a more vibrant campus as Matthew was saying, a 24 7 campus, so that there's more people living on campus. In the late eighties there was this institutional move to develop our neighborhood lands so that it's not just student housing that we're providing, it's also neighborhood housing.
[00:14:02] And so bringing a population of residents that includes students, faculty, and staff in those neighborhoods but also residents that have no affiliation with UBC. And so, this transformation into this kind of mini city, a mixed-use city.
[00:14:18] And so it's really exciting transformation and seeing like the parking lots and mid campus, lot A, B, C and D, I remember when they were there when I went to school, they're now Hawthorne neighborhood and the athletics fields. So that's been a really exciting transformation, I think for me.
[00:14:35] Jeevan Sangha: And one exciting anniversary that's coming up is for the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre of course. Can you speak to us a bit about one, how that space might have changed since its first development, but two, its significance as a hub on campus as well.
[00:14:50] Matthew Roddis: Sure, maybe I can start, I think where it's located. has seen a tremendous amount of change over the years. You look at it today and it feels like the main street of a great little city. It's got shop stores; it's got restaurants as well as housing above. And I think it really represents kind of this transformation on campus. I think the Alumni Centre is really pivotal in its location. It's really adjacent to, a prime public gathering space on campus. And, if you were to come here in September when all the, back to school events and activities are happening, you see just how much that space is used.
[00:15:27] And it's really the place where I think is the nexus of where students sort of come together and meet. And I think over the years that facility has become well used and it provides the functions within it, some meeting spaces as well as ground floor amenities with the coffee shops at the corner.
[00:15:45] Joanne Proft: Yeah. And I remember the early plans sort of saw it and positioned it as a bit of a beacon, a lantern, which is reflected in it's, fully glazed, right? And so, it, it's all lit at night, and it really provides that kind of a landmark and a gathering place someplace that is seen as very open and welcoming and transparent. I think those were, some of the drivers behind the design, wanting to be this welcoming, neutral space or, space that it's not strictly for a specific academic use it does have a variety of uses. It's where the Board of Governors meets when it convenes five or six times a year. So, there's, some formal functions. There's some symbolic functions. It also has some, really interesting technology that allows alum to come and, touch the screen and see their degree and others on a screen and quite a cool space.
[00:16:35] And there's also some design elements that reflect Musqueam. There's, columns that have the Musqueam Crest in embossed on them along with the UBC Crest as well as the Musqueam history. So, it's also representative of an evolving relationship with Musqueam.
[00:16:47] Carol Eugene Park: Jeevan and I were there, we were playing around with the wall, and we were like, this is so weird. It was really cool that we could, like, it was just like a tangible experience that I had never had in other academic spaces, that was a really cool touch. Because you spoke about campus Vision 2050, there are six main pillars of that plan. Could you Pick one of your favorite ideas or pillars or ones that you think are really important to you individually and speak on what they are.
[00:17:13]
[00:17:13] Joanne Proft: Restorative and resilient landscapes is one that I think is something very transformative potentially for the campus. It's really about connecting. With the surrounding, forest and water, bringing the forest into the campus, connecting, the green spaces across the campus to support, human wellbeing but obviously ecological wellbeing. UBC is actually the regional Flyway for bird migration. And there's a lot of biodiversity mostly surrounding the campus. A lot of the campus is what we call, brownfield. It's not a virgin landscape. So, it was clear cut and developed and redeveloped. What we're trying to do is really bring back some of the biodiversity. And ecosystem health through, bringing the forest in, doing different types of landscapes, bringing in native and traditional Musqueam plantings into spaces.
[00:18:08] We've got some pilot projects for Meadows. Not sure if you've seen those. But it's, it's introducing a new type of landscape ecology that is more sustainable. It may look different. We're really highlighting that now because it sort of has ebbs and flows in terms of how it looks. It's beautiful, and then it, it's dormant. and so, I think, we, we want to understand that dynamic and incorporating it into the campus, into the more formal landscapes because we know that some of the landscapes do need to have lawn. Do need to sort of have more formality. But anyway, that's one of my favorites.
[00:18:38] And then I guess a second one is more housing. Think it's called more housing and expanded affordability for UBC. And so, this is really addressing one of the critical needs on campus, but you know, throughout the region and continuing how we deliver on housing for students as well as building our neighborhoods.
[00:18:56] And there's this symbiotic relationship between them both because land development model allows us to develop neighborhood housing. We have different types. We have rental housing, but we also have leasehold housing where it's like selling condos on a 99-year lease. And the financial proceeds from that support, the academic endowment. So, it's there in perpetuity to support whatever the Board of Governors thinks is important. And right now, one of the priorities is financing student housing, which is, big need; it's also getting increasingly expensive.
[00:19:25] Matthew Roddis: and probably no surprise to Joanne. I think the one that resonates with me is the community of communities.
[00:19:31] Joanne Proft: I knew it.
[00:19:32] Matthew Roddis: Oh, did you? We work too closely. This one I think speaks to me because we're a big campus geographically. There's, we hear about sometimes it's hard to walk from one class to another or the time it takes, or, some parts of the community, they just sort of keep to one area because that's where their classes might be. And so, they don't necessarily experience the whole campus or what it has to offer. So, I think this really sets out some ideas around creating complete communities and identifying different nodes and hubs and spaces on campus that offer some unique either functions or services or experiences.
[00:20:09] And so it really is around trying to break down the scale and say making the big, small, and really sort of making it digestible so that people can move around In the 2010 plan, we started establishing the mixed use hubs, which were really, these housing hubs were a significant amount of student beds were located, but with those came other amenities, be it food services or other functions that really made them sort of these unique hubs across campus. And so, this really builds on that and tries to say, okay, what did we learn and what have we learned in those and how can we start to apply it to other parts of the campus?
[00:20:43] And I think that really for me is I think an important part of making sure people can find their way around the campus and feel that they can access, different types of functions, but also at different times of the day where, you know, as Joanne said, we're a 24/7 campus now. And I think with that comes needs that perhaps weren't so apparent 15 years ago when it wasn't the same kind of campus back then.
[00:21:06] Jeevan Sangha: I had some family in town not that long ago. I took 'em to campus to show them around. It's just such a beautiful place to show people. And one thing that folks often remark is like, oh my gosh, this is like a city of its own.
[00:21:18] I mean, to your point, thinking through all these different elements of student life, I'm curious about what else is unique about planning a university campus versus a small town or a small city.
[00:21:27] Matthew Roddis: There's a number of similarities, of course, the need for places and spaces, the need for housing, amenities, transit all at a scale of a campus. But I think some of the key differences around planning, a university. One, is there's a single landowner essentially. Which allows I think a lot more flexibility and creativity than a typical city does. I think just looking at how it's the campus has grown and where priorities are set, I think it just gives a really great amount of flexibility and ability to prioritize things like housing.
[00:22:01] I think also the needs are unique to an academic institution, so there's both residents and student’s different times here, and with different interests. So, our population really changes. We've got students which may be here, four years, six years, longer perhaps. And then you've got faculty which are here a particular amount of time as well as other residents. And so, there's quite a mix of people We have a daytime population of over 80,000 now, and so with that comes a lot of different interests and uses, so trying to accommodate those, I think is really unique in this setting.
[00:22:33] we're a single landowner, we're actually, we call ourselves, we're the landowner, the developer and the regulator. So, it's kind of a closed loop. So, it does give us quite a lot of flexibility and autonomy. But then on the other hand, there is this tension as our neighborhoods grow and the population increases, there is that tension, around democratically elected officials that represent the needs of those living here. And so, we really are trying to put in place tools and approaches and systems those needs are reflected.
[00:23:04] Joanne Proft: we work very closely with neighbor University Neighborhoods Association. So that's an association that was set up to really do that and reflect the needs of the neighborhoods and do just operational stuff, maintain areas of the public realm and the community center and things like that. Yeah.
[00:23:18] Carol Eugene Park: If we're talking about cities, sometimes things take a lot longer than they are told to the public of being finished, but as you said, you guys wear a lot of hats. What is that typical timeline of when a building is identified as being a priority to be completed or renovated and they're occupied, like on average terms, if you can speak on that.
[00:23:35] Matthew Roddis: Yeah, it's a great question. As you can imagine it, it varies depending on the complexity of the program. So, for instance, we have some of our academic buildings, which are complex labs, for instance, that require a lot of special knowledge and experience in order to deliver those. And then we also have buildings that don't have labs and are much simpler to develop. But generally, I'd say, most academic projects probably take around four to five years between the initial work and occupancy.
[00:24:05] We also work on student housing and support faculty and staff housing in the neighborhoods, and that's probably slightly faster, around three to four years from when those are initially identified. to when the doors open.
[00:24:19] As you can also imagine, it’s not just Joanne and I there's so many people involved. We've got, deans and faculty heads that begin the process and begin, the hard work of getting funding and understanding the program. We've got colleagues in facilities which help to shape the academic program and understand what the needs are. we've got our colleagues at UBC Properties Trust, who work to bring all those new academic projects forward and project services who really spearhead the renovations on campus.
[00:24:49] And of course, kind of wrapped up within all of that is the direction and leadership board, there's a lot of people. And then, just to reinforce what Joanne said it's great to be part of that because it's very nimble, even though there's a lot of people involved. And I think what underscores it is everyone has the same objective here and that's refreshing. It doesn't happen, everywhere. And so, I think that really shows up and plays out in what you see around campus.
[00:25:14] Joanne Proft: Same objective, but also different interests. And I think that's something that our role, the planning department, is to try to balance interests, and get the best outcome for the university.
[00:25:26]
[00:25:26] Jeevan Sangha: just to kind of wrap up with little lights question, some people will be haters, some people will be lovers, but generally when alumni, visit campus, what's kind of the reaction that you guys hope that they will have?
[00:25:39] Matthew Roddis: I hope they're lovers and not haters. I hope they're just excited about where the campus is going to see, increased vibrancy and activity, as they look around so many more students living here.
[00:25:50] Within, I guess all of that still recognize the place where core memories were formed. That in a sense, it's always their home it's still something that they recognize and feel part of.
[00:26:01] Jeevan Sangha: Carol and I visited and walked through campus and, it has changed so much, even in such a short amount of time, but it still feels like UBC, which is really nice.
[00:26:10] Joanne Proft: I can speak from experience cause I, I am an alumni and, I graduated in 2000 around there and I hadn't been back to campus really until I started working here, which was in 2014. I hope that people have the same sort of impression as I did. most of the public realm transformation, main mall had been redone, and a lot of the courtyards, a lot of the commons, like Fairview Commons and the Buchanan Courtyards, where there was just a lot of thought put into a lot of thought put into these outdoor spaces that were kind of neglected before, right?
[00:26:42] Like when I was at campus, main mall was a road, it was actually used for, operational vehicles. I think even general-purpose traffic could use it sometimes. Water feature in front of the bookstore. That used to be a parking lot. I remember parking there; there were metered stalls there. in the summer they have a standout where they sell produce from our UBC farm. And the other day I picked up the biggest head of lettuce and it was just fantastic. They've got, zucchinis and beans and garlic. And so, that's something that I don't think existed 10 years ago.
[00:27:14] We say, moving from a commuter campus to a real, like this mixed-use city. And so, the reduction of parking. I think that was a huge transformation.
[00:27:22] Maybe on the downside, some may think, oh, you just keep growing and when is it going to stop? And we do hear that. And so really trying to, thoughtfully grow the campus and add people while still maintaining that sense of campus and a city in this really park-like setting, because I think that's something that's really special about UBC.
[00:27:42] Carol Eugene Park: Well, thank you guys so much for your time and your expertise. This is really great.
[00:27:45] Joanne Proft: Thank you.
[00:27:46] Matthew Roddis: Yeah, thanks for having us.
[00:27:47] Carol Eugene Park: You know, it's not every day you get to fly out to Vancouver and spend a few hours walking through your alma mater with your long-distance co-host. I was going to say lover, but that was not appropriate. I wish we could record in person, all the time.
[00:27:58] Jeevan Sangha: Oh wait. That touched my heart. Carol, being emotionally vulnerable on the record. Never thought I'd see the day.
[00:28:03] Carol Eugene Park: Don't get too used to it. It's the first and last.
[00:28:05] Jeevan Sangha: a girl can dream. We've included a link to an interactive map with all of the new buildings and public art installations in our show notes.
[00:28:12] Carol Eugene Park: until October, happy homecoming everyone. Make sure you catch our next episode by subscribing or following our show on Spotify, apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're feeling your feels. Please drop us a review. You can find me on Blue Sky at Carol Eugene,
[00:28:24] Jeevan Sangha: and me on X at Jeevan K Sangha From here forward is an alumni UBC podcast produced by Podium Podcast Company.