Pop-up shops are here today – selling T-shirts, fireworks or memorabilia – and gone tomorrow. The temporary retailers sell goods while creating buzz around a brand without the commitment of a permanent brick-and-mortar store.
They’re so popular that the City of Abbotsford recently appropriated the strategy for a different purpose: engaging the public on its plan for a re-imagined city centre.
The municipality rented a storefront in Sevenoaks Shopping Centre for the month of February with information about its City Centre Neighbourhood Plan. The brightly lit blue and yellow space was adorned with placards illustrating the city’s proposed plan for a more densely populated and user-friendly neighbourhood around South Fraser Way, Mill Lake and George Ferguson Way.
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“We really want to engage the community in unique and innovative ways,” said city planner Patrick Oystryk.
Shoppers strolling past the shop near the mall’s food court were welcomed to peruse the various proposals for more bike lanes and low-rise apartment buildings. They were then given the option to fill out a questionnaire with their preferences for the city centre’s future.
Oystryk said the feedback had been largely positive.
“I think residents are just excited to see the city out into a space that’s really, really well used and is popular in the community and spending time and quite a bit of time, actually – asking residents how they feel about the future plans for this neighbourhood.”
The city will now create a draft plan using the public feedback.
@KelvinGawley
kelvin.gawley@abbynews.com
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