Opinion: What are we losing from the sale of Ring Houses from the University of Alberta?

Article content

The battle for the future of the historic 20 ^th Century Houses (the Ring Houses) located on the north campus of the University of Alberta is a microcosm of the larger fight for the soul of the university.

Article content

Under the guise of budget cuts inflicted by the UCP, the university’s senior administrators want to get rid of the remaining historic houses located in the northwest corner of campus. (The other six were torn down to build a shelter, in another example of soulless and myopic conceptions of “progress”).

While senior managers claim to have no plans, at present, for the space to be opened with the removal of the Ring Houses, many of us suspect that there is, in fact, a plan to lease this land to commercial developers, according to with the drive to raise income from college properties. Some development of this type may make sense, depending on how and where it is carried out and for what purposes. But the demolition of structures or “developing” lands that have historical, community, educational and ecological importance cannot be justified solely for reasons of revenue collection, and certainly not if the promised revenue is to come from projects that contribute more to the pockets. from developers to community needs.

Article content

The beauty of the proposals submitted of the Ring Houses Coalition of the University of Alberta is that they are rooted in the recognition that history shapes identity and is linked to the place, and in a deep appreciation of how the place constitutes (or could constitute) a crossroads of interconnected communities.

The coalition land use plan responds to our needs for intergenerational and multipurpose living and working spaces. It incorporates a child care center (something faculty, staff, and students have been asking for for decades, but has never been included in the university’s huge capital expenditure on new buildings), senior housing, housing in boutique hotels for visiting professors, researchers. , and conference attendees, student and public study space, artist work and performance spaces, and a brewpub, among other ideas, all carefully integrated with existing university buildings and services.

Article content

In addition, there are opportunities to model green design, such as rooftop gardens and energy-efficient buildings. Preparation for the new building could begin with a careful archaeological excavation of the site to discover its past uses by indigenous inhabitants, and the new knowledge generated in this way could be incorporated into the design of buildings and outdoor spaces. This is the type of land use plan for the area, which incorporates the Ring Houses, that generates real passion and excitement about how this space could be enjoyed by students, staff, faculty and visitors, and could serve as a hub that connects us with surrounding communities. The coalition thought a lot about how the options they propose could be funded and how they could generate income for the university.

Article content

But it seems that the university administrators were not interested in these proposals, choosing instead to sell the Ring Houses for a dollar each to a developer who will dismantle them and move them to another location, ironically, with some of the same uses. in mind. Presumably these administrators have received notices that some other use of this land would generate more income for the university. A tower with offices, residential and commercial spaces? Who knows? (They are not telling us).

Obviously, the faculty, staff, students, and surrounding communities do not have the right to vote on what happens on our campus. We have not had the option to choose the imaginative and cordial proposals of the coalition over other options. As a result, the university will miss a wonderful opportunity to model the values ​​and knowledge that we profess through our teaching and research, for example, on the importance of early childhood education, intergenerational life, public space, environmental sustainability and respect. for the history of the land in which we live and work.

We will lose the opportunity to strengthen our positive ties with the university as a space for coexistence and community. And we will miss the opportunity to show Edmontons how college is their space too and enriches their lives. What message are we sending to citizens who cared enough about the university to produce the coalition plan and who support it? And what will we get instead? What do they really say about what matters most in the sale of Ring Houses?

Laurie Adkin is a professor in the department of political science at the University of Alberta.