People gathered at the Orpheum Theatre Tuesday night for the kick-off of a week-long summit to look at isolation in Metro Vancouver.
It’s an effort by Simon Fraser University, the City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver Foundation after the foundation came out with research earlier this year indicating isolation and disconnection are problems in Vancouver.
Scott McLean is Director of Public Relations for SFU Vancouver, “We have a lot of thought leaders in here to share their thoughts on it. We want other people to engage as well with those thought leaders and try to come up with a solution for why people are feeling so isolated in Metro Vancouver.”
Among the speakers were a former city planner, an urban activist, and SFU’s Chancellor.
There are events until Friday.
That day, Mayor Gregor Robertson and mayors from other cities in the region will participate in a roundtable on the issue.