I've been to many small European communities that only had a few thousand full-time residents, but were so alive and vibrant, beautiful, cozy and thought-through that they attracted hundreds if not thousands of people all year round.
Finland is a great example. The climate there is pretty similar to ours here in Saskatchewan, just a bit milder. A lot of beautiful forests, lakes and valleys. On the European scale, this country is pretty big, but not too populated. With about 5.5 million people, they have about 15 people per square kilometre. Of course, it's still far from Saskatchewan's 1.8 persons per square kilometre, and even Canada's 4.8, but for Europe and in general, it's still low.
Nevertheless, my family and I kept going there over and over again, driving as far as eight to 10 hours to see another cute little town or city. We've been to different small communities and went through other ones in summer and winter, spring and fall, and they all had something to offer.
I didn't see any extraordinary landscapes. It mainly was about downtowns, which looked like Santa's fairy tales in winter with myriads of little stores attracting visitors with unique handmade pieces or good sales, hot chocolate and coffee shops, awesome little butcher stores or fish smokehouses, and endless twinkle lights.
In summer it was about biking and hiking or just spending time in a nice-looking place. Over the years my family and friends left thousands of hard-earned Euros in various small Finnish communities, and never ever have I heard or felt any regrets about the money and time spent there.
Last week the George Harris Collaborative, a company hired by the city to research the prospects of Estevan's downtown revitalization, published a video and made a presentation of what our city may look like if we chose so.
And OMG, if Estevan would look like this, not only would I want my kids to grow up here, but I would want them to come back and raise their kids here as well. I do believe that the surrounding beauty and esthetics stimulate creativity and also bring harmony. Leave alone the fact that attractive communities bring in more people, create opportunities and stimulate general growth, both personal and communal.
To me, at the first sight, the suggested model was amazing. It actually was difficult to recognize our current Estevan (even though it looks way nicer than when I first made it here in 2013) in that prosperous, modern, diversified and alive city centre, visualized in a video.
This winter one newcomer shared their vision of Estevan, asking where the Christmas decorations were – the twinkle lights, the markets and carols, hot chocolate and mulled wine people in the European part of the world are so used to. All I had to say was that Estevan this winter was more decorated than before. It made me feel sad.
And even more so because I still don't understand why Estevan downtown is the way it is. Moose Jaw’s downtown looks really nice, so it's possible to have a nice-looking community. Why wasn't Estevan growing beautiful naturally? Not sure. But it doesn't mean it shouldn't happen now. And in the suggested model, Estevan definitely looked at least 10 times better than Moose Jaw.
Spoiler, city council at their latest meeting didn't approve the project the way it was presented, as there is still work remaining, but it doesn't mean that the variations of the very first draft won't be implemented here one day.
We do need to find a way to make Estevan attractive to generate further life and development. We are receiving the federal money to get us going. These are our taxes, which we're paying anyway. But this time finally they are going to get used to making our life better.
There are different approaches to that, and many dedicated people are working to find what could work best for Estevan. It might be a big city-forming enterprise or multiple diversified economic development strategies, or something completely different. One way or the other, I think making Estevan attractive and modern will benefit us on all fronts no matter what.
If (and hopefully when) the plans for downtown revitalization come through, I'm sure Estevan will see more and more people choosing to live and build their businesses here. Besides, I'm sure we'll see a lot of people choosing to stop by when travelling east-west, south-north, come stay for a weekend, bring their families and friends for an adventure in a new place.
And while it’s nice to have a beautiful and attractive city to showcase, it’s even more awesome to live in an environment that makes you feel happier.
