With a planning department tucked away hardly visible from the street and with no clear front entrance it comes as no surprise that the good work of city planners sometimes goes unnoticed.

Wins Bridgman and Rae St. Clair Bridgman say Winnipeg needs to rethink parking lots and "asphalt deserts" to pave the way for people-friendly pop-up cafs, green spaces and shops.

The routine function of using a bathroom has been designed out of our public spaces, say Rae St. Clair Bridgman and Wins Bridgman. Winnipeg needs to work to change that and a pilot project that saw a pop-up potty move around Winnipeg last summer suggests some ways to do that.

Winnipeg could lead with a new model of urban development in North and South Point Douglas, say Wins Bridgman and Rae St. Clair Bridgman one based on inclusion, reconciliation and that recognizes the districts history while speaking directly to currents of change in Canada.

Winnipeg's downtown Hudsons Bay Company building presents some challenges for our city but also a tremendous opportunity to rethink what "heritage" means in a post-colonial city, say architects Wins Bridgman and Rae St. Clair Bridgman.