WintercityYXE Strategy
North American cities that experience cold, dark and snowy winters are developing new ways to help residents embrace the winter months. The concept of designing a “winter city” is about drawing focus and access to the wonderful things winter brings while reducing the barriers. The outcome can be a more accessible, inclusive, active, prosperous and livable community during the coldest months of the year.
WintercityYXE Vision
Saskatoon is a vibrant, prosperous and dynamic community that thrives during winter months and works together to support an active winter lifestyle that is inclusive and accessible for all.
A Strategy for All
WintercityYXE celebrates what makes Saskatoon an inviting, vibrant, safe and prosperous place in winter. It will help residents, businesses, organizations and visitors embrace winter with enthusiasm, while recognizing the challenges that vulnerable populations face during the winter months. It is facilitated through the City’s leadership and by engaging the interest and efforts of the community.
WintercityYXE - Saskatoon's Winter Strategy serves as a roadmap to turn this vision into a reality. During the development of the strategy, community members shared their winter experiences and made recommendations on how to achieve this shared vision. Experiences are influenced by individual circumstances like age, mobility, economic situations and many others. Strategy actions are intended to guide future steps on a citywide level by both the City and the community to achieve our shared vision as a winter city.
The WintercityYXE Background Report supports the formal Strategy and outlines how the Strategy was developed.
WintercityYXE Themes
The strategy is built around three main themes: Winter Economy, Winter Life & Culture and Winter Design. Specific objectives, desired outcomes and actions are identified for each theme in WintercityYXE - Saskatoon's Winter Strategy.
| Winter Economy: | How can we address challenges associated with winter to create a more vibrant economy in the winter? |
| Winter Life & Culture: |
How can we celebrate the inviting and fun quality of life we have in Saskatoon, even in the coldest months of the year? How can we build enthusiasm for winter, take advantage of opportunities and tell the story of our winter city? How can we support vulnerable populations during the winter months? |
| Winter Design: | How can we improve community comfort and accessibility for everyone, even in the ice and snow? |
Implementation Plan
The WintercityYXE Implementation Plan is intended to provide guidance on applying the WintercityYXE Strategy. Community members contributed to the Plan by providing input for each Strategy action. The WintercityYXE Implementation Plan Comprehensive Engagement Report captures the feedback on where there may be gaps once the draft Plan was completed.
For each Strategy action, the Plan includes information on:
- What support is in place to implement the action
- Which partners are best positioned to implement the action
- How success wil be measured
- The expected timeline for implementing the action
- Funding needs, both current and future
Previous Quick Wins
In addition to developing the Strategy and Implementation Plan, WintercityYXE implemented a number of "quick win" initiatives to celebrate the winter season in Saskatoon:
2019/2020 Winter Season
Decorative Lighting Support
WintercityYXE has provided $50,000 in funding support for the City's decorative lighting program. As a result of this funding, new decorative lighting is expected to be in place for Winter 2020/2021.
WintercityYXE Grant Program
As part of the WintercityYXE Strategy, a total of $25,000 is allocated to non-profit organizations, ad hoc groups, businesses or for-profit organizations implementing initiatives that support the WintercityYXE goals and objectives. Visit WintercityYXE Grants webpage for more information.
Ice Installation
WintercityYXE supported an ice installation which interacted with the Western Peace Wall in the Broadway Business Improvement District in December 2019.
2018/2019 Winter Season
Winter Cities Shake Up Conference
From January 23 to 26, 2019, the International Winter Cities Shake Up Conference was hosted in Saskatoon. The conference was pursued by the community as an opportunity to accelerate the development of the WintercityYXE Strategy and to provide valuable learnings for its content by bringing internal expertise into the discussion.
Ice Sculptures in Business Improvement Districts
Ice sculptures were placed around Saskatoon to celebrate our vibrant winter culture. These local pieces were designed in collaboration with students from Aden Bowman Collegiate.
Watch this WintercityYXE video about how ice sculptures are created
WintercityYXE Grant Program
As part of the WintercityYXE Strategy, a total of $25,000 is allocated to non-profit organizations, ad hoc groups, businesses or for-profit organizations implementing initiatives that support the WintercityYXE goals and objectives. Visit WintercityYXE Grants webpage for more information.
2017/2018 Winter Season
Warming Huts
In 2018, we borrowed two warming huts from our friends at The Forks in Winnipeg. They hold an international hut design competition every year, and the huts go out on their river as a wind break. They loaned us two of their huts as a pilot program in Saskatoon—all part of our WintercityYXE Strategy.
Rope Pavilion
by Kevin Erickson and Allison Warren, New York, NY
Through the combination of simple materials, ROPE pavilion creates a highly articulated form and space while nestling itself into the landscape. Its relationship of skin – manila rope and structure – birch frame, merge to form a warming hut whose dense shell blocks winter winds while still being perforated for light and views. The wood interior creates a sense of warmth through color and texture and its multilayered rope exterior collects snow, further embedding it within the site. The hut’s dome-like form is optimized for heat retention, bifurcating only for an entry threshold and oculus to the sky above.
Shelterbelt
by Robert B. Trempe Jr, Nebraska, USA
This “Shelterbelt” seeks to reimagine the qualities of these windbreakers through an environment of steel rebar. Several hundred steel stalks of varying lengths are anchored vertically to a base, creating a protective screen. Two entrances/exits allow indirect access, but the full interior (including seating) is only truly visible once inside the environment, creating a secret world for its occupants. Wind and the movement and interaction of those inside the installation causes the rebar to oscillate and collide, creating an almost constant metallic rustle; a sound field becomes an audible landmark and a sonic envelop for its inhabitants.
Lighting
In April 2018, WintercityYXE hosted Sabine De Schutter, a lighting designer from Berlin to give a talk about how we use light. Her presentation gave an overview of the potential and the risks of light through temporary and permanent projects. For more details, a copy of her presentation is linked here.
Reports
Committee & Council Reports
PDCS (May 2021) - WintercityYXE Strategy - Implementation Plan Report
PDCS (September 2020) - WintercityYXE Strategy Report
PDCS (June 2019) - Winter City Strategy Update Report
PDCS (December 2018) - Winter Cities Shake Up Conference Engagement Update Report
City Council (October 2018) - Winter City Strategy Update and Winter Cities Shake Up Conference Request for Funding Report
City Council (November 2017) - Winter City Strategy Update Report
EUCS (January 2017) - Winter City Strategy Development Report
EUCS (June 2016) - Community Winter City Strategy Development Report
EUCS (March 2016) - Winter City Strategy Preparations Report
WintercityYXE Video
WintercityYXE
WintercityYXE Photo Gallery
These photos portray just a few ways in which Saskatoon is already a great winter city! Share your own winter photos at #WintercityYXE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.