August 2025 newsletter
Welcome to Raven ReCentre’s inaugural newsletter! We’re excited to have this new outlet to share information with our community. Our purpose with this newsletter is to provide an avenue for news on Raven’s operations, events, workshops, various departments, recycling and zero waste tips, and more. Our goal is to send this out on the first of every month. We welcome feedback and questions from our readers. Enjoy!
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Events
reNEWed Festival:
August 23 - Mnt Lorne Community Centre, 11am-4pm
August 30 - Carcross Commons Gazebo, 12pm-4pm
Important dates
August 18 - Closed for Discovery Day
August 28 - Staff Wellness Day, closed from 9am-12pm
Blog
Wasted Space: Vehicles and Sustainable cities
Although they may be the most recognized, garbage and recycling are not the only forms of waste. Wasted space in urban areas is a massive problem. Natural landscapes and habitats for wildlife are constantly being destroyed and paved over to make room for roads, parking lots, and suburbs. Cars are, for the most part, the cause of this waste of land. When considering Whitehorse, this city is a prime example of how urban space is wasted and cars are pushed to the forefront.
Cars were invented in the late 19th century, quickly replacing walking, animals, and trains as the main method of transportation. Cars take up significantly more space than people do, and with them came paved roads, built to be much wider than their older counterparts. Since then, driving has become one of the least efficient methods of transportation when considering the area used for the number of people transported.
Many aspects of car-centred design have been heavily criticized by both environmental groups and city design specialists due to their inefficiency and environmental impact. One of the most obvious ways that cars have changed cities is through sprawl. Cars allow people to live further from amenities and necessities, like grocery stores, community centres, work and schools. This, along with the trend towards suburban neighbourhoods, is creating cities that continuously expand in sprawling suburbs and freeways.
In Whitehorse, most neighbourhoods are separated from downtown and most amenities, and due to our limited public transit, cars are practically needed to get anywhere. Interestingly, increasing urban sprawl does not usually result in a more developed public transport system. People are expected to drive, and the resources for the development of public transport are often neglected, making them challenging to use.
Additionally, expansions are often constructed on land of ecological importance, destroying the natural habitat of animals and plants (Theodorou, 2022) (Worldwide Fund [WWF], n.d.). In Whitehorse, an example of this is McIntyre Creek (the location of the old dump). Long threatened with development, it was only because of ongoing efforts by local activist groups and First Nations that it was recently made into a territorial park to acknowledge the environmental importance of the creek (Chishti, 2025) (McCaw, 2020).
Luckily, it is possible to design modern cities away from cars. There are many cases where cities around the world moved to a more people-centred focus, and solidified the use of other forms of transportation. The Netherlands is a great example. When thinking of the Netherlands, bicycles probably come to mind, but the country’s iconic cycling culture was not a natural development; it was a deliberate design choice. In the late 1960’s, there was a calculated effort to design the transportation system in a way that supports commuting via train and bicycle as an alternative to cars. This was a huge success, and the bike infrastructure in the Netherlands is impressive and well-used (Ploeger & Oldenziel, 2022) (van der Valk, 2002).
Another example of planning with the intent to increase bike infrastructure is the capital of Colombia, Bogota. Bogota has the most extensive bike path network of any city in North and South America (Galeano Balaguera, 2022). Additionally, Bogota also closes several major roads weekly for the use of bikes and community events (Ciclovía at 50, 2024).
It is not impossible for cities and countries to move away from car-centered design. Locally, there are many ways to move Whitehorse away from its current car-focused design. On an individual level, people can support the City’s efforts to increase cycling infrastructure and consider alternative methods of transportation, like biking, walking or carpooling to work. Participate in community events that promote progressive urban design, like the main street events last summer. On a larger scale, you can advocate for environmentally friendly and innovative plans for Whitehorse.
Bibliography
Chishti, A. (2025, June 20). Whitehorse's McIntyre Creek area is now a territorial park. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/new-yukon-territorial-park-called-chasan-chua-1.7567599
Ciclovía at 50: What we can learn from Bogotá's Open Streets initiative. (2024, November 12). World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/11/50-years-ciclovia-open-streets-cycling-cars/
Galeano Balaguera, P. (2022, February 25). Bogotá and Cali, the cities with the most kilometers of bike paths. Portafolio. http://portafolio.co/economia/infraestructura/bogota-y-cali-las-ciudades-con-mas-kilometros-de-ciclorrutas-562258
McCaw, M. (2020). The Story of McIntyre Creek (Chasàn Chùa), CPAWS Yukon. https://cpawsyukon.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/McIntyreCreekBiodiversity_2020_FINAL-appendices.pdf
Ploeger, J., & Oldenziel, R. (2022). Bicycle-Oriented Development: How the Dutch Railroad Shaped Urban Planning and Discovered Cyclists along the Way, 1960-1990. Journal of Urban History, 50(5), 997-1017. https://doi.org/10.1177/00961442221133080
Theodorou, P. (2022). The Effects of Urbanism on Ecological Interactions. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 52, 100922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2022.100922
van der Valk, A. (2002). The Dutch Planning Experience. Landscape and Urban Planning, 58(2-4), 201-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00221-3
Worldwide Fund (n.d.). Urban Biodiversity. https://wwf.ca/habitat/urban-areas/
News articles
In keeping to the theme of sustainable, people-centred infrastructure, the City of Whitehorse is looking to expand the bike paths in Whitehorse. This will make it easier and safer to bike in Whitehorse.
Check out the interactive trail map that the City of Whitehorse made recently!
Raven tips
Tool library has now opened!! Rent tools here.
Tips from Reuseful
When donating to the thrift store, make sure it still has a use. We DO NOT take garbage. If you wouldn't want to buy it, don’t donate it!
Tips from Computers for Schools Yukon
The life of Windows 10 is coming to an end in October 2025. There are some ways to extend security updates, but otherwise, Microsoft is urging everyone to move on to Windows 11.
Not all computers can legitimately run Windows 11 though! If you have one of these computers, and you love it, and you to continue using it, Linux as an alternative operating system will breathe a new life into your computer.
Contact us at Computers for School Yukon for an appointment and we can help you through some of your options, and show you that Linux isn’t scary.
community questions
Have burning questions about waste, zero waste, recycling or about Raven? Shoot us an email and let us know! We’ll do our best to answer it in the next newsletter. Reach us at zerowaste@ravenrecentre.org
