 From
October to December 2004, Tamarack hosted three tele-learning
seminars focused on Urban Canada and the issues facing our
cities.
Cities are a hot topic - With more than 80%
of Canadians living in urban areas, Canada is the second most
industrialized nation in the world and our cities are starting
to show some strain.
In recent years the mayors of Canada's five
largest cities came together as part of the C5 initiative
to promote their unique needs. Statistics show that immigrants
overwhelmingly choose to settle in large metropolitan cities.
Mid-sized cities and municipalities are struggling to manage
growth while suffering the effects of downloading. Federally,
the government is generating a "new deal" for cities.
This workshop offers the audio recordings
of each of the three tele-learning sessions held from October
to December 2004, as well as research and related material.
Featured speakers included:
- Judith Maxwell and Neil Bradford, CPRN
- Alan Broadbent, Maytree and Mary W. Rowe,
Ideas that Matter
- The Honourable John Godfrey, Minister of State (Infrastructure
and Communities) and Sherri Torjman, The Caledon Institute
of Social Policy
This workshop is meant to serve as a launching
pad for further learning on the issues facing Urban Canada.
We hope you enjoy! We welcome your feedback
or suggestions for additions to this workshop by emailing us at tamarack@tamarackcommunity.ca.
In this workshop:
The issue of cities has grown in importance
as urbanization increased. Twenty-first century Canada is
predominantly an urban country. Most Canadians live in or
near our large or second-tier cities where the modern industries
of information and design are housed.
Modern economies are based on competition
between city regions (the fundamental economic unit) and not
nation states. If we are interested in economic prosperity,
we have to be worried about the health of our cities.
Cities are where things happen (i.e. they
are the media and cultural centres of the country and the
place where immigrants and refugees are more likely to settle).
Globalization’s 5 key flows converge in cities: people,
investment, ideas, policy, security. Through their sheer size,
they are the place where social and cultural innovation takes
place.
Canada’s cities are simultaneously
places of the most dynamic innovation and most severe exclusion.
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Repositioning our cities for
urban excellence
We need to consider the "hydraulics"
of our communities: the shift of peole and resources to and
from cities. For example, when considering the Urban Aboriginal
Strategy, we need to think not only of the cities that people
move to, but also the communities they move from. We can not
have effective policy if we do not consider both ends. In
the same way, we can not have isolated "rural" or
"urban" conversations, because they each impact
upon the other.
Speakers believed that the level of government
closest to the people requiring a particular service should
deliver that service because they are best able to determine
fit. They should have the fiscal capacity to fund the service.
One size does not fit all. Different sized
cities have different dynamics and capacities. A flexible,
tailored approach to governance is required.
Collaboration is key both at the community
level and the intergovernmental level.
There are things happening now that we can
tap into. We can tap into local knowledge to tailor the New
Deal and diffuse the work on the urban agenda. Other jurisdictions
are moving ahead and setting the pace. (E.g. UK, US)
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- Cities
and Communities that Work - This paper from Neil Bradford
reviews the literature on cities and communities, examines
a number of Canadian and international case studies here,
and draws conclusions on policies and practices to help
make our cities work.
- Public
Policy for Cities
- This presentation by Judith Maxwell reviews the poor
fit between traditional approaches to cities and the current
requirement for what she calls "place-specific"
policies.
- Sustainable
Cities - In this article for Plan Canada
Judith Maxwell argues that success in the new economy
requires building what she calls "sustainable cities".
- Urban
Nexus - Neil Bradford produces Urban Nexus,
a monthly e-newsletter from CPRN. Neil uses an urban lens
to present traditional policy fields in a new light, and
to highlight emerging issues for cities and communities.
Each issue of Urban Nexus, includes reviews and summaries
of recent studies and reports on a specific theme;news
about up-coming events and research; and direct links
[where available] to authors, publications and related
links. Access issues of Urban Nexus at: http://www.cprn.org/en/nexus-list.cfm.
- Why
Cities Matter
- This report takes stock of current knowledge about the
problems and prospects of our cities. Its primary goal
is the clarification of major issues, differing perspectives,
and central debates in a rapidly evolving and complex
field of policy inquiry and action. It seeks to provide
a baseline for further public discussion by situating
the choices facing Canadian cities today in their historical
context, and in relation to contemporary intellectual
debates about how cities work, and how they might work
better.
- Neighbourhood
Renewal Unit- From their website,
"New Deal for Communities (NDC) is a key programme
in the Government's strategy to tackle multiple deprivation
in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, giving
some of our poorest communities the resources to tackle
their problems in an intensive and co-ordinated way. The
aim is to bridge the gap between these neighbourhoods
and the rest of England."
- Roundtable
on Community Change
- (Formerly the Roundtable on Comprehensive Community
Initiatives) From their website,
"Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs) are neighborhood-based
efforts that seek improved outcomes for individuals and
families as well as improvements in neighborhood conditions
by working comprehensively across social, economic and
physical sectors. Additionally, CCIs operate on the principle
that community building -- that is, strengthening institutional
capacity at the neighborhood level, enhancing social capital
and personal networks, and developing leadership -- is
a necessary aspect of the process of transforming distressed
neighborhoods."
- Past issues of Ideas that Matter magazine:
- Foreword
from "A New City Agenda" - This
foreword by Alan Broadbent argues that large urban regions
should have more control of their own destiny and should
have access to the tools required to look after themselves.
- Investing in Cities or Disinvesting
in Future - This special report
from TD Economics makes the case for investment in cities.
Canadian cities are under immense strain and should be
given the resources and tools to effectively look after
themselves.
- The
Canada We Want - Co-authored by John Godfrey
and Rob McLean, The Canada We Want: Competing Visions
for the New Millenium traces the development and
success of Canada's National Projects in the second half
of the 20th century (e.g. public health insurance, investment
in education, the creation of the social safety net, strengthening
human rights) and argues that these "National Projects"
are the key to Canada's top ranking by the UN.
- "A
New Deal for Canada's Cities" - A keynote
address by the Honourable John Godfrey, delivered at the
Summit of Canadian Hub Mayors in Toronto, Ontario on January
22, 2004.
- Magnets
and Glue: New Tools for Cities - This commentary
by Sherri Torjman was first published as an op ed in the
Toronto Star under the title "World-class cities
need magnets and glue." It argues that cities must
invest in key areas of social infrastructure: skills,
arts and recreation, and affordable housing.
- Policy
Development and Implementation - This
case study by Sherri Torjman was written as part of the
Special Studies series developed by the Canada School
of Public Service. It will be used as training material
for federal public servants. The Vibrant Communities story
discusses the policy lessons for complex initiatives that
involve multiple objectives and sectors. Because it provides
lessons from the community perspective, it contrasts with
the first story in the series, by Ralph Smith, on the
National Homelessness Initiative, which was written from
a government perspective.
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