Cities Grow Ontario: Urban Challenges and Prospects - This report, published by the Martin Prosperity Institute and other collaborators, presents data which demonstrates the pivotal role of cities in generating prosperity across Ontario. It also flags important issues requiring the attention of the provincial government and uses case studies from a number of cities to illustrate various urban challenges and opportunities.

Vibrant Communities submission to the Federal Poverty Reduction Plan - This Report is the Vibrant Communities Canada submission to the Government of Canada’s Federal Poverty Reduction Plan.

Urban Nation by Alan Broadbent - Alan Broadbent is passionate about cities and his new book Urban Nation provides a prescription for harnessing their potential. The book’s essential premise is that Canada has become an urban nation, but is attempting to manage incredibly complex social and infrastructure needs according to rules set out in 1867, when the country’s largest cities were little more than towns. With industrialization in the mid-20th century, all cities – large and small – expanded rapidly. From the 1980’s however, growth has been concentrated in the largest cities, particularly Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Read the Table of Contents and introductory chapter here and order the book on Amazon here.

Community: More Fun Than TV! - Of all the forces that are eroding community, Robert Putnam claims that television is the greatest threat. That may be true, but if television is our main competition and we’re losing, we’re doing something terribly wrong. It shouldn’t be difficult to make community more compelling than television. There is no substitute for community in addressing street level social issues, says community development specialist Jim Diers. Rather than simply moving problems to another neighbourhood, some communities seek to reintegrate those who have been marginalized as prostitutes, drug users, and the homeless. The only long-term solution is the prevention made possible by building strong and inclusive communities. Read the full report here.

Poverty, Housing and Homelessness - The June 2008 report of the Subcommittee on Cities of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology proposes solutions to the challenges confronting Canada's large urban centres, and the women, men, and children living in them, including those living in low income and coping with exclusion, and those in government and civil society labouring to help them. Download the report here. [Source: Senate of Canada]

Living Cities - This extraordinary philanthropic, corporate and public sector partnership was established to bring opportunities and the power of mainstream markets to urban neighbourhoods and residents historically left behind in the United States. Visit the website here. [Source: Living Cities]

Senate Subcommittee on Cities - The Senate Subcommittee is currently examining the social issues pertaining to Canada's largest cities. "Cities are both intimately local and internationally important – and yet they are chronically underfunded." said Senator Eggleton, the Committee’s Chair.  "They are home to 80% of Canadians and account for more than half of the nation's wealth – and yet they are not even officially recognized in federal-provincial discussions. We have to find solutions for the chronic problems faced by our cities." The Committee has taken on a five-pronged approach to studying this issue, choosing to focus on the five "Building Blocks" that, when assembled, represent a holistic view of contemporary urban reality. Learn more here.

2006 Census: Community Profiles - These profiles on the Statistics Canada website present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population. Learn more here. [Source: CSRL newsletter]

Rural and Regional Development Policies – This CPRN review describes innovative approaches in polices and programs for rural and regional development from 13 jurisdictions in Canada, Europe and the United States. The study finds that new governance models are increasingly being adopted. For example, new roles for governments as an “enabler” or “convenor” have become a common and necessary approach. Learn more here. [Source: CPRN]

From Roads to Rinks - This article finds that the volume of infrastructure capital has rebounded since 2000 after two decades of neglect. While infrastructure growth has been similar across regions, there are sharp differences in the type of assets targeted by the regions, especially when spending slowed after 1980. Learn more here. [Source: Culture + Communities]

Danger Ahead - The physical foundations of Canada’s cities and communities are “near collapse,” according to a report on the state of municipal infrastructure from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada’s Municipal Infrastructure says that Canada has used up 79 percent of the service life of its public infrastructure. It sets the price for eliminating the municipal infrastructure deficit at $123 billion.  Download the full report here. [Source: Culture + Communities]

Civic Engagement in Camden, New Jersey - Perhaps more than most cities, Camden, New Jersey, has suffered from the declining fortunes of urban centers in the United States in the past half-century. The steady exodus of middle-income residents and businesses that started in the postwar years has left the city with concentrated poverty, falling property values, a dwindling tax base, and inadequate resources to cover the city's basic costs and services. Recently, however, Camden has been at the center of private and public redevelopment activities and reforms that seek to transform the city. Learn more here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

What Happened to Canada's Urban Agenda? - In the forthcoming book, The New Federal Policy Agenda: On the Cutting Edge, CPRN Research Associate Neil Bradford contributes a chapter on what has happened to that issue entitled "Whither the Federal Urban Agenda? A New Deal in Transition." Learn more here. [Source: Creative City News]

Artist-Driven Gentrification - "From Soho to the Lower East Side to Williamsburg, the story has been more or less the same - artists move in, eventually helping to cause the neighborhood to go through sweeping changes, which results in hardship for local families and businesses - as well as for the artists themselves." Read more here. [Source: Creative City News]

Centre City Plan envisions 'livable' core - The City of Calgary has released its vision for city centre that will balance more people living and working downtown and improve the way people move around. The city's heart is greater than the sum of its parts. Learn more here. [Source: Creative City News]

Orienteering Over New Ground - This policy dialogue tool describes Action for Neighbourhood Change’s (ANC) action learning regarding the interrelationships and role of transformational change among neighbourhoods, bridge builders and the systems of support. Knowledge about why strong neighbourhoods matter sets the stage for a theory of change. Blending ANC experience and international research, a preliminary neighbourhood well-being index and logic model are provided. Download this paper here. [Source: Caledon Institute of Social Policy]

Where Did They Go? - Published in June 2006, this paper includes an analysis of 1970 to 2000 decennial census data for families and neighborhoods in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. For more information and to download the full report, click here. [Source: LISC eNewsletter]

World Urban Forum Closes - Drawing some 10,000 participants from over 100 countries, the Third Session of the World Urban Forum closed by paving the way for a new drive forward on the international urban agenda in a world of rapidly growing cities. Learn more here. [Source: UN-HABITAT]

The case for/against 'cool' cities - For about a year, Richard Florida and Joel Kotkin were criss-crossing North America and Europe, with their physical paths coming perilously close a dozen times, the trajectories of their competing theories colliding at the nexus of the debate over the future of cities. Read this article here. [Source: Creative City News/Ottawa Citizen online]

Fiscal Gap Widening in Cities - If you're sick of potholes, rusting bridges and inadequate transit systems, you can blame a tax system that fails to put enough revenue back into cities. Download the report from FCM here. [Source: CBC Online]

Artists' Centers - This study finds that artists' careers are strengthened and urban neighborhoods and smaller city downtowns are revitalized with the presence of dedicated space for artists to convene, share workspace and equipment, find mentors, and compete for grants and opportunities to exhibit/publish/present. Download the study here. [Source: Creative City News]

Urban and provincial income disparities - Statistics Canada reports that provinces whose populations are more heavily concentrated in small cities and rural areas tend to have significantly lower per capita employment incomes. Data from the 2001 Census was analyzed to test the long-held view that provincial income disparities are at least partly the result of variations in the level of urbanization from province to province. Read more here. [Source: Canadian Social Research Newsletter]

Aboriginals in metropolitan faring better - Aboriginal people living in the nation's largest metropolitan centres were faring better overall in 2001 than they were two decades earlier. Nevertheless, these Aboriginal urban dwellers still faced many challenges, especially those living in western urban centres. Read more here or download the full report, Aboriginal Conditions in Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2001 here. [Source: Canadian Social Research Newsletter]

Market-Based Community Development - Two complementary papers from the Brookings Institution examine the role of information resources in spurring markets and creating investment strategies to boost urban neighborhoods. Together, both papers offer a framework for market-based community economic development, presenting business-planning tools for inner city communities. Access the papers here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

Place-based Public Policy - This CPRN paper by Neil Bradford argues that the increasingly complex challenges that govern the quality of life in our cities cannot be solved by one or two players acting on their own. Instead, Canada's future competitiveness depends on its ability to set aside traditional, segmented and aspatial approaches and develop a "place-based public policy" rooted in "collaborative, multilevel governance". Access the paper here. [Source: CPRN]

Turning Around Downtown - While any approach to downtown revitalization must be customized based on unique physical conditions and institutional assets, this paper from the Brookings Institution lays out 12 fundamentals of a downtown turnaround plan and the unique "private/public" partnership required to succeed and return "walkable urbanity" to downtown. Read more here or download the full brief by clicking here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

Why Strong Neighbourhoods Matter - This report, prepared for the Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force, reviews the renewed interest in neighbourhoods, what makes a strong neighbourhood and why they matter, and provides examples of neighbourhood policies and investment programs. Download the report. [Source: Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force]

The Role of Community Infrastructure - This report, also prepared for the Strong Neigbhourhoods Task Force, focuses on the role of community infrastructure. The paper defines community infrastructure and its components and role and provides case studies and examples of success. Download the report. [Source: Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force]

How Kid-Friendly Is Your City? - The Population Connection releases the ninth edition of its report on children and cities. Its mission is to present the best available data on the social, economic, educational and physical environment in our cities--exactly where our children live, grow, learn and play. Population Connection is America's largest grassroots population organization working to educate people about the impacts of rapid population growth on all aspects of peoples' lives and their environment. Learn more here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

Canada's Standard of Living - The TD Bank Financial Group has called for a "new way of thinking about Canadian cities". The report, A Choice Between Investing in Canada's Cities or Disinvesting in Canada's Future, was prepared under the auspices of the TD Forum on Canada's Standard of Living, a collaborative venture with The Conference Board of Canada. Click here to view the report or click here to access the TD Canada's Standard of Living final report. For further research by TD Economics, click here.

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