How shall we be governed? Philosophers have debated that issue since Plato and the question is more important today than ever, given the rise of right-wing extremism everywhere, especially in liberal democracies where there is an ongoing, concerted effort by several current political parties and non-government organizations (NGOs) like the
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Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Ewen Callaway writes about the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic – with both a high baseline of cases, and frequent “wavelets” in comparison to seasonal diseases as new variants develop and spread with little resistance. – Tina Yazdani and Meredith Bond report on
Continue readingKen Chapman: IF NOT THIS; THEN WHAT?
Are you tired of the overheated right versus left, political rhetoric? Are you weary of the partisan blame game? Are you concerned about the rise of misinformation and disinformation spreading throughout our society? Are you worried about political polarisation that is dividing us and leaving a trail of debris in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Whose elites? The people and the populists
We hear a lot about populists these days—politicians who appeal to ordinary folk on the grounds that their interests are ignored by the “elites.” Government, they insist, is in league with these elites, leaving only the populists to defend the interests of ordinary citizens. Sceptics of populism are inclined to
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The one and only Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner
Sophie Howe is unique—the world’s only Future Generations Commissioner. What, you might well ask, is a Future Generations Commissioner. Her function, according to her website, “is to provide advice to the government and other public bodies in Wales on delivering social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being for current and future
Continue readingScripturient: Collingwood’s Broken Windows
NB. This post was first published on Dec. 9, 2021 If I sometimes seem to complain in a picayune manner, harping on the same signs of scruffiness and neglect that we seem to see more often around town these days, there’s a reason for it. Mostly it’s because I care
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On first steps
Hey look, some positive election results! Congratulations to everybody who ran in Regina’s municipal elections (and in those around the province) – and particularly the progressive electees who will have the chance to shape policy for the next four year. But while it’s a relief to have representatives in place
Continue readingScripturient: I Just Don’t Understand Americans
I’ve long been somewhat of a politics/history junkie, and as such I read a lot about both topics, from ancient times to modern; I read about events, wars, issues, personalities, elections, debates, governance, and the philosophy of politics. I read books, newspapers, websites, magazines, social media, and more books. I
Continue readingScripturient: Can an atheist be a good citizen?
The answer to the headline’s question is no, at least according to the late Catholic priest Richard John Neuhaus in a podcast in the Socrates in the City series (Sept. 22, 2004; I came across it as one of the chapters in the 2012 book from the podcast, Life, God,
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on leadership
What makes a good leader? Or a bad one, for that matter? That’s a long-standing debate that reaches back into history.* Of late I’ve been reading about and pondering the characteristics of leadership. Some people are promoted, elected or appointed to positions of authority. This makes them leaders by definition
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Canadians opt for co-operative government
The results from the federal government’s MyDemocracy.ca survey are now in and one clear result has emerged. The survey, mailed out to every household in the country inviting online participation, was a follow-up to a report by the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. The committee had spent months listening to
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Canadians opt for co-operative government
The results from the federal government’s MyDemocracy.ca survey are now in and one clear result has emerged. The survey, mailed out to every household in the country inviting online participation, was a follow-up to a report by the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. The committee had spent months listening to
Continue readingeaves.ca: Open Mandate Letters
The newly elected Government of Canada made its ministerial mandate letters available to the public last week. They are absolutely worth checking out both for their content and as a example of public disclosure/communication. I’ll talk about that latter part in a second, but let me first let’s discuss some background information and
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Open for Business, But Not For Your Input
Did you happen to read the town ad on the inside page in the Enterprise Bulletin this weekend? February 6, top of page D7? I’m betting you didn’t because no one I’ve spoken to seems to have read it. And since you can’t find the ad on the EB’s website,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your weekend. – Lana Payne highlights the Harper Cons’ culture of hate with just a few recent examples: Veterans. Informed-debate. People’s right to a union and free collective bargaining. Voting rights. These are all under threat in Harper’s Canada. This really is a government that hates;
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Deep thought
I’ve written before about the dangers of government by manufactured crisis – which is all too familiar under the Harper Cons and the Wall Sask Party alike. But in light of recent events, I feel compelled to add that an inexplicable “you must accept our plan NOW! NOW! NOW!” only
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The “Tone at the Top” from two perspectives: Richard Nixon and the AHS
When Richard Nixon told David Frost than an illegal activity is not illegal “when the president does it” he confirmed what we’d all suspected: the “tone at the top” as far as the 37th President of the United States was concerned was hopelessly corrupt. Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: UN recognizes wildlife crime as threat to rule of law
UN recognizes wildlife crime as threat to rule of law (via World Wildlife Fund) New York – Poaching and the illicit trafficking of wildlife products were raised on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly for the first time Monday during discussions on strengthening national and international governance. World
Continue readingopenalex: EcoDistricts: All Green, All in One Place
[I was in Portland when the EcoDistrict project was launched and have been following it ever since. It’s still in its early days, but I think it’s a great approach to speed the evolution of our cities. Originally posted @SustainableCitiesCanada.]
You’ve probably seen pictures of London’s BedZED , or Malmo’s Western Harbour redevelopment. Showpiece green developments like those have put urban sustainability in the international spotlight.
But all around them is a larger city that also needs to evolve radically if we are going to make sustainable cities a reality. Otherwise the substance is missing; you’ve got the cherry on top, but no Sunday underneath.
The magic of developments like BedZED, or projects like Victoria’s Dockside Green here in Canada, is that they do it all, and all in one place. Renewable energy, walkable vibrant density, multiple transportation options, urban agriculture, green buildings…. all woven together into a whole that is inspiring and effective. Rather than piecemeal interventions you get a picture of what a fundamentally different city could look like.
But how can you apply the same holistic approach to the neighbourhoods and districts that we already have? Portland (OR) is one of a small number of cities pioneering efforts to answer that question.
Building EcoDistricts
In 2009 the city launched the EcoDistrict program to accelerate the transformation of five existing neighbourhoods. EcoDistricts pursues the type of neighbourhood-scale interventions that you might expect, ranging from district energy to green streets. But at the core of the whole endeavour is the insight that to operate at a district scale the challenges aren’t primarily about technology, they are about people.
In 2009 the city launched the EcoDistrict program to accelerate the transformation of five existing neighbourhoods. EcoDistricts pursues the type of neighbourhood-scale interventions that you might expect, ranging from district energy to green streets. But at the core of the whole endeavour is the insight that to operate at a district scale the challenges aren’t primarily about technology, they are about people.
Unlike greenfield developments, working with existing neighbourhoods means working with a complex mix of residents, businesses, developers, utilities and municipal agencies. The EcoDistrict process begins by building a framework that allows all these different players to work together and supplies them with resources and strategies to begin remaking their part of the city.
The Elusive “How”: People
Portland aims to make the EcoDistrict approach something that can be applied in other cities (see their upcoming summit). How well it will transfer remains to be seen. At the same time, other cities will also develop their own approach to collaboratively transforming existing cityscapes. Montreal’s Quartiers 21 and Quartiers Verts programs, for example, also use the neighbourhood scale as a place to test out innovative ideas and processes of public engagement.
Portland aims to make the EcoDistrict approach something that can be applied in other cities (see their upcoming summit). How well it will transfer remains to be seen. At the same time, other cities will also develop their own approach to collaboratively transforming existing cityscapes. Montreal’s Quartiers 21 and Quartiers Verts programs, for example, also use the neighbourhood scale as a place to test out innovative ideas and processes of public engagement.
In the end the specific process cities follow isn’t as important as how they frame the challenge. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the “what” of urban sustainability; the “how” has always been a bit more elusive. Portland’s EcoDistricts program shows that it is possible to mobilize the complex mixture of different people and institutions in a way that makes holistic green urbanism possible.
It will be interesting to see which Canadian city will be the first to do the same.
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image: South Waterfront EcoDistrict
openalex: EcoDistricts: All Green, All in One Place
[I was in Portland when the EcoDistrict project was launched and have been following it ever since. It’s still in its early days, but I think it’s a great approach to speed the evolution of our cities. Originally posted @SustainableCitiesCanada.] You’ve probably seen pictures of London’s BedZED , or Malmo’s
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