Podcast Archive
Urban Nation: Give Power Back to the Cities
Alan Broadbent shares from his book Urban Nation a plan for maximizing the Canadian economy and cultural and social structure. He strives to reconnect people to their governments and nation in an engaging way.
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Canada’s population is nearly 80 percent of us now live in cities and, despite our country's steadfast economic engine, our urban centres may not be equipped to sustain this growth.
With the publication of his book Urban Nation, Alan Broadbent is sharing his plan to maximize our economy and our cultural and social structure, as well as to reconnect us to our government and nationhood.
Alan, who has been championing the "cities" agenda in Canadian politics and public discourse, believes we must revitalize our commitment to our nation's cities.
Urban Nation is inspiring community thinkers, fuelling discussion amongst politicians and igniting the kind of controversy that leads to action.
On this page you'll find:
Alan Broadbent - Alan Broadbent is one Canada's most influential thinkers on urban issues. For the past 15 years, he has played an important role in generating a “cities” agenda in Canadian politics and public discourse.
Alan is the Chairman of The Maytree Foundation, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy and Tamarack. Alan is also the Chairman and CEO of Avana Capital Corporation, and Jamscor Incorporated.
As a businessman and philanthropist, Alan has also been a guiding influence behind initiatives such as Ideas that Matter, which gives out the Jane Jacobs Prize, and the “Charter for Toronto” idea. Alan recently launched his first book, Urban Nation: Why We Need to Give Power Back to the Cities to Make Canada Strong.
Alan Broadbent has been keenly interested in cities for years, starting with their art and architecture. In the 1970s, he was greatly inspired by Jane Jacobs' book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Her work compelled him to delve deeper into the issues surrounding urbanization. During the 1990s, he teamed up with Jane Jacobs and Mary Rowe to focus on the "cities" agenda, starting with the creation of a charter for the City of Toronto.
The challenges facing Canadian cities today
Cities today face sophisticated challenges, largely because of the two key issues that have changed how we look at cities in Canada today - urbanization and immigration.
According to Alan, we are locked into a constitutional arrangement where cities have virtually no control of their destiny. The federal government can easily override the authority of municipal governments. Additionally, municipal governments must often seek permission and funding from provincial and federal governments before embarking on local initiatives to address issues such as housing, homelessness and public transit.
Canadian cities simply do not have access to a large enough pool of revenue. Property tax is the largest source of income for cities in Canada - a source that does not grow with the nation's economy. We need a broad array of revenue tools to sustain and stabilize the plans that cities want to create and implement with confidence. Federal and provincial governments have the ability to generate revenue from multiple sources, while cities rely predominantly on property tax, grants and handouts.
Each city is different, with its own particular characteristics and needs. If a city is under a jurisdiction (i.e. provincial or federal) that adopts a one-size-fits-all policy, it runs the risk of failing to address the issues that matter the most locally. In Urban Nation, Alan advocates for cities to be given the tools that enable them to carry out locally-driven decisions.
The urge for place-based solutions does not negate the need for federal leadership. Indeed, Alan suggests that federal decision-makers should set the standards in areas of health care, education and human rights, while allowing local decision-makers to act in a way that best meets the unique needs of their community.
Cities, particularly Canada's largest regions, could take on a great deal more responsibility. For example, Alan suggests that urban centres could be responsible for their own health and education systems because the particularity of health care in Canada's larger regions is of unique importance. He uses Toronto as an example, claiming that the city's large immigrant population calls for different protocols of care in a quick and lively way, which is much more difficult to do under the provincial watch. By increasing a city's authority to make decisions regarding financial allocations in the health care delivery system, citizens could get better, faster health care.
The same is true for the education system. Given the rapidity with which children move through the system and the specific regional challenges schools face, urban centres are actually better positioned to respond to the system's needs.
Giving power back to the cities could create a great experimental laboratory for regions to address issues in their own way. Sharing this knowledge across Canada, from city to city, is also important. Non-governmental organizations, such as the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, are helpful think tanks for generating, reporting on and sharing knowledge across the country.
Urban Nation - In this thoughtful, provocative book that is sure to ignite controversy and fuel discussion among politicians and pundits, Alan Broadbent makes a clear case for creating cities as a powerful order of government. He looks at American and European models, examines the now ubiquitous "New Deal for Cities," and shows how citizens and action groups are coming together for practical urban reform solutions. Urban Nation is an essential new book for all Canadians concerned about their cities - and their country's future.
Maytree - Maytree seeks to combat systemic poverty in Canada through grants, support and collaboration with communities and organizations. Tamarack was co-founded by Alan Broadbent, the Foundation's Chairman.
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy - The Caledon Institute is a social policy thinktank. They do rigorous, high-quality research and analysis; seek to inform and influence public opinion and to foster public discussion on poverty and social policy; and they develop and promote concrete, practicable proposals for the reform of social programs at all levels of government and of social benefits provided by employers and the voluntary sector.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities - The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. It represents the interests of municipalities on policy and program matters that fall within federal jurisdiction. Members include Canada's largest cities, small urban and rural communities, and 18 provincial and territorial municipal associations.
The Jane Jacobs Prize - The Jane Jacobs Prize recognizes the ideas and impact of ordinary individuals and is named in honour of the long-time Toronto resident and renowned author. Every year the prize highlights the contribution of one or two Toronto residents and promotes how their ideas and insight help us better understand our city.
Jane’s Walk - To honour the work and legacy of Jane Jacobs, Jane's Walk is a coordinated series of free neighbourhood walking tours given by locals who care passionately about where they live, work and play. This walk is about raising urban literacy by offering a pedestrian focused event that combines insights into urban history, planning, design and civic engagement with the simple act of walking and observing.
Ideas That Matter - Ideas That Matter produces a wide range of events to stimulate public discourse concentrating on issues related to cities, economics and the values of diversity, community and public good. The work of Ideas That Matter is inspired by the ideas and principles of Jane Jacobs.
The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) - The Canadian Urban Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in urban areas across Canada and internationally.
©2011 Tamarack — An Institute for Community Engagement