Summary Report from the 2010 Urban Symposium

April 15^th and 16^th the Association of Municipalities of Ontario held its third Urban Symposium, hosted by the City of Hamilton at the Lincoln Alexander Theatre. If you were not there, this is a brief highlight of what you missed.

The City of Hamilton took their need to dispose 6 hundred cubic meters of biogas per year and used it to answer the call for renewable energy.  Their solution, a 1.6 MW Cogeneration Facility is now part of a long term strategy to turn waste into a solution providing renewable energy and guaranteed profits. This green environmentally sustainable business venture will provide the City of Hamilton with an annual revenue stream of up to $1 million through the energy sales to the province. Due to Hamilton’s quick response to the provincial need for renewable energy, they were able to get an extremely profitable rate for a 20 year contract.

Partnerships in Brownfield Redevelopment: From Shipbuilding to Housing
Carl-Johan Korsas, President, Framtiden Group, Goteborg, Sweden

As communities across Ontario are in the process of economic recovery and redevelopment, taking lessons learned from others who have already done just that can provide insight and inspiration. Carl-Johan Korsas, president and CEO of the Framtiden Group described how a town left devastated after the collapse in the early eighties of the shipbuilding industry has turned itself around. This community redevelopment story reveals how through community and housing improvements and increased access to green spaces, resident pride in the community has increased and crime levels have decreased.

The Hammarby Model: A leading example of an eco-city
Erik Freudenthal, Manager, Hammarby, Stockholm

The city of Hammarby was once plagued with polluted waters and congested streets. Erik Freudenthal, manager of GlaushusEtt, demonstrated how Hammarby has now become a blueprint for municipal sustainable development. The Hammarby model eco-cycle solution handles energy, waste, sewage and water for both housing and offices to create a city based on sustainable resource usage. The key, Erik noted, to improving eco-efficiency of a community, is to show citizens how their actions have a direct impact. Each week GlaushusEtt gives numerous presentations on the environment, to audiences that range from school aged children to local politicians and business owners.

Governments Sharing Data with Citizens: Examples from Canada and the World
Omar Rashid, Director, Local and Regional Government, Microsoft

Mr. Rashid provided an overview of the revolution over the last decade in both the expectations and capabilities around customer service. By providing the audience with a number of municipal web site ‘screenshots,’ Omar was able visually display how websites are becoming the primary interface for dialogue between local governments and citizens.

AMO Initiative Update: Joint and Several Liability Reform
Matthew Wilson, Senior Policy Advisor, AMO

As “deep pocket” defendants with seemingly limitless public resources at their disposal, municipalities have often become the targets of litigation when other defendants do not have the means to pay high damage awards. Ontario municipalities ought not to be the insurers of last resort, targeted deliberately in some instances because of joint and several. AMO is requesting that the government formally commit to reviewing this area of law, after AMO’s working group, doing extensive research on the problem, could not find any evidence that joint and several liability was ever an explicit legislated intent. AMO released a paper on this pressing issue last August, which is available on AMO’s website for your review.

In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness
Senator Art Eggelton, Chair, Subcommittee of Cities

In a passionate and frank presentation, Senator Art Eggelton presented a number of recommendations which were released with the Senate report, “In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness”. Senator Eggelton described how the system currently intended to lift individuals out of poverty is broken and expensive, causing increased healthcare costs, burdening our police services and diminished educational outcomes, all of which takes place at huge cost to taxpayers. Senator Eggelton’s Call to Action includes some 72 recommendations, many of which municipalities have either a direct or indirect connection to.

The Public Consultation Toolbox: Tips for Civic Engagement
Peter McLeod, Mass LBP, Public Consultation

Engaging in public consultation is something that municipal governments do across Ontario on a daily basis. But how often do the participants leave feeling like not only have they done their ‘democratic duty’ to provide input in the consultation process but also fortunate to have done so? Peter McLeod and Mass LBP have re-created the public consultation system, to ensure that organizations get the critical information from the public they require, in a way which allows the public to participate in a meaningful dialogue. Peter described public consultation as an experience which raises the spirit level of its participants, and gave many in the audience a new approach to thinking about public consultation.

The Voice of Citizens: Municipal Polling Trends
Dr. Donna Dasko, Senior Vice President, Environics Research Group Ltd.

Through a number of polls, including one funded by AMO, Dr. Dasko presented some interesting findings regarding “quality of life” issues and explored what this may mean for your municipal agenda. Highlights of her findings included that public green spaces in their community was the number one contribution to quality of life for 62% of respondents. The physical built environment, along with the social atmosphere of a community, matter to citizens. Interestingly, the top responses to the question what is the most important change needed to improve community quality of life were: stronger economy/jobs, public transit and environmental awareness. Lower taxes were cited by only 3% of respondents.

The Future of the Urban Agenda
Andrew Coyne, National Editor, Maclean’s magazine

“Fiscal accountability is what gives cities the revenue to fund municipal services”. As national editor for Maclean’s magazine and political commentator as a member of the At Issue panel on CBC’s The National, Andrew Coyne has a bird’s eye view of Parliament Hill and the current influences on the urban agenda in Parliament. Andrew Coyne spoke about some of the current failings on Parliament Hill and the democratic system, why reporters look to report the same story every time, and the need for the level of federal fiscal accountability to increase.