An Overview of the City’s Presentations • The City’s Strategic Priorities & the Role of Local Government (15th Sept) • A Well-Run City & Intergovernmental Affairs (22nd Sept) • Building an Equitable City (6th Oct) • Community Resilience – People, Housing & Neighbourhoods (20th Oct) • City Building – Art, Culture & the Public Realm (3rd Nov) • Climate Action and Resilience (17th Nov) COVID-19: Impacts and Opportunities Report Summary of Recommendations Public Health • Improving the City’s epidemiological understanding of to better support decision-making for pandemic management and resolution Social Determinants of Health • Promoting the realignment of municipal, provincial and federal roles and responsibilities (funding) to reduce uneven impacts of the pandemic Increasing Prosperity • To improve equity by reducing barriers to work and career advancement, especially for disadvantaged groups and communities. Infrastructure and Mobility • Maintaining and increasing infrastructural investment, particularly in public transit Resilience and Climate Change • Focusing on resilience/sustainability as part of the recovery from COVID-19 City Services • Modernising city services as part of the recovery and rebuild process https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/city-administration/city-managersoffice/key-initiatives/recoveryto/covid-19-about-reopening-recovery-rebuild/ Contextualising the COVID-19 Pandemic • The issue of global threats • Global terrorism (9/11), natural disasters (Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004), economic crises (the financial crisis of 2007 – 2008), climate change, pandemics (swine flu of 2009, camel flu of 2012) • The call to action, from the local to the global level • Toronto 2.0 Quick Facts • City of Toronto population of 2.7 million (2016) in an area of 630 square kilometres (4,334 per square kilometre density) • Fourth-largest city in North America (by comparison, New York City is second with a population of 8.5 million in an area of 778 square kilometres) • Greater Toronto Area population of 6.4 million (2016) in an area of 7,124 square kilometres (849 per square kilometre density) • Out of this, 2.7 million are foreign-born with 180 different spoken languages and dialects in the region • By comparison, the province of Ontario has a population of 13.4 million (2016) Quick Facts • Recognised as an international centre of business, finance, arts, culture, and regarded as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world • Attracts up to 40 million tourists yearly ($7.2 billion overall visitor spending) • 69.3% of Toronto residents aged 25 – 64 have some postsecondary certificate, diploma, or degree (2016) • 49.9% of employed Toronto residents have full-year, full-time jobs (2016) • Unemployment rate of 6.7% (2016) • Second highest cost of living plus rent index out of 31 Canadian cities, child poverty rate of 28.6% (2013) • 2031 population growth projections: 3 million for the City, 7.45 million for the GTA • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsRJwN_kfj8 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GADdPGkVuss https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201 109-coronavirus-how-cities-travel-andfamily-life-will-change • The themes of disruption, change, and loss • What will we be craving in a post-pandemic world? • • • How will we get around? What will transportation look like? Will only the wealthy be able to travel? • • • How can we protect city dwellers? How will cities weather economic challenges? How can cities help solve pandemic inequalities? • • How will we socialise? How can we make our community connections more meaningful? • • • What will city centres look like? What’s the role of public spaces in cities? How can the public and private sectors work together to build a good city? Will cities emerge stronger after the virus? • https://theconversation.com/what-actually-isa-good-city-80677 • The problems of who, what, why, and how? • What is good? – the ‘good’ city as a conceptual morass/soup • Why is the _____ city good? • Who gets to define what the good city is? • How do we prioritise different orders of the good? • The four principles of ecology (environmentalism/sustainability), economics (equity), politics (engagement and participation), culture (identity and belonging) • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_livable_cities • https://www.toronto.ca/businesseconomy/invest-in-toronto/global-city/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/th e-quiet-joy-being/202112/what-makes-goodplace-live • There are certain fundamental elements of a ‘good’ or liveable city • Likewise, there are certain elements that make a city ‘bad’ or unliveable • But perhaps we are looking at the issue from the wrong perspective • City-living works for city-lovers; ‘good’ or liveable cities are tolerable at best for others who don’t take to city-living • https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/urbanexodus-canada-toronto-montreal-covid-191.6313911 • Consider the inequalities underlining this choice (mobile, white-collar, remote work)
