By Philippe Reicher
According to the UN, 55% of the world's population currently lives in cities. By 2050, that number is expected to reach 68%. Behind this simple number is a reminder that cities are fundamentally about people. And because we are dealing with people, the city as a place where people live, work and play, has always been a confluence of ideas on how societies organize themselves to manage threats and opportunities.
With COVID-19 as the backdrop, I digitally attended a recent event organized by the Globe and Mail and Tortoise Media called The Future of Our Cities Summit. The Summit brought a variety of individuals deeply involved in urban life. Urban planners, former and current mayors (including our own Naheed Nenshi), entrepreneurs, night club owners, academics and artists all came with their own perspectives on what it means to live in a city. While most agreed on the pandemic's transformative impact, many weren’t sure of its lasting effects; at the least in the short and medium terms. Still, all agreed that cities were subject to significant forces that require a rethinking of city life, particularly as we embark on an era of digitization and decarbonization with or without the virus.
We can attest to this observation in Calgary, where important structural economic changes were taking place before the pandemic.
From affordable housing, safe and reliable public transit, adequate parks and open spaces to a vibrant arts and entertainment scene, the interconnectedness of these factors demonstrates the complex nature of cities and the critical role in creating a fulfilling urban existence.
Experiences from Manchester, London, Toronto, Boston and Vancouver also remind me that cities are fundamentally products of their unique culture, geography, economy and political system. That is not to say that learning from others cannot be an eye-opening journey and provide useful ideas and perspectives. Still, I remain convinced that coming to an understanding of what makes up your city's heart and soul is the mission of good civic engagement and, ultimately, leads to policies that have the broad public interest at heart instead of being defined narrowly by specific stakeholder interests.
In keeping with the broad public interest, as our cities grow more complex and diverse, I also heard that civic engagement needs to evolve to ensure a greater range of voices are heard and considered in our civic life. The need to "democratize" the political system kept coming up.
This is what Calgary On Purpose is all about. We are committed to getting an inclusive, wider range of people to talk and write about their city. And together, we’ll uncover its true heartbeat and soul.