Ariel Troster is the City Councillor for Somerset Ward, located in the heart of Ottawa. Ariel is focused on helping to build a city where everyone can thrive.
“I’m working to build an Ottawa that is fun, diverse, and compassionate. Where everyone can afford a place to live, where social services are adequately funded, and where we can all move easily and safely through our city, whether by walking, biking, rolling or driving.”
“You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.” That is a quote from the great Jane Jacobs from her seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. I have been reflecting on that statement a lot lately, as we work to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown core in the face of post-COVID workforce changes.
Last week we hosted a virtual meeting with neighbours to discuss policy initiatives our office has worked on since our community safety meeting last summer and introduced neighbours to service providers from Belong Ottawa, Centre 507 and the Centretown Community Health Centre. These are the slides from our presentation during the meeting.
In the waning days of the convoy occupation in Centretown, a sign that got popular at counter-demonstrations included the cheeky slogan: “Make Ottawa Boring Again.” Soon after, a local resident had the expression printed on t-shirts, with proceeds going to Minwashin Lodge, Cornerstone Housing for Women and the Canadian Hate Network.