“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.
Happy International Women’s Day! The theme this year is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress. It is a good opportunity for us to look back on everything we have gained and where the struggle for equality continues.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
The issue of how to promote development that benefits the entire community is a thorny one. On one hand, we are in the midst of a housing crisis, and we don’t have nearly as many homes as we need for a city that is growing.