Abstract
Over the past 50 years, interest in a national urban policy in Canada has waxed and waned. Although the 1960s represented a high water mark in terms of creating national institutions on urban issues, efforts to develop a national
urban policy languished until the early 2000s.
While national urban policy can mean different things, a useful distinction is made between explicit urban policies directed to cities and implicit policies that may significantly affect cities, but are not targeted at cities. The 21st century has seen a renewed interest internationally in national urban policies.1
This paper draws on the
experience of countries that have explicitly pursued national urban policies to solve complex and interrelated urban challenges:
• In the United Kingdom, the national government works directly with the largest cities to identify specific place-based priorities.
• In the Australian federal system, a national policy involves collaboration among all tiers of government and institutional alignment across key departments and agencies.
• In Germany, experimental initiatives on a range of issues in urban development involve citizens actively in their city.
• In Brazil’s federal decentralized system, a strong recognition of the importance of cities has resulted in a national urban policy and a federal Ministry of Cities to support municipalities in carrying out their functions.
• France’s Politique de la Ville is an integrated approach to problems of deprived neighbourhoods and social fragmentation.
It is unclear whether Canada will establish a similar policy or institution. If it does, however, this paper proposes three elements for a national urban policy:
• Collaborative governance involving cities as joint partners in deciding their fates with the provinces and federal government.
• Coordinating the diverse policies that affect the quality of life of Canadians living in cities.
• Robust policy, research, and monitoring mechanisms to identify what is working and best practices both nationally and internationally.
urban policy languished until the early 2000s.
While national urban policy can mean different things, a useful distinction is made between explicit urban policies directed to cities and implicit policies that may significantly affect cities, but are not targeted at cities. The 21st century has seen a renewed interest internationally in national urban policies.1
This paper draws on the
experience of countries that have explicitly pursued national urban policies to solve complex and interrelated urban challenges:
• In the United Kingdom, the national government works directly with the largest cities to identify specific place-based priorities.
• In the Australian federal system, a national policy involves collaboration among all tiers of government and institutional alignment across key departments and agencies.
• In Germany, experimental initiatives on a range of issues in urban development involve citizens actively in their city.
• In Brazil’s federal decentralized system, a strong recognition of the importance of cities has resulted in a national urban policy and a federal Ministry of Cities to support municipalities in carrying out their functions.
• France’s Politique de la Ville is an integrated approach to problems of deprived neighbourhoods and social fragmentation.
It is unclear whether Canada will establish a similar policy or institution. If it does, however, this paper proposes three elements for a national urban policy:
• Collaborative governance involving cities as joint partners in deciding their fates with the provinces and federal government.
• Coordinating the diverse policies that affect the quality of life of Canadians living in cities.
• Robust policy, research, and monitoring mechanisms to identify what is working and best practices both nationally and internationally.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | The Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) |
| Place of Publication | Toronto |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-7727-0969-1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Publication series
| Name | IMFG Perspectives |
|---|---|
| Volume | 14 |