CiTR -- The City

Second part in a two-part series. Do we privilege larger cities when we talk about a sustainable, low-carbon future? Are smaller cities excluded from these conversations? Catherine Tumber, author of Small, Gritty, and Green: The Promise of America?s Smaller Industrial Cities in a Low-Carbon World, argues that smaller industrial cities have an increasingly significant role to play in our low-carbon, relocalized urban futures.

Do we privilege larger cities when we talk about a sustainable, low-carbon future? Are smaller cities excluded from these conversations? Catherine Tumber, author of Small, Gritty, and Green: The Promise of America?s Smaller Industrial Cities in a Low-Carbon World, argues that smaller industrial cities have an increasingly significant role to play in our low-carbon, relocalized urban futures. This is first in a two-part series.

This podcast is dedicated to the life and work of urban scholar-activist Neil Smith who passed away on September 29th. Neil vocally advocated for everyone's right to the city. His writing and activism centred around struggles for social justice in the city. We honour and recognize Neil's life and work by hearing a critical talk he gave in September 2010 - "Urban Politics, Urban Security" - at Harvard University. The podcast begins with a reading of Jeff Derksen's article, which describes Neil's strong Vancouver connection.

British Columbia faces a childcare crisis. How does this impact families in Vancouver and throughout BC cities? The City talks with Sharon Gregson of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and a former Vancouver School Board trustee about their comprehensive plan for an integrated system of early care and learning in BC - a publicly-funded, universal system. If adopted by the provincial government, the plan would provide $10/day full-time childcare to families and would be free for households with annual incomes less than $40,000. What would this mean for families struggling to find affordable childcare in Vancouver and beyond?

Vancouver's Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) brought seniors' housing issues and Musqueam's ongoing land struggle to the forefront with guest speakers at their recent general membership meeting. Rhiannon Bennett, a Musqueam band member, reflected on the ongoing 130+ day struggle to protect their burial grounds from condo development in South Vancouver. Gail Harmer, seniors' advocate and housing activist, addresses the challenges moderate and low-income seniors face when trying to find affordable and appropriate housing in Vancouver. She discusses some of the specific issues faced by seniors in neighbourhoods which have high concentrations of seniors, including Strathcona and Killarney.

On the program, The City speaks with historian, legal scholar, and Victoria City Councillor Ben Isitt about the rise of BC's labour movement from an urban perspective. We discuss the (radical) history of labour activism in Vancouver and Victoria, the issues facing unions and the working class today, as well as the challenge of bringing a progressive, working-class agenda to city hall.

The City discusses the state of arts and culture with Vancouver's Managing Director of Cultural Services Richard Newirth, covering everything from liquor regulations, funding, affordable arts space, and the eastward movement of artists within the city.

100 Days Later: Musqueam and the Fight to Protect Cultural History

Reflections following the Musqueam First Nation's 100th day of struggle to protect their ancestral village site and burial grounds in south Vancouver from condo development.

SECOND IN A SERIES | On the podcast, we hear from Julian Cheyne (Counter Olympics Network) on the relationships between the London Games, property (re)development, gentrification, and remaking of working class East London boroughs into (upper) middle class urban space. Goldman Sachs and CBRE (the world's larger commercial development firm) provide perspectives from the elites who trumpet gentrification, redevelopment, and the displacement of working class housing and jobs. These processes of urban class transformation are made possible and underwritten, in part, by celebration capitalism-style mega-events like the Olympic Games.

London Plays Games: Olympics History, Civil Liberties, and the Militarization of Public Space

First in a series. A critical analysis of the London 2012 Games, featuring Chris Shaw (author, Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games), Professor Jules Boykoff on dissent and the Olympics, and Julian Cheyne (London Counter Olympics Network) on the militarization of East London.