CityTalk Canada

CityTalk Canada

By Canadian Urban InstituteSociety & CultureScienceSocial Sciences
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CityTalk Canada episodes

  • Unlocking Capital & Accelerating Housing: Hear from those leading the way

    This CityTalk hosted a conversation with the CEOs of Build Canada Homes and the Canada Infrastructure Bank on how to get more built, faster. Ana Bailão, CEO of Build Canada Homes and Ehren Cory, CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank shared their thoughts on how to leverage strategic financing and other tools to develop much-needed housing and housing-enabling infrastructure.

    Coming at the end of a tumultuous year for Canada and immediately following the State of Canada’s Cities Summit, this session situates housing within the broader economic and infrastructure agenda, examining what it will take to align public investment, institutional capital, and industry capacity.

    This event is essential viewing for public officials, housing providers and developers, investors, and community leaders who need a clear picture of where Canada’s housing system is headed and how emerging institutions like Build Canada Homes and the CIB intend to deliver results.​

    Talk to us from your city

    37 min
  • Libraries: the last shared space?
    Many of our cities’ biggest challenges right now are playing out inside public libraries. Library staff come face-to-face daily with issues relating to homelessness, substance use, mental and physical health, and, of course, education. As they continue to adapt to their communities' increasing needs, their funding is not growing.Two library CEOs from opposite ends of the country join host Mary Rowe to talk about the reality of running a library in 2025. Åsa Kachan is the CEO and chief librarian for Halifax Public Libraries. Pilar Martinez is the CEO of Edmonton Public Libraries.You can read more on this topic in CUI’s report, Overdue: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries. https://canurb.org/wp-content/uploads/CUI_Overdue_report_10.04.23.pdf

    Talk to us from your city

    35 min
  • The Lifehouse: how neighbourhoods can prepare for disaster
    The increased threat of extreme weather has made it increasingly clear that we need to better prepare for - and respond to - these events.Author Adam Greenfield thinks one answer is to create a new kind of institution at the heart of each neighbourhood. He calls it a “lifehouse”, a community hub to provide refuge and resources during emergencies, as well as ongoing services like daycare and workshops. Adam talks to host Mary Rowe about what a lifehouse is, how he took inspiration from the Occupy Sandy hurricane relief effort, and why getting to know your neighbour may be the radical thing you can do.Adam Greenfield’s book is called Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves in a World on Fire.

    Talk to us from your city

    33 min
  • Rebuilding Jasper: one year after the fire
    Last summer, Beth Sanders was getting ready to lead a new planning department for Jasper, Alberta when the municipality was evacuated due to wildfires. The fires ended up destroying about a third of the town. Beth joins Mary to talk about the challenges and opportunities of rebuilding, as well as lessons for other municipalities facing increasing threats from climate change.Beth is the Director of Urban Design and Standards for the Municipality of Jasper and the author of Nest City.

    Talk to us from your city

    26 min
  • What will it take to finally end Canada’s housing crisis?
    It’s no secret that Canada is in a housing crisis. The gap between incomes and housing prices has been growing for decades, as governments of all political stripes have promised to ease the burden. So what will it take to finally end it? Murtaza Haider and Carolyn Whitzman join host Mary Rowe to talk about how we got here and what we can do about it.Carolyn Whitzman is a senior housing researcher at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis. Murtaza Haider is the Executive Director of the Cities Institute at the University of Alberta, where he is also a Professor and the Radhe Krishna Gupta Executive Chair in Cities and Communities.

    Talk to us from your city

    32 min
  • Friend or Foe for Vibrant Neighbourhoods: Are Festivals Worth It?
    Festivals can be a great excuse to get out and see something new. But they can also be disruptive to local residents and businesses. So when do they help a place thrive, and when are they more trouble than they’re worth? CityTalk host Mary Rowe gets the perspectives of two guests who helped shape iconic downtown areas. Tim Tompkins was president of the Times Square Alliance in New York City from 2002 to 2020. He’s now director of the Sustaining Places Initiative at the NYU Marron Institute. And Mark Garner is executive director at Calgary Downtown Association. He’s the former CEO and executive director of Toronto's Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Association.

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    33 min
  • Sharing the Streets

    At the Canadian Urban Institute, better, future-proof infrastructure pervades every project and discussion we have. Ahead of the upcoming Ontario Bike Summit in Windsor, host Mary Rowe has a two-wheeled chat with leading advocates for more, better and safer urban cycling systems, including Eleanor McMahon (Share The Road Coalition); Lanrick Bennett Jr. (School of Cities, U of T); Leona Medley (Joe Louis Greenway Partnership); and Anneke Smit (Centre for Cities, Windsor Law).

    Learn more about the Ontario Bike Summit here.

     

    Talk to us from your city

    46 min
  • Let's Talk About Placemaking

    The title of this episode is shared with a report recently released by the Canadian Urban Institute. It compiles the findings from thousands of community-level placemaking projects along with perspectives on placemaking from leading practitioners, including Jerome Barth of Belleville Placemaking (NYC) and Marc-André Carignan of Kollectif (Mtl.) featured in conversation with host Mary Rowe.

    Report author Jacquelyn West also discussed key findings with Bridget MacIntosh, a Toronto-based cultural strategist and contributor to the report. 

    Download a copy of Let's Talk About Placemaking here. 

    Talk to us from your city

    50 min
  • Centre-ville: en Conversation au Sommet

    Housing and infrastructure present challenges to nations across the globe. CUI's State of Canada's Cities Summit was pleased to welcome Alain Resplendy-Bernard, director of State Buildings for the government of France, as a special guest panellist. CUI board chair Cameron Charlebois also met Alain at our onsite studio for a deeper dive en français. Also, CUI researcher Jacquelyn West speaks to Monique Simard, board chair of Montreal's Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, considered one of the most successful 'centre-ville' revitalizations in the world. 

    See and hear more about the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.

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    28 min

About CityTalk Canada

From the publisher's feed

What's working, what's not and what's next for Canada's cities. Presented by noted urbanist Mary Rowe, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute.