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November 2019
Charting a New Path: Does Toronto Need a City Charter?
Over the last year, a series of controversial provincial decisions affecting Toronto’s Council size, budget, and transit system have offered a reminder of the power that provinces have over municipalities in this country. As a result, an old debate has emerged about whether the City of Toronto should have more power and autonomy over its own affairs. As part of this debate, some have proposed that Toronto should pursue a city charter that gives it specific powers, roles, and responsibilities…
Find out more »Future Ain’t What it Used to Be: The 8th Annual IMFG Toronto City Manager’s Address
To tackle our modern challenges – population growth and changing demographics, climate change, aging infrastructure, congestion, and poverty – Toronto and the region‘s success decades from now will hinge on how we work together. On November 4, Chris Murray, Toronto’s City Manager, will speak about how these challenges require municipalities not only to set their own priorities, but to work together and with other governments, institutions, the private sector, community partners and Indigenous peoples to improve quality of life.
Find out more »October 2019
Conflict and Cooperation in Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects: Lessons from the Port of New York City
Today, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a multi-state and multi-jurisdictional body that operates and manages the development of one of the largest seaports in the world. Before the Port Authority was established a century ago, however, the Port of New York was governed not by a single body, but rather was planned, constructed, and operated within a twisting labyrinth of jurisdictional power and control over the land, water, and shipping industries. The result was that by…
Find out more »Book launch – Shaping the Metropolis: Institutions and Urbanization in the United States and Canada
What form should urban governance take? Is radical devolution the answer, or should we focus on more strategic involvement by senior governments? Zack Taylor will address these questions by presenting ideas from his new book, Shaping the Metropolis: Institutions and Urbanization in the United States and Canada.
Find out more »September 2019
Metropolitan Governance: Future Necessity or Misplaced Dream?
Experts from multiple disciplines have argued in principle for the benefits of metropolitan governance, but how has it played out in practice? On September 19, IMFG Visiting Scholar Alan Harding addressed this question by drawing on his experience as Chief Economic Adviser to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as well as his many years of academic research on metropolitan governance. In his presentation, professor Harding assessed the arguments produced in favour of metropolitan governance, the extent to which real-world reforms…
Find out more »July 2019
Consulting in the Smart City: Lessons from Sidewalk Toronto
Smart city projects are rapidly becoming a dominant part of the worldwide urban agenda, including in Toronto, where Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto have launched Sidewalk Toronto, an initiative to develop the waterfront Quayside neighbourhood as a smart city. Smart city projects like Sidewalk Toronto promise to improve order, efficiency, safety, sustainability, and inclusivity in urban life through data-driven decision-making and the integration of new technologies with infrastructure and services. They also often see cities as “living labs” where information…
Find out more »June 2019
From the Top Down: The Governance of Urban Development in Mexico
Although efforts were made to decentralize in Mexico during the late 20th century, federal and state-level policy has continued to supersede local governance. Local governments in Mexico have limited financial and institutional capacities and are seldom able to guide urban development and construction processes, for example. The result of this top down approach has sometimes been sprawling and unsustainable development patterns, particularly during the 2000s, when federal and several state governments backed large, peripheral housing developments. These developments placed a…
Find out more »May 2019
Funding the Canadian City – Book Launch
The Canadian Tax Foundation and the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) celebrated the launch of Funding the Canadian City, a collection of papers by leading experts, scholars, and policy makers in the field of municipal taxation and finance. The book – edited by Enid Slack, Lisa Philipps, Lindsay M. Tedds, and Heather L. Evans – includes timely research on property taxes, the options for new revenue tools for cities, road tolling and congestion pricing, foreign-buyer taxes and vacancy taxes,…
Find out more »April 2019
Steering Low-Carbon Growth in Emerging African Cities: Insights from Dar es Salaam
By the end of the 21st century, over 30 African cities will have populations exceeding 10 million people, placing them among the world’s largest megacities. The region’s rapid urbanization will stimulate investments in new urban infrastructure, including power plants, roads, and residential buildings, which will push city-level energy use and carbon emissions to new levels. The region’s impending urbanization and infrastructure growth presents an opportunity in the global fight against climate change. By coordinating efforts now, urban planners, infrastructure service…
Find out more »March 2019
Sharing the Costs of a Growing City: The Case for Development Charges
New development is essential to supporting a growing city but it also leads to added costs for municipal governments. New housing developments often require new or expanded infrastructure, including roads, sewers, and water treatment plants. There is ongoing debate on how cities should pay for this growth-related capital. Some argue that user fees and property tax revenues are sufficient to cover these costs, and that development charges on developers will likely result in increased housing prices. On March 19, economist…
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