Search Results for: IMFG Paper

Over the last several decades, municipalities have increasingly relied on the private sector to help build affordable housing. Julie Mah analyzes and maps the affordable housing outcomes achieved in Toronto through Section 37 agreements. Between 1988 and 2018, the ad hoc use of Section 37 generated a limited number of affordable units. However, as the city implements a new inclusionary zoning policy in November 2021, Mah’s analysis of where, how many, and what type of affordable units were produced through Section 37 agreements creates a baseline against which the new approach can be evaluated
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New IMFG and Urban Project paper reviews the current state of provincial-municipal equalization transfers in Canada and suggests ways to improve their design. Arguing that no province provides adequate equalization for municipalities, the authors take a critical look at the mechanics of such a transfer, and how it should ideally operate. Issues that first need to be resolved range from determining how local needs are calculated to ascertaining how municipal fiscal capacity is measured. Slack and Bird conclude with some suggestions for what is needed to devise fair, efficient, and transparent provincial-municipal equalization systems.
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New IMFG Paper explores whether development charges impede housing affordability and finds they actually improve it once a larger municipal context is considered.
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A new IMFG paper looks at evolving Canadian municipal relationships with Indigenous Peoples and calls attention to an urgent need to review Indigenous-municipal relationships across Canada.
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User fees are one of the principal funding mechanisms for a range of municipal services, from water and waste management to transit and recreation. New IMFG paper explains why user fees are a good source of revenue for municipalities, how they are employed in Ontario, and how to navigate the trade-off between efficiency and fairness.
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New IMFG paper explores how the development of Toronto’s Pearson Airport catalyzed informal regional governance and planning processes in the Toronto area.
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Over the past decade, most major cities have received some new revenue sources. Yet, little is known about how cities actually use them or how they have benefitted. This paper reviews data from the municipal financial statements of the largest city in each province to investigate how Canadian cities are employing their revenue sources and whether more sources lead to more revenues and better services in cities.
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This paper surveys the status of cities in national constitutions and provides a comparative analysis of three significant recent attempts to strengthen the constitutional status of cities in India, South Africa, and Brazil.
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