Institutional policy learning and formal federal-urban engagement in Canada

Canada has experienced two formal federal ministries dedicated to addressing urban issues. The first, the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, encountered resistance from provincial governments and its fellow departments. Both worked to undermine it. The second, the Ministry of State for Infrastructure and Communities, was created with a more conciliatory tone towards the provincial governments and its ministerial colleagues. This paper examines the establishment of both ministries and tracks their efforts using a policy learning and lesson-drawing framework, concluding that common institutional actors, such as the Privy Council, were responsible for the Ministry of State for Infrastructure and Communities’ change in tone and approach to multilevel governance. General lessons are drawn about inter-governmental relations and multi-level policy formation in federal systems

Regional Organization and the Dynamics of Inter-Municipal Cooperation

This thesis examines the institution of city-county separation in Ontario. City-county separation was the original form of municipal organization in the province, introduced as a method of distinguishing between urban and rural areas by politically separating one from the other. Over time, this practice lost ground to institutions such as regional government, which sought to connect urban and rural areas. Despite this institutional shift, 18 cities and towns in Ontario remain separated from their counties, establishing a situation where some of the province’s most populous communities lack institutional linkages to their surrounding rural municipalities. Exploring four different thematic areas – planning, border expansion, social service delivery and agreement formation – this thesis finds that separated cities and counties are not forming cooperative agreements at expected rates. This is largely attributed to the nature of rural and urban life: there are few common servicing demands and, as such, cooperation is not a natural phenomenon. Additionally, this thesis finds that the institution of city-county separation itself is threatened by the expansion of rural areas around separated city. In a number of cases, the development goals of both areas are clashing. To address urban growth beyond separated cities, it is found that the province has adopted a consolidationist attitude towards separated cities, allowing the continuous outward expansion of separated cities, thereby continuing the practice of city-county separation

Evaluation of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Core Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum for Infectious Diseases Fellows

Background Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) programs are required by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and should ideally have infectious diseases (ID) physician involvement; however, only 50% of ID fellowship programs have formal AS curricula. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) formed a workgroup to develop a core AS curriculum for ID fellows. Here we study its impact. Methods ID program directors and fellows in 56 fellowship programs were surveyed regarding the content and effectiveness of their AS training before and after implementation of the IDSA curriculum. Fellows’ knowledge was assessed using multiple-choice questions. Fellows completing their first year of fellowship were surveyed before curriculum implementation (“pre-curriculum”) and compared to first-year fellows who complete the curriculum the following year (“post-curriculum”). Results Forty-nine (88%) program directors and 105 (67%) fellows completed the pre-curriculum surveys; 35 (64%) program directors and 79 (50%) fellows completed the post-curriculum surveys. Prior to IDSA curriculum implementation, only 51% of programs had a “formal” curriculum. After implementation, satisfaction with AS training increased among program directors (16% to 68%) and fellows (51% to 68%). Fellows’ confidence increased in 7/10 AS content areas. Knowledge scores improved from a mean of 4.6 to 5.1 correct answers of 9 questions (P = .028). The major hurdle to curriculum implementation was time, both for formal teaching and for e-learning. Conclusions Effective AS training is a critical component of ID fellowship training. The IDSA Core AS Curriculum can enhance AS training, increase fellow confidence, and improve overall satisfaction of fellows and program directors

Book review: Digital cities: the internet and the geographyof opportunity

In an age when the United Nations has declared access to the Internet a human right, and universal access to high-speed broadband is a goal for many countries, urban areas have been largely ignored by federal policy. The cost of that neglect may well be the failure to realise the social benefits of broadband and a broadly-connected digital society, argue the authors of Digital Cities. Using multilevel statistical models, the authors present new data ranking broadband access and use in the USA’s 50 largest cities, showing considerable variation across places. Reviewed by Zachary Spicer

Book Review: researching the city: a guide for students by Kevin Ward

Kevin Ward’s Researching the City is a practical guide for students focusing on the city and on the different ways to research it. The authors explains how research is done, from the original idea to design and implementation, through to writing up and representation. Zachary Spicer writes that this book is constructive, engaging and would be of value to students at the outset of a major research project or dissertation on some aspect of city life

Book review: rethinking the American City: an Internationaldialogue by Miles Orvell and Klaus Benesch

Rethinking the American City offers a fascinating survey of contemporary thinking about cities in a transnational context. Each chapter opens with an iconic image and includes a brief and provocative essay on a single topic followed by an extended dialogue among all the essayists. Topics range from energy use, design, and digital media to transportation systems and housing to public art, urban ruins, and futurist visions. Zachary Spicer is impressed by the experimental format, and recommends this read to students of urban studies

Too Big, Yet Still Too Small The Mixed Legacy of the Montréal and Toronto Amalgamations

This paper is part of the IMFG Perspectives Papers series. For a full list of papers, please visit http://bit.ly/2ylAa2D.Toronto and Montréal underwent amalgamation in the 1990s. Since then, the two cities have taken very divergent paths in terms of their governance. What was gained and what was lost in the process? Amalgamations are often proposed on the grounds of efficiency, equity, accountability, and coordination. According to those criteria, are the two cities better off today than they were before amalgamation? Two IMFG Papers – the first by Enid Slack and Richard Bird of the IMFG and the second by Jean-Philippe Meloche and François Vaillancourt of the Université de Montréal – analyze the post-amalgamation governance of the two cities. Overall, it appears that the amalgamations failed to result in major efficiencies and cost savings in either city. Slack and Bird note, however, that Toronto’s amalgamation did appear to increase equity in service levels and tax burdens for residents across the city. This was less the case in the City of Montréal, where Meloche and Vaillancourt show that inequities and inconsistent levels of public service across the boroughs continue. The impacts of the amalgamations on local governance, accountability, and responsiveness to residents are less clear. What is clear is that neither amalgamation addressed the need for planning and coordination across the broader metropolitan region. In both cases, the amalgamated cities represent only about half of the metropolitan population, and they are surrounded by a number of large and fast-growing suburban municipalities. Neither has a governance structure that can oversee the economic, social, and environmental development of Canada’s two largest city-regions.Institute on Municipal Finance and Governanc

The Platform Economy and Regulatory Disruption: Estimating the Impact on Municipal Revenue in Toronto

This paper is part of the IMFG Papers on Municipal Finance and Governance series. For a full list of papers, please visit http://bit.ly/2ylAa2D.Platform economy firms such as Uber and Airbnb have attracted attention in cities around the world, given the impact of these firms on the existing taxi industry or the rental market, but little has been written about the effects of the platform economy on municipal fiscal health. This paper estimates the regulatory cost and potential revenue opportunities of the platform economy, examining the impact of three firms in Toronto: Uber, Airbnb, and Rover. Overall, I expect that the approaches that the City of Toronto has taken to regulate the activities of firms, such as Uber and Airbnb, will be revenue-neutral. Since neither of these services directly competes with other city services, I examine only the costs of the regulatory scheme put in place. The third platform firm, Rover, does compete with the City’s Green P parking service. However, Rover’s operations are not at the scale necessary to meaningfully disrupt Green P services. If regulated effectively, the platform economy would have a minimal impact on municipal revenue. However, regulatory delay has a cost. The lesson learned from Toronto’s experience is to not delay the creation of a regulatory regime. Municipalities need to be proactive in researching the appropriate regulatory approach and matching the regulatory reach to the platform in question, namely a digital regulatory approach for a digital service.Institute on Municipal Finance and Governanc

Linking Regions, Linking Functions: Inter-Municipal Agreements in Ontario

This paper is part of the IMFG Perspectives Papers series. For a full list of papers, please visit http://bit.ly/2ylAa2D.Local governments work together in many ways. At the most basic level, they share information and collaborate on best practices for service delivery. At a more advanced level, municipalities may share the cost and delivery of services or the construction and administration of certain infrastructure projects. Collaboration may result in savings and service improvements, all of which ultimately benefit residents. This paper describes the reasons for forming inter-municipal agreements, discusses the different forms these agreements take, and presents the findings of a 2012 survey of Ontario municipalities that examined the nature of shared services arrangements.Institute on Municipal Finance and Governanc

The Reluctant Urbanist: Pierre Trudeau and the Creation of the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs

In 1971 the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs began operations in Canada. The creation of the ministry was unprecedented and resulted in invaluable assistance to Canada’s municipalities. One of the major obstacles to the ministry’s creation, however, was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s resistance to the idea of formal engagement with Canada’s cities. Trudeau would eventually relent and create the ministry, abandoning both his resistance to federal–urban engagement and his traditional conceptualization of federalism. This paper tracks the influences on Trudeau’s decision-making process, attempting to explain this policy reversal, while also detailing the change of attitude of Pierre Trudeau towards federalism in Canada.En 1971, le ministère d’État Affaires urbaines a débuté ses activités au Canada. La création du ministère était sans précédent et a permis d’apporter une aide précieuse aux municipalités canadiennes. Mais l’un des principaux obstacles à la création du ministère était la résistance du premier ministre Pierre Trudeau à l’idée que le gouvernement fédéral prenne un engagement formel à l’égard des villes du Canada. Trudeau a finalement cédé et créé le ministère, abandonnant à la fois sa résistance à ce type d’engagement et sa conception traditionnelle du fédéralisme. Cet article retrace les influences sur les décisions prises par Pierre Trudeau, en tentant d’expliquer cette marche arrière, tout en décrivant de façon détaillée son attitude à l’endroit du fédéralisme au Canada