Canadas Success Depends on Investing in Municipal Infrastructure - David Suzuki quote: Despite being a vast land of mountains, forests and ice, Canada is an urban nation. Over 80 percent of us live in large centres like Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary, as well as rapidly growing communities like Regina, Surrey, and Markham. This increasing concentration of people in cities is consistent with rapid urbanization over the whole planet. Now more than half the world’s population resides in urban mega-regions—and these are increasingly driving the global economy. Over 60 percent of world GDP is generated in just 600 cities. This includes international financial hubs like New York City and London, but also emerging powerhouse markets in the developing world, such São Paulo and Mexico City, as well as Guangzhou, Tianjin, and other urban centres in China. According to a study by CIBC World Markets, the Greater Toronto Area accounts for about a fifth of Canada’s total economic activity, though prairie cities like Regina are emerging as the country’s new economic tigers. As noted in a Federation of Canadian Municipalities study, “Our small businesses need quality roads and bridges to deliver goods and services. Our workers need fast, efficient public transit to connect them to new jobs. And our companies need access to affordable housing and high-quality community services, from libraries to hockey rinks, to recruit skilled workers.” With climate change impacts increasing, cities must also invest in storm-water management systems, including green infrastructure such as trees, shrubs, bioswales, and engineered wetlands. The problem is, unlike many European and American counterparts, Canadian cities don’t have dedicated and sustained federal funding for core infrastructure needs, most notably public transit. For example, Toronto currently ranks 15th out of 21 large global cities on per capita investment in public transit—well behind sixth-placed New York City, which spends twice as much. And Canada is the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development without a national transit strategy. unquote (USA & EU cities fair better because they can deal directly with national Govts Admins) straight/print/news/604726/david-suzuki-canadas-success-depends-investing-municipal-infrastructure
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:18:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015