[waterloowarrior]

http://choosingourfuture.ca/index_en.html

What is Choosing Our Future?

Choosing our Future is an innovative joint planning initiative of the City of Ottawa, the City of Gatineau, and the National Capital Commission. The goal of this multi-year project is to help Canada’s Capital Region face the challenges of the 21st century, and integrate concepts of sustainability and resiliency into all facets of regional planning and design. It is a community-wide exploration that re-evaluates our institutional structures, mind sets, and policies.

In the foreseeable future, the National Capital Region can expect to encounter a number of changes – some of which will present opportunities and others challenges - including climate change, a shifting global economy, resource scarcities and price fluctuations, new population dynamics, alternative energy systems, and new technologies.

Thinking about the future now is just common sense. This requires changes in how we think, how we work together and how we intervene to manage the real world.

The time frame addressed by this project will include a 100 year long term vision and strategic directions for the next 30 years that will include targeted goals and sustainability and resiliency indicators.

Choosing Our Future is a unique project and a significant opportunity to work collectively. It will draw upon the input and expertise of members of the community, government, and the many experts that live and work in the National Capital Region. The outcome of Choosing Our Future will be a long-term vision and action plan for the Cities and NCC to follow.

Partners
http://choosingourfuture.ca/index_en-1.jpghttp://choosingourfuture.ca/index_en-2.jpghttp://choosingourfuture.ca/index_en-3.jpg

[waterloowarrior]

Citizen editorial (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Planning+together/1618070/story.html)

Planning together

THE OTTAWA CITIZENMAY 22, 2009COMMENTS (4)

Everyone in official Ottawa knows that government planning can be glacial. Even "urgent" files move at a creep. Sprinting in some government circles can be timed with a sundial.

The idea of creating a joint planning effort between three different government bodies -- in two provinces! -- could be greeted with horror. Just deciding where to hold meetings would require a task force. Yet the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau, along with the National Capital Commission, are proposing to get together in an effort to work on issues of common interest.

One could be forgiven for fearing that this arrangement means that planning will pretty much stop altogether. Think LeBreton Flats, Lansdowne Park, light rail or bridges over the Ottawa River ... times three. But the concept, called Choosing Our Future, has noble aims, among them developing guides for land use, building design, infrastructure as well as social and economic programs. A number of grants have helped make this possible: $350,000 from the federal government, $450,000 from the City of Ottawa, $100,000 from Gatineau, $75,000 from the McConnell foundation and $35,000 from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Still, the fact remains that not one of the three governments taking part in the experiment has an illustrious history of planning.

The City of Ottawa is a labyrinth of politics that is dysfunctional even by municipal standards. If there is anything that Ottawa is good at, it is the hometown industry -- politics. Unfortunately, political expertise does not necessarily equate with good or efficient city-building.

Take away the Parliamentary precinct and Ottawa becomes Everywhere North America. Much of suburban Ottawa has all the distinctiveness of suburban Toronto, Calgary or Houston. Suburban Ottawa won't win any awards for green living or energy efficiency. It's a collection of bedroom communities: drive in, work, drive out, do it all again tomorrow. Our municipal governments are responsible for this, having jumped the Greenbelt for development and allowing our transit system to grow old and inefficient.

Gatineau's planning record is similar. The original city of Gatineau is yet another suburban Everywhere. Meanwhile, the old city of Hull had its core ripped out by uninspiring monolithic federal government towers. Gatineau also has enormous transportation problems because so much of its population works in Ottawa. The commute strangles the limited bridge access over the Ottawa River.

What is good about Ottawa is its core. Unlike so many cities in North America, whose downtowns became wastelands, urban Ottawa has remained vibrant. The ByWard Market and Elgin Street are busy day and night. The federal museums and attractions give Ottawa a unique flavour. Much of what is good about the city comes from its federal presence.

Yet the NCC, the Crown corporation in charge of the federal government in Ottawa, has had its problems. LeBreton Flats continues to be a disappointment under the NCC's guidance. Building the third lane on the Champlain Bridge was a dubious planning decision, funneling interprovincial traffic through a residential neighbourhood.

What is undeniable, however, is that the capital region will always be a product of decisions made by the City of Ottawa, Gatineau and the NCC. It makes sense that the three work together, as Choosing our Future proposes.

As long as all parties are sensitive to past planning experiences, and are resolved to learn from them, perhaps local residents can suspend their well-earned cynicism and derive some measure of optimism from this venture.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

[bikegypsy]

This is not the perfect place to put this but it does somewhat concern this subject.

Ok… I’ve been observing this forum for quit a while (and did comment occasionally in the past) but I really feel like putting more of an input from now on.

I came back to Ottawa during the summer of 2005 after an absence of 5 years.
I was stunned by the change; faster pace, increased traffic and hold and behold, Lebreton had FINALLY seen some action with the war museum.
But the main things that impressed me are the following:
More people: more people seem to walk around downtown. They were more tourists, Europeans and Asians mainly. The city gained an air, a certain “je ne sais quoi”, maybe cosmopolitanism is the correct expression to use here.
Ottawa’s core has become very pleasant at street level. It cannot boast about having great modern skyscrapers but man… it’s working and the quality of life is awesome.
Finally, Ottawa has become a city of buses. Buses galore… everywhere all the time… this is insane. It’s screaming rail transit big time.

Anyways… so these government entities want to plan together. I appreciate the good will but I know I'm not the only one rolling his eyes.
Don’t get me wrong… they have done some good moves in the past. But they also made, independently or jointly, countless mistakes which are routed in petty vision; just to name a few, not to built a tunnel 25 years ago; Ottawa said NO to a movie studio complex in the early 80s (I was only a kid but I remember the mayor at the time claimed that it was of little use for Ottawa… oh man, imagine that today); Gatineau refusing the otrain across the river; the NCC being gruelingly slow to develop Lebreton’s Flats; the silly nimbyism from the part of some members of the Ottawa council about more buildings in the core….and the list goes on and on.

Ottawa seem to have always been burdened by 2 factors:The Perception and Poor Management.

The Perception: It’s a small stuffy white conservative town where nothing happens and where no one does anything. That’s funny. I can just see grandpa strutting all the way from Orleans to the Market in order to get his Le Monde paper as well as a couple of chocolatines, making sure to not slip on that used condom, carefully avoiding that fresh puddle of vomit and quietly escaping the persistent smiles of that girl (probably a man) wearing purple stocking and crazy stilettos. Conservative nymbies exist everywhere and their point of view allows them to impose their narrow vision by making us believe we are all like them. It’s like saying “people don’t want a casino downtown because I asked all my friends and they all agree with me”. Birds of a feather…
So many Ottawans have developed a huge inferiority complex due to all the lashing out coming from its bigger neighbors. They are so afraid to stand up and potentially get cut off that they do the job for others. So we are small, boring, ugly, unimaginative… this drives us my friends; this is a common human behavior. This formula is applied countless times by people everywhere and about everything simply because it’s easier to take 2 steps down than a step up… it becomes engraved in our behavior and it develops into cookie cutter syndrom which is applied to every aspect of one's life. The problem with that is we start to believe it and we know what happens after that, it becomes reality. In terms of a city, this attitude makes us settle for mediocre architecture and sucks the will and power from the urban developers and architects to take risks. We therefore become the champions of the safe and the just ok.

Poor management: Ottawa is the King of all cities when it comes to planning. After all, which other metropolitan area in this country is managed by 2 city councils, 2 provincial governments and a federal entity. Snail’s pace my friends. I know that this forum has coutlessly been the discussion platform for this subject.

But then, there's The Reality:

The Reality: Ottawa grows and has healthily grown by 1.5 to 3% per annum ever since it’s been designated the capital. Rain or shine it just keeps going. The Ottawa-Gatineau population is nearing 1.3 million but the total metropolitan area has 1.4. Which means that in 40 some years (if this rate is sustained) the population will reach 3 million citizens. In 100 years, it will be at more or less 7 million. Get the picture? Furthermore, its people are far from being all civil servants and the city goes thru its share of criminal activity as well as all the other problems which come with urban living.

The population growth plays against the poor choices made by our leaders. And these choices have oftenly been nurtured by The Perception.

The reason why I mention this is that in order to participate to any forum, one must be aware of theses factors. Else we are stuck in the same old results… and we all know what those are. My hope is that the city has matured enough for everyone to understand the great opportunities which will present themselves once we get rid of those old clichés and act progressively. I think that the only way this cooperation would actually deliver something potent, would be for our leaders to realise that the risk for great incompetency is right there stairing at them... its each other. It could easily allow the Peter Principle (Laurence Peter) to take hold.

Anyways, this is my wish list or rather the option 1 of plan A of my wish list:

1. LRT asap. The perfect plan doesn’t exist. All absolutes are irrelevant and adaptation always prevails (case in point: people will always drive in droves to Kanata to see the Sens). The first plan was fine… this plan is fine… the next plan will be fine as well as the following one I’m sure. Start digging.
2. Densification. We live in a city, not a park.
3. Develop Lebreton in a multifunctional way allowing the private sector to participate, and using nature to complement design and usability. What an amazing peace of land and the first phase is… well… very much a la NCC.
4. Don’t buy one of those Ikea prints. Go spent 100 bucks on some local artist’s work in a gallery somewhere. And go see that weird play at the U of O. Encourage culture and the arts… it increases to the bohemian factor and adds color to our urban persona.
5. Lets stop driving to yul for flights. You want to go to Paris, use the London or Frankurt flights… this will show AC a thing or 2. (I know… it’s said than done).
6. Bring on pro soccer.

I guess I should post more frequently and in shorter doses…

[Aylmer]

Helloo!

I like you!

:)

[kwoldtimer]

The Perception: It’s a small stuffy white conservative town where nothing happens and where no one does anything. …

Good post, but there is no doubt that Ottawa is a "conservative" town (overall). Different people will have different definitions - I for one, would not associate it with "stuffy", "white" or "where nothing happens and where no one does anything", but just ask anyone in retail or real estate about Ottawa's conservative bent. Careful, cautious and conformist much of the time, cutting edge - not so much. And that is OK - it underpins a lifestyle that has few rivals, IMO.

[Mille Sabords]

:previous: I agree with Bikegypsy all the way, though. Conservative images don't last forever. Once a city grows past a certain point, it's a mathematical certainty that it becomes more diverse and vibrant. I've lived here all my life, I've travelled a lot, and I can attest to the changes that Bikegypsy talks about. Quality of life doesn't have to mean small-thinking and afraid to grow. The real challenge is to keep that quality of life as we grow. Every city will always have its elder generations remain conformist and attached to "the way it was before". It will also have its young people pushing new ideas, new directions, new architecture, new designs, new ways of enjoying the place. It's normal. It's called renewal.

[Aylmer]

:previous: I agree with Bikegypsy all the way, though. Conservative images don't last forever. Once a city grows past a certain point, it's a mathematical certainty that it becomes more diverse and vibrant. I've lived here all my life, I've travelled a lot, and I can attest to the changes that Bikegypsy talks about. Quality of life doesn't have to mean small-thinking and afraid to grow. The real challenge is to keep that quality of life as we grow. Every city will always have its elder generations remain conformist and attached to "the way it was before". It will also have its young people pushing new ideas, new directions, new architecture, new designs, new ways of enjoying the place. It's normal. It's called renewal.

God, I hope you're right...

:happysad:

[Mille Sabords]

God, I hope you're right...

:happysad:

Just think of Toronto. I don't know about you but when I was a kid, Toronto was still "Toronto the Good", a bland and boring city that couldn't hold a candle to Montreal. People went there because they had to. People went to Montreal because they wanted to.

What a difference a couple of decades can make. And I highlight "a couple of decades". Not even a century. Toronto today couldn't honestly be described as boring, except by its bashers. And although they can still be a bit insecure about their new-found status as "not boring", to the point of sometimes exhibiting a charmingly WASP self-deprecation, more and more that also quickly goes away. They've learned pretty quickly to enjoy what they've become.

The same will happen to us. It's inevitable.

[bikegypsy]

Yes, you're quite right about Toronto... it's very far from being boring. It has developed into a very interesting city.
The same is happening with us... you just have to leave the city for a few years to realise that it's actually progressing. But the road is still long ahead. It's only to us to make it better. We can all do it in our personal lives. I try to spend my money in order to keep that money in the city. An important part of a city is its cultural influence, hence my comment about encouraging local artists.

Ok... listen to this:

When Ottawa was trying to get an nhl expantion team, I called a little known company called Terrace. They're the ones who were managing the candidacy for the future team.
So I called them and asked them if there was anything I could do.
They offered me a temporary position (unpaid) to make a poll.
I accepted and spent a few nights making phone calls all over Ottawa.
The basic question was "Do you support Ottawa getting a team?".
Guess what... most people answered No. At about 70%. 30 were really interested.
The people who said NO would expand the responses with things like: I'm a leafs fan, I'm a canadiens fan, Ottawa's too small, its going to coast the tax payer, people won't come or I don't like sports... lets use the money for more roads. te eh eh eh.

Needless to say that I felt compeled to help the Sens cause with a little polling creativity...

Un arriviste est quelqu'un qui fait toujours ce qu'il faut faire et qui ne prend jamais aucun risque. Un aventurier est quelqu'un qui ne fait pas toujours ce qu'il faut faire mais qui prend toujours des risques.

To your dictionaries.

[Mille Sabords]

Un arriviste est quelqu'un qui fait toujours ce qu'il faut faire et qui ne prend jamais aucun risque. Un aventurier est quelqu'un qui ne fait pas toujours ce qu'il faut faire mais qui prend toujours des risques.

To your dictionaries.

J'ai très bien compris ce que tu as mis là et me décris comme étant de l'étoffe d'un aventurier.

That's a great story about you and Terrace. At the time, I pledged my $25 and still have the certificate. I also still have the original "Bring Back the Senators" brochure, and my most prized possession is a Peace Tower Logo jersey which I bought at Seesons Rideau Centre on December 5th 1990... the day before we got the team.

I was the editor of my high school newspaper and I remember writing an article saying that Ottawa needed a subway. Most people laughed at me. I can only say that the City is now embarking on the most fascinating and exhilerating project in its contemporary history.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

That's a great story about you and Terrace. At the time, I pledged my $25 and still have the certificate. I also still have the original "Bring Back the Senators" brochure, and my most prized possession is a Peace Tower Logo jersey which I bought at Seesons Rideau Centre on December 5th 1990... the day before we got the team.


I know the guy who designed that Peace Tower Logo Jersey. I think my uncle has one of those jerseys as well.

[bikegypsy]

J'ai très bien compris ce que tu as mis là et me décris comme étant de l'étoffe d'un aventurier.


Oui. Je fais allusion a tout ceux qui foncent et font bouger les choses. Je constate qu'Ottawa commence a avoir une masse de "movers et shakers" qui osent rever. Les aventuriers sont des reveurs et ce sont les reveurs qui construisent ce monde. De toute facon, c'est tellement plus charmant quand ont passe pour un fou furieux.

[bikegypsy]

Good post, but there is no doubt that Ottawa is a "conservative" town (overall). Different people will have different definitions - I for one, would not associate it with "stuffy", "white" or "where nothing happens and where no one does anything", but just ask anyone in retail or real estate about Ottawa's conservative bent. Careful, cautious and conformist much of the time, cutting edge - not so much. And that is OK - it underpins a lifestyle that has few rivals, IMO.

Yes, you are quite right. I was mainly talking about the extreme stereotyping which you find here and there. It also was meant as a statement which highlights our improvement(s), and I do think that we've started to chip at the conservative block.
But let me extrapolate. "Careful, cautious and conformist" is like a canadian motto. I lived 2 years in Korea teaching English a let me tell you something. Loads of Korean students come to Canada for a year in order to study English and their main destinations are western cities. In the Korean youth culture circles, there's a saying; "Korea is an interesting hell (that my friend is so true) and Canada is a boring heaven"... But to be honest (i'm such an eternal optimist) and I think that this statement is tinted with a hint of jealousy... never the less, we are viewed as a nation of "safe" and "tranquil".
Again, I agree with you and the status quo... but I want to be better then that and will do everything and anything to make it so.

About your comment on the realestate market.. yes, again, you are right on the money. But (yes, there's a but) I've noticed that pretty much everywhere I've been, the truely interesting people, the creators, the bohemian crowd, the here today gone tomorrows are usually renters.
Thoughs on that one?

Anyways, I'm starting to talk too much.. cheers kwoldtimer.

[bikegypsy]

Helloo!

I like you!

:)

I like you too... but it would make me feel better to know that you're a girl.
eh eh eh... Thank you for the greeting.

[bikegypsy]

I know the guy who designed that Peace Tower Logo Jersey. I think my uncle has one of those jerseys as well.

He's got to hold on to that one in a cool dry place.

[Aylmer]

I like you too... but it would make me feel better to know that you're a girl.
eh eh eh... Thank you for the greeting.

Well I'm sorry. A sex change isn't an attractive option right now, but rest assured that we can always be friends!

This thread is one of the best I've seen in a while (It even beats the Weather thread)!
Such concentrated optimism brings a tear to my eye...

:)

[Mille Sabords]

Oui. Je fais allusion a tout ceux qui foncent et font bouger les choses. Je constate qu'Ottawa commence a avoir une masse de "movers et shakers" qui osent rever. Les aventuriers sont des reveurs et ce sont les reveurs qui construisent ce monde. De toute facon, c'est tellement plus charmant quand ont passe pour un fou furieux.

Tonnerre de Brest, t'as tout compris. :cheers:

"Vous êtes un fou, monsieur! Ce genre de choses ne se fait pas!"

"Pardon, monsieur, c'est vous qui ne l'êtes pas."

[bikegypsy]

Et je dirais meme plus... afin de partager notre passion pour la derision avec nos English amigos:

"Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions, and composed our masterpieces. Never will the world know all it owes to them, nor all they have suffered to enrich us."... Olé!
Marcello Proustissimo

[bikegypsy]

Well I'm sorry. A sex change isn't an attractive option right now, but rest assured that we can always be friends!

This thread is one of the best I've seen in a while (It even beats the Weather thread)!
Such concentrated optimism brings a tear to my eye...

:)

That's too bad, as a sex change from your part is imperatively quintessential for us to have so much as a hint of a conversation. argh argh argh.

[Rathgrith]

^Way too much information was just given.

[waterloowarrior]

Choosing Our Future Event Week (http://choosingourfuture.ca/futures_forum/index_en.html)
September 22 – 26, 2009

What kind of region do you want your children and
grandchildren to inherit?
Residents are invited to discuss the challenges facing our community and help shape a long-term vision for Canada’s Capital Region.

Register Now

Sustainability 101

What is Sustainability? What does it mean to the National Capital Region and how is the region responding? Sustainability 101 is a two-hour workshop designed to help answer those questions by providing an introduction to the sustainability principles and process that are guiding the National Capital Region's Choosing our Future initiative. The workshop will be provided by The Natural Step Canada - a non-profit organization that helps citizens and communities develop a common understanding of sustainability to enable strategic action toward it.

Gatineau
Tuesday, September 22, 7 to 9 p.m.
Maison du citoyen, salle Gatineau, 25, Laurier Street
This event will be held in French.

Ottawa
Wednesday, September 23, 7 to 9 p.m.
Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West – Champlain Room
This event will be held in English with simultaneous translation available.

A Climate for Change: Restoring Our Balance With Nature

In April 2008, former U.S. vice-president and winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore, trained 275 Canadians in Montreal so that they could go around the country and present the conference that constitutes the fundamental framework of the Oscar-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth”. Karel Mayrand of the David Suzuki Foundation is one of them, and he will volunteer to give an updated version adapted to the Quebec context of this exceptional presentation that has already helped mobilize millions of persons around the world in the fight against climate change. Karel will also take the opportunity to present the David Suzuki Foundation, which will be opening an office in Quebec this fall.

Thursday, September 24, 7 to 9 p.m.
Grande Salle, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 283 Alexandre-Taché Blvd., Gatineau
This event will be held in French.

SPECTRUM 2009: Student Action for Sustainability

SPECTRUM is a dynamic group of students from Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration who have created this unique event geared to post-secondary students from across the Region.

This full day conference will provide a platform through which students can network, learn and contribute to a better understanding of sustainability issues in the region. Attendees will explore sustainability in the National Capital Region and be encouraged to take action through various breakout sessions and panel discussions.

Friday, September 25, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Ottawa City Hall – Jean Pigott Place
This event will be held in English with simultaneous translation available. There will be both French and English facilitation during the breakout sessions. Please visit the conference website www.spectrumconference.ca/ to register.

[waterloowarrior]

There is a sustainability summit planned for 11 June 2010
http://choosingourfuture.ca/summit/index_en.html