Bringing Mom and Dad back into the city

For the core of a city to be revitalized, the base assumption is that the residential component must be one of the first aspects of the areas land use that must be strengthened.

This is a great place to start, because without people you have no business nor culture. People are at the centre of everything the notion of "city" stands for. it is the obvious place to begin. However, is the city the place for children?

People move to the suburbs (or so they say) because they feel it is in the best interest of the children. More green space to play ball as opposed to asphalt, hopscotch without worrying about cars, and clean, fresh, country-esque air. Since the rise of Levittown, NY, the first modern "subdivision", this was a major draw for young families. With the ever-increasing flow of families from the core to the suburbs, the school system has reactively moved their operations to reflect this trend.

Schools make 'burbs' place to be
The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, February 04, 2008

Communities need basic amenities to survive. A successful neighbourhood must have such things as grocery stores,churches, restaurants, hardware stores, medical facilities and schools to prosper.

More and more, our downtown neighbourhoods are being hollowed out of the basic necessities. And increasingly to live downtown, one must drive to the suburbs to get a plant, a stick of wood or a bolt. Living downtown is supposed to be a more pedestrian-oriented, environmental way of living. However, core dwellers appearto need cars to survive as vital businesses depart to the suburbs. The necessities of downtown are becoming caffeine and sushi rather than hammers and nails.

So too are demographics changing our urban landscape. The dominant post-war baby-boom generation has had its children so, in older neighbourhoods, schools are emptying. It is beginning at the elementary level now and will follow a relentless path through high school and university.

In fact, suburban schools are weathering the demographic onslaught best. That's because families, looking for inexpensive housing and a bit of green in which children can play, opted for the suburbs. That said, the decision to live in suburbs in not the most environmentally sensitive one. Suburbs create long commutes and promote sprawl -- the ultimate desecration of the land by paving it.

Ottawa's official plan is trying to contain growth within an urban boundary beyond which development cannot pass. The city is actively encouraging intensive development in the core areas to piggyback on existing services inexpensively and to cut environmentally unfriendly long commutes. But for intensification to succeed, to encourage families to live and work in the core, there must be the basic amenities of life -- including schools.

Our school boards are not in the urban-planning business. No, they need to educate young people well and efficiently. There is no money to maintain mostly empty schools downtown. Schools must remain open where they are needed and those institutions appear to be in the suburbs. It would be nice to keep a school or two open downtown for community purposes if that is possible. However, neither school boards nor cities are exactly flush with cash so this might be impossible.

The upside to this is that closing schools and decreasing enrolment is likely to make education less expensive. That will free funds for more pressing requirements in society. All this sad news about downtown schools comes as Statistics Canada released a report showing that car ridership continues to increase in Canada.

So at a time when the city would like people to move downtown, the future of our society, children, are being raised inthe suburbs. And with few schools to attend downtown, they are likely to stay there.

Is it fair to say that we will not be attracting families to our core in the foreseeable future? With childhood obesity rates attributed to a sedentary lifestyle that has been linked to suburban sprawl and over reliance on the automobile, could it not be considered "child abuse" for Windsor to not plan for attracting families to our core.

Just as the community has supported the University in their decision not to build their engineering campus downtown by stating that it is not within the mandate of that institution to revitalize a district, it is also not within the mandate of the other educational institutions either. Yet, with our school boards following the people out to the suburbs they have profoundly affected the health of of our communities as well as their students. While they may not have the responsibility of resurrecting a district, they have a responsibility to their students.

At what point do we determine that the school boards must play a proactive role in determining the physical layout of our community by cooperating in master plans as developed by our planning department? At what point do we transfer more of the control in determining the success of our communities from the school board trustees who merely follow the real estate developers over to our trained professionals who knows how to guide them?

Shout out

For those who aren't following the presentations of the Canadian Blog Awards, two Windsor blogs placed first and second in the Best Local Blog category. WindsorEats and International Metropolis placed first and second respectively.

Way to go folks! Check out this link for the complete list.

I must have been dreaming...

In this week's article I'll continue my discussion of leadership, contrasting past leaders with those elected officials at the helm of our city today.

On August 28th, 1963 Martin Luther King delivered, what has become, one of the most famous speeches in the history of the world. Remembered by the trademark statement 'I have a dream' King's address propelled the issue of racial segregation and discrimination from a 'black-issue' to a national travesty, garnering the support of political, religious and business leaders in a united effort to beat the plague of racism. King's dedication in identifying and transcending the racial divide, especially in the Southern states, was immortalized when he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. An impassioned leader, King intimately understood the problem at hand, developed a vision and a plan and, in the end, was willing to sacrifice everything to achieve the greater good.

Fast-forward almost 45 years and present day Windsor. In the May 2006 State of the City address Mayor Eddie Francis delivered a cacophony of vision and promises for a better city. Mayor Francis reminisced on his committments of 2004 to build "a city renewed .... a clean city ... a city with a thriving, vibrant culture." He identified four key areas that, when addressed in parallel, would create a symbiotic success.

First, financial stability. Francis committed to manage our tax dollars more efficiently by focusing on core municipal services and "not wasting money on things that a municipal government should never have been paying for in the first place." He also committed to tackle the root causes of debt and high taxes.

Second, better service and more accountability through corporate accountability and "the idea that the municipality is there to serve the people and not the other way around."

Third, jobs and investment. Francis declared that Windsor would compete for jobs and investment "just like our entrepreneurs and businesses", while attracting and retaining smart people and growth industries through infrastructure, environmental and economic development.
Fourth, defend the interests of the people of Windsor, especially on the border issue.

On the face of it, Francis appears to understand that municipal accountability, a robust and sustainable economy, built on the foundation of environmental, social and cultural diversity, with a good dose of tax reductions, without the associated reductions in service or increase in debt, will build a strong and vibrant city. A review of the current status of our local economy, introverted municipal government and rising taxes, both property and essential services, shows that reality flies in the face of the commitment by Francis and city council.

In spite of 28 pages trumpeting the successes of his first term, astute citizens recognize that Windsor, under Francis' leadership, has done little to "build a greater city." Some of the 2006 "accomplishments" are down-right laughable, including the following proclamation:

"We are beautifying our neighbourhoods and streetscapes...We're bringing people
back downtown. The entire face of our downtown is transforming, and transforming
for the better...[W]e talked about building a balanced downtown where people could
live, work and play."

Talk is cheap. Windsor needs a leader, politician or otherwise, who is willing to throw caution to wind and do what is right for the people. Windsor has the resources that it needs to become everything that Mayor Francis proclaimed it was, could be and will be. It is time to unleash the collective creativity of grass roots citizens, city administration and our municipal government. It is time to make the changes that need to be made, before tragedy or circumstance force us to play catch up in a race for status quo.

Forget re-election. Forget pork-barrelled, backroom deals. Forget maintaining status quo. Windsor needs someone who is going to get the job done; to make the changes that will transform our city into an oasis of sustainability and prosperity. Windsor needs a maverick, a loose-cannon; someone to buck the system. I long for the day when the grand standing of city council is interrupted by a booming voice of reason, calling council to action that doesn't involve patting each other on the back. We need a political martyr, ready to force the changes that Windsor needs or die, socially and politically speaking, while trying.

Rejected...

Well, I knew it would happen one of these days. The following letter is the first one of mine that The Windsor Star decided not to print. The funny thing is that the Star employee responsible for the letters-to-the-editor didn't know what "RFP" stood for and wrote back to me asking.

Wow, my ego is really taking a beating these days...

Re: U of W arts campus called possible for Windsor core, Jan 30.

Windsor City Councillors, PLEASE do not use this latest anouncement by the University of Windsor as further reason to hold up the RFP process for the Urban Village plans on the City Centre West lands.

We need to move forward with issuing the requests for proposals to guage interest in redeveloping the Urban Village in our downtown. Revitalizing our downtown core is paramount to the health and economic well-being of our city. By bringing residents to our core, we will then start to lure the necessary businesses to support these new residents, creating a positive-feedback loop. All these issues must be dealt with in tandem. Partnering with the DWBIA in cleaning the area up and making it safer will yield much higher benefits than simply waiting for that "silver bullet" mega-project to come in and save us.

We look to our elected leaders to offer some help in achieving this outcome. What do ward councillors Jones and Postma have to say? They have been conspicuously silent since the Universities decision to locate the engineering school on campus. The community/downtown activists cannot do it alone. It is time to step up to the plate and work with us, as this idea of a "community partnership" has produced such great results in more cities than I can count, and the energy and desire is out here to move forward. You are squandering some precious community resources if you choose not to act any longer.

Chris Holt
scaledown.ca

It's a good thing I have an alternate venue with which to air my grievances. How about all those other rejected writers that don't, however?

What I Know and do not Know about the After Hours Debate

Some random thoughts about last nights latest installment in the Afterhours debate. What has become an ongoing saga with no end in site.

I know the mayor was probably right about the need for a council report to withstand an OMB challenge. As he put it, any articling law student should know that

I do not know why he or the city solicitor did not make this clear three weeks ago. I am only registering to speak to the merits or disadvantages of this issue and a bylaw, not to judge its ability to withstand court challenges. Had this been made clear to councillors three weeks ago, we would have saved a lot of everyones time

I do know that the main argument of Diane Sibley about not having bylaw enforcement officers on staff after 3am is an insult to logic and intelligence of everyone. If Windsor cannot enforce a bylaw that sees these establishments closed after 3am, how can it enforce bylaws such as noise when they are allowed to remain open.

I do not know why another report will be issued that does not allow input from the DWBIA who has access to numerous experts and information on the subject such as Peter Belmio, Responsible Hospitality Institute and others.

I do know that the Police chief opposes this bylaw for the stated reason of its similarity in effect to the prostitution debate.

I do not know why the Police chief cannot understand the simple reasoning behind moving this problem out of pelissier and downtown. That this area is unique in Windsor because 1 billion dollars (Yes a billion) has been invested into downtown with Casino, convention center, arena, transit, college campus, Streetscape and decoration, districting, DWBIA facade grant incentives etc... and that investment deserves to be protected.

I do know that when the Peter Belmio Report was debated and accepted that there was no objection from the police chief.

I do not know why some councillors take their positions. Although I fully understand the points of view of Councillors Dilkins, Gignac and Hatfield in wanting to wait for the report. I cannot understand many of the comments of councillors Marra and especially councillor Lewenza who was quoted as saying "sometimes the best thing we can do is to do nothing at all"

I do know how this will play out. The DWBIA will spend thousands on bringing experts to restate its case. If council decides to not solve this problem in a way that sees the dangerous situation that exists on Pelissier and Wyandotte then video will be released that shows the public the situation as it exists on Saturday at 3am.

I do not know why its taken five years for administration to recommend alternative solutions and whether they will meaningfully address the desires of the Responsible Hospitality Institute or the Belmio recommendations

I do know that after all the above takes place and years go by that this will then become an election issue.

I do not know why a councillor would want to run supporting after hours bars against the will of the vast majority of residents and the vast majority of businesses. I do not know why they are not worried about the voters

I do know that my picture above shows the pottersville dream that doing nothing will see and that no matter how many years it takes to implement the 2003 Belmio recommendations, it's a wonderful life downtown.

London's best practices belong to Windsor!

Scaledown gives a grand applause for the ingenuity of the joint bid for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships. I think Windsorites need to take a closer look at London, the Ambassador London Program and the more recent Downtown Living section in the London Freepress and London’s success in bringing residents downtown.

Again, like our guest speaker Chris Turner, our main premise lies in that if it exists somewhere else in the world, then there can be no argument as to whether it is possible.

The Ambassador London program alone should make you understand our Mayor’s frustration at how Windsorites beat up our own city as opposed to becoming its ambassadors. Now don’t get me wrong, all is not sunshine, rainbows and puppy dogs in London. The Ambassador Program has just had a scandal where a 3 minute commercial cost $51,000, and the commercial is a real yawner compared to the Downtown Windsor commercial by HCA and Suede Productions which cost the DWBIA a teeny-tiny fraction of that amount. The point is that if it wasn’t for my post you would never have heard about their mistakes where Windsor’s problems are virtually shouted by megaphone.

(Downtown Windsor's video can be seen on their webpage by clicking on video at the bottom left. London's comparison video can be seen here) Maybe we can trade some of our best practices for some of theirs.

Another of Londons' major accomplishments is that they have added or will add more than 1,700 apartment units to downtown and here is a quote from Mainstreet London which is the equivalent of the Downtown Windsor BIA.

"Residential is key to all this," says Janette MacDonald, general manager of MainStreet London. People who live downtown shop, dine and entertain themselves there.

You know that I have to repeat the fact that Downtown London completed their community improvement plan and implemented the Development incentives recommended by that plan over a decade ago. And don’t be fooled, Downtown London probably has more safety problems and incidents than Downtown Windsor. London installed 16 security camera’s and started a progressive graffiti removal program that sees offenders diverted from the courts to scrub and clean. Windsorites can still top London once and a while though; London’s security camera program costs them $200,000 annually, picked up 100% by the city. The joint city-DWBIA program gives us approx. 10 camera’s and only costs the city $15,000 annually.

Hopefully our joint bid with London will allow Windsorites to focus on that city’s best practices so we can add them to our own.

Friday, lets compare the arts in London to Windsor

Scaledown means Windsor can only go UP!

Sorry James, couldn't let that pic stand as our cover page

Scale Down Our Economy

Here at scaledown.ca we are asking that our city promote development of walkable neighbourhoods and encourage everyone to participate in the cultural and social fabric of the community.

I want to believe everyone has our best interests at heart when they make plans and decisions that will affect us. After hearing the Windsor Essex Development Commission presentation Wednesday evening I got to wondering if some organizations are not as interested in being progressive and proactive. Perhaps they need the status quo just to be relevant. What if the future is radically different from the present? What if events take hold of the world that could undo everything that we take for granted? Below I have outlined three scenarios. Each could have devastating effects on the world economy and the Windsor-Essex regional economy; since it is biased toward export markets we would definitely be affected.

1. Presently there is real concern in the world financial markets. The financial wizards invented investment vehicles out of worthless mortgages, collected huge commissions and got rich. Now we find out that these financial vehicles are nearly worthless. Billions of dollars of investments have disappeared already and more invented wealth is soon to follow. Add to this turmoil a U.S. Federal Government $9 trillion in the hole and their dollar losing value and you have the makings of a severe financial crisis.
   


2. The evidence is mounting that world oil production is not going to meet global demand within a short period of time. Competition for oil and petroleum products will continue to put upward pressure on costs for transportation and industrial and agricultural chemicals. This competition may lead to resource wars but certainly will significantly impact global trade. Currently there is no alternative energy technology/infrastructure to replace gasoline and distillates on the required scale to maintain business-as-usual.
   


3. The U.S. government has been taking increasingly aggressive positions around the world, moving its armies and navies into provocative postures and more or less causing a great deal of international tension. At some point it may very well happen that the world will find itself at war. Not just a regional conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan but a real war between two major armies and their allies shooting it out over oil, religion or politics.
   Economic recession/depression, peak oil or war, either of these will wreak havoc on an economy based on exports/global trade.

The Windsor Essex region is 70% - 85% reliant on exports of manufactured and agri-business products. What if instead our economy was more balanced between exports and domestic consumption? A more evenly balanced local economy would allow us to absorb the shocks of lower consumption of our products in export markets weakened by any of the scenarios I outlined above.

How can we develop a regional economy? In the event of one of the above problems we will eventually sort ourselves out. To do it proactively the only way to overcome the large corporations that have taken control of our economies is to lobby the Provincial and Federal governments to create trade rules that would enable this to happen. There is a precedent for this type of Federal law, CanCon. CanCon of course forced media outlets to provide Canadian programming and artists the opportunity to be heard and seen. What if retailers had to provide space for a percentage of regional agricultural products and consumer goods? Free trade agreements would prevent us from eliminating products from other jurisdictions but a CanCon law would not stop retailers from selling any product, it would merely offer us the choice to buy something from closer to home and put our money back into our own pockets.

Think of all the consumer goods that we use. In a previous era we had local economies and produced goods much closer to home. The companies were locally owned and the profits came back to benefit our communities. Somewhere along the way we were told globalization was better and more profitable. Somewhere along the way we lost the ability to provide for ourselves and less and less wealth was kept close to home. The effects are all around us. Sprawl, urban decay, apathy and disinterest in local life and culture.

I’d rather not wait for one of these scenarios to play out for things to change. I’d like to see local businesses and our Windsor Essex Development Commission, Windsor Chamber of Commerce and other interested groups and our politicians work together to develop a local economy that can sustain itself in a future fraught with challenges.

Even if none of these problems arise, would it be so bad to have a vibrant and diverse local economy?

Correction

Unfortunately I did not have the proper facts in the post "of Mice and Men" regarding the suppot that the development commission gives to small business

The small business center has fielded 3,497 general inquiries via telephone calls, walk ins and email through the two offices in Windsor and Kingsville. Between these 2 locations, they have also held 612 one-on-one client consultations and conducted 51 seminars, workshops, presentations and networking events with a total attendance of 1,876 people. The economic impact of this office were 53 businesses started and 46 jobs created.

However I still maintain that I stand by my assertion that a simple public statement supporting restarting the Community Improvement Plans and opposing what I call the `Costco Badlands` type of development would do exponentially more to help small business in Windsor than anything stated above.

Another London Article

Since London got their new celebrity Planner, they seem to get a lot more attention paid to planning issues. Here's another article

Their new planner, Sean Galloway, debunked the top ten myths of urban design, and his responses are so good that we wanted to reprint them here just in case the London Free Press decided to take this article off its website. So here goes...

Here then, are Galloway's 10 myths, debunked;

10. It's all about front porches. Indeed, building more houses with front porches is important, but it's really about making friendly buildings and attractive street-scapes.

9. It wants to eliminate the back yard. Back yards are important for privacy, but urban design reminds us not to forget the front yard as a place of activity and usefulness.

8. It's all about density, density, density. It's about providing variety and diversity, allowing people to grow up in a single-family home, move to an apartment, then a townhouse, then back into a single- family home, then back into an apartment as their life progresses -- all in the same neighbourhood.

7. It expects everyone to walk everywhere. It's about providing friendly streets and sidewalks and public transit and other infrastructure to entice people to walk more. Nobody expects the car to be eliminated.

6. It is just about the rear laneway. London is fearful of the rear laneway (for reasons nobody is sure of, considering they are all over Old North and Old South, for example). Some can be unpleasant, but there are examples of attractive back alleys in new urbanist developments across North America. Not everyone wants a big house with a big back yard.

5. It will not fit into a "normal" person's lifestyle. What is normal? People may want to drive to the supermarket for the big shop, but do they want to get in the car and face traffic just to pick up a loaf of bread or litre of milk? People want options. They want variety in the kinds of buildings they interact with, variety that makes the experience of living in a community richer.

4. It is just It's not about replicating Victorian architecture; it's about eliminating repetitive architecture that saps identity from a neighbourhood. about creating pre-war housing architecture.

3. It is all about new urbanism or placemaking. New urbanism a catchphrase, but it's about old-fashioned, grid-style developments with a diversity of home types and architecture. Placemaking involves integrating all industrial, commercial, residential and retail areas.

2. It is just about what the buildings look like. No, it's about how we deliver our walking spaces, our driving spaces, our open spaces. It's more than just architecture and landscaping.

1. It is not economically viable. New urbanist communities are thriving across North America. New ones are being built every day. They're sought after by home buyers.

So Londons new urban planner did some debunking of his own - and we really like his conclusions!

Of Mice and Men

If I ever was remembered for being a blogger, this would be the post I would want to be remembered for...

A couple of days ago, I attended a seminar delivered by Matt Fischer, CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Development Commission. I came away with the understanding that the Development Commission’s primary focus was that of identifying and supporting the 3% of businesses, described as Gazelles, that account for 54% of the job growth in our community.

Mr. Fischer also elaborated on one of the Development Commission’s secondary (and substantially less funded) goals of supporting businesses that he referred to as Mice. Mice were described as new independent local small businesses which presently and in the future will account for 44% of new job growth. The Development Commission acknowledged that while there focus is on the Gazelles, they will attempt to offer support to the “Mice”.

I wholeheartedly support the Development Commission’s business strategy of focusing scarce and limited resources on what it has identified as its primary objective - that of identifying and supporting Gazelles. However, there appears to be a discord between the Development Commission’s acknowledgment of the significance of Mice and the actions of our City leaders.

In 1995, I co-founded Bedroom Depot, a furniture retailer that had overcome the challenges that realize the failure of 70% of Mice within the first three years. The greatest obstacle that I encountered was the inability to locate in suburban neighbourhoods due to the fact that the Big Box Power Center Developments refused to accept my lease offers until I demonstrated the success of two retail stores with a financial history in excess of two consecutive years.

If we want to encourage Mice we need to provide them with locations that are in close proximity to their customer base. Herein lays the disconnect. Matt Fischers’ response was that “Main Street” provided this location, or what you would call an atmosphere of “Incubation” to Mice.

When I invested in Chanoso's restaurant, I realized the only way to ensure a long term investment was downtown. I always hold true to the fact that I am not a downtown promoter due to the location of my business; I located my business downtown as that is where I felt the future of Windsor lies.

My question to our city leaders is: “Since we know that the population of these “Main Streets” or BIA’s has declined by 10%, how do we expect to foster Mice when we do not create an environment in which they can successfully operate?”

How do we approve unattractive, unwalkable, anti-Mice developments while at the same time putting the Community Improvement Plans on hold? Implementing Community Improvement Plans is the best way in which to reverse the decline of the “Main Street” environments.

Mr. Fischer’s response was that these were valid concerns that should be addressed in the City’s Official Plan. I’ve called 311 to express these concerns. What I ask is whether Matt Fischer has provided his input into our official plan? If the Development Commission cannot find the funds to support Mice, can it at least take a stand and place a call to 311 to express its support of the City’s Official Plan policies that would provide an environment in which Mice could thrive.

I also call on the members of the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce to call 311 to express their support of policies that would help the Mice in our community. It would be in all of our interests and most prudent, if the City’s Community Improvement Plans were taken off the shelf and put into action.

As a post script, I want to note that it was at the Development Commission’s Challenges of Change Summit that Richard Florida said that the attractiveness of a city was the number one determinant to attracting and retaining the creative class.
It is Chris Leinberger from the Brookings Institute who has substantiated proof of the real estate value and the economic development benefits of walkable neighbourhoods.

When will the Chamber of Commerce and Development Commission begin echoing scaledown.ca’s call for attractive, walkable mixed use developments that foster the local independent small businesses which they everyone acknowledges will be responsible for the creation of 44% of all new job growth in Windsor.

Municipal letdown or neighbourhood opportunity?

Everyone knows that it takes more than just a bunch of houses to make a successful neighbourhood. Location, location, location is the mantra repeated often by our realty professionals - and that is often said with an eye towards close neighbourhood amenities that raise both your property values and your quality of life.

So what is a neighbourhood to do when its municipality decides to close those nearby amenities that make your neighbourhood a good one?

Three Windsor neighbourhoods are facing that very fact this Monday when city council makes the decision official to eliminate three recreation/community centre complexes.

With their commitment to the new WFCU centre in the east end, they have concluded that they cannot sustain these three smaller, more community-oriented facilities (let alone the old Barn when its replacement is built). This trend in current municipal decisions, just like in the various school boards, to amalgamate neighbourhood-scaled institutions into large, regionally-focused ones leaves a lot to be desired and really must be re-evaluated. Not only does it strip a livable neighbourhood of yet another reason to actually build a life there, but it encourages the "Mom's Taxi" syndrome with children and the elderly stranded at home unless they have an able-bodied motorist handy to give them a lift to find some activity. Just looking around at the obesity rates associated with sedentary lifestyles, this syndrome is alive-and-well in Windsor/Essex county.

However, let's look at this from a different angle. These older recreation complexes might have not been serving their communities well as they stood. I am not from any of these neighbourhoods so I can't speak to them specifically. But maybe they had outlived their usefullness. So now, the city will have their shiny-new multi-pad areana a short drive away (hopefully it will be well serviced by public transit) and have these older buildings in their inventory, looking for new uses. I realise that the city is looking at selling them, but come on - do you really think old arenas are a hot commodity in this real estate market?

Certainly some use could be found for them to help their respective neighbourhoods develop into a more pedestrian-scaled walkable community. What amenities are lacking in the neighbourhoods and how could these abandoned buildings fill those voids. More mixed-use retail within walking distance to peoples homes? Perhaps an artist live/work loft space with galleries on the main level to help transform the neighbourhood into a lively, creative one. How about an elder-care campus', interspersed with supporting retail that is woven into our regular day-to-day lives, which would accomodate a growing demographic of our comunity while keeping them close at hand instead of feeling alienated out in the suburbs.

We should be looking at these buildings with an eye to strengthening our neighbourhoods. Yes, I lament the fact that our neighbourhood children have less to do with these facilities vacated, but we may be able to make up for their loss with an adaptive reuse that augments our lives instead of just giving up on them and letting them rot. These are our communities and we must take responsibility for them.

This goes before council on Monday, and if you want to speak as a delegate you must call the council services department at (519) 255-6432 by 12:00 noon tomorrow.

In Your Face Art

CBC Radio's Jian Ghomeshi, host of 'Q', interviewed an acapella group from NYC this week. Naturally 7 has become a sensation in Europe while remaining virtually uknown here in North America. What does that say about that status of the arts, and our acceptance of public displays of art, in North America? Check out the YouTube video of their performance on a subway car. [ED: There is some question about where this video was shot, though the most popular opinion online is that it was in France, not NYC as I had previously stated.] (I'd recommend really turning this one up!)

Ultimate Musicians Workshop

The connection has been made between the strength of a cities music scene and its economic growth. Besides the fact that quality arts and cultural offerings just make my city more fun to be a part of, it will be the engine for the creative drive we need to see us to better times.

Which is why we will pass along all the information we can that strengthens our "scene":

Join 96.7 CHYR FM, the ROCK 95.1/100.7 FM, 94.3 CKSY and FACTOR for the “Ultimate Musicians workshop”. Featuring info sessions on FACTOR, which provides funding for Canadian musicians to produce music, tour, and more. The Songwriters Association of Canada will be there with an info session on songwriting. Bring in your Demo and the experts will critique it and give out tips. This seminar is a must for any songwriter. SOCAN will have a seminar on royalties, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation will speak on licensing your music to film, tv, and other media. There will also be a Songwriters Circle and an open mic to finish off the night.

The “Musicians Workshop” will take place February 23rd at The Walkerville Theatre in Windsor and runs from 9-9. You can find the itinerary below with a link to the pre-register form. All music genres are welcome…there’s no admission, and it’s all ages.

We’ll see you February 23rd at the Walkerville Theatre in Windsor for the “Musicians Workshop.”

Walkerville Theatre
1564 Wyandotte St E.
Windsor, ON

9:15am–11:00am – FACTOR info session – how to get funding for tours, production, and more
11:00am-12:00pm – OMDC – Ontario Media Development Corporation – getting your music licensed on film, tv, internet, and other media
12:00pm-1:00pm – LUNCH – sandwiches will be provided
1:00pm-2:30 – SOCAN – will talk on disbursing royalties and how to become a member of SOCAN
2:30pm-4:30pm – SAC (Songwriters Association of Canada) – Date with a Demo. Bring your demo on cd and have it critiqued by the members of SAC
4:30pm-6:00pm – Songwriters Circle – a round table with other songwriters on crafting the next big hit
7:00pm-9:00pm – Open Mic for artists – bring along your guitar, bass, and/or keyboard for an acoustic showcase of your music"

Are you ready to register yet? Click here.

Scale Down Predicted to win CBA "Best New Blog" 2007

OK, I admit, when a friend of mine sent me the link to this article (thanks, Paul!), the first thing in my mind was that it was CBC's predictions about the Canadian Blog Awards. I started reading - and then I started dancing.....

I just stopped about 5 minutes ago.

"The deadline for voting on the second round of the 2007-8 Canadian Blog Awards sort of snuck up on me. This might be the drawback of only voting once rather than once a day — a difference that may focus the mind, but then keeps the awards out of sight and out of mind for most of the days of voting.

But whatever the case, if you haven’t yet voted for this year’s finalists, I encourage you to do so. You have until the end of tomorrow (Thursday, January 30) [ED - this should read today - WEDNESDAY, January 30] to get your votes in. This year’s first round voting has produced an ecclectic set of finalists and a diverse collection of blogs to peruse.

So, without further ado, here’s my quick take on the contestants."

It is a fairly long article, and it is obvious from author James Bow's in depth critiques, he has spent a fair amount of time visiting all of the blog finalist. Now, without further ado - I am going to jump straight to the money-shot...

"Best New Blog
Contenders: The Dinosty, WindsorEats FoodBlog, …Scale Down, Windsor, Uncorrected Proofs, Danielle Takacs: Galloping Around the Golden Horseshoe.

The pace of the expanding blogosphere may have slowed (they’re no longer talking about ten blogs being created every second, or some such), but there are so many new blogs hitting the skids these days, it’s always amazing to see those rare few rise to the surface. The Dinosty is a Canadian basketball fan with an attractive looking blog about his passion. Windsor Eats shows that there are good things to eat in Windsor, whereas Scale Down, Windsor tackles the political issues surrounding this border town (since when did Windsor develop such a happening blog community?). NDP Blogger Uncorrected Proofs has been making waves in the Canadian political blogosphere, and Liblogger Danielle Takacs takes up the Liberal cause from her vantage point in the GTA.

Who Should Win:

I’m voting for Scale Down, Windsor, because I like an underdog, and because I like what they’re doing. All of the blogs listed here are worthy of winning. I like Danielle’s analysis, but I’d strongly recommend darkening up that red column, and giving your site a black background, for ease on the eye."

So you can see why I'm pretty happy right now. I just peeled myself off the ceiling. And speaking of peeling somebody off the ceiling, can someone get ahold of Andrew over at International Metrolopolis for me? I think he's in the same state that I am right now.

"Best Local Blog
Contenders: International Metropolis, blogTO, Miss604, Spacing Toronto, WindsorEats FoodBlog

Local blogs really represent cities as bloggers; they can be as diverse and eclectic as individual bloggers, and that’s the case here. Compare Spacing Toronto with its urban planning tilt and activist ethic with the wider ranging blogTO and you’ll see what I mean. It’s good to see Vancouver represented with Miss 604, and WindsorEats strikes me as the little local blog that could. International Metropolis mines the relationship between Windsor and its cross-river cousin Detroit.

Who Should Win:

International Metropolis. I nominated Spacing Wire, and they have an excellent blog and an excellent magazine, but I was blown away by this Windsor-Detroit blog. It’s an unusual subject, well written, and excellently designed. It deserves your attention."

Whomever wins deserves all the praise they attract. There are some excellent blogs out there and I thank James Bow for highlight the CBA finalists for us. Here in Windsor, we have obviously shown the world that we have an active blogging community ('happening" as the author calls it) and we have made our mark profoundly. I am very proud to be a part of the local scene with all my Windsor brethen. Congratulations to all of your hard work.

Where have all the leaders gone?

The 60s were magical. It was an era of raucous music and social rebellion that culminated in a revolution of peace and prosperity with politicians and rabble-rousers united in a fight against foreign wars, racism and disparaging wealth distribution. JFK, Martin Luther King and Che Guevara, among others, fought the status quo, challenged the oligarchy and, in the end, were martyred for the transgression of free throught and positve action. In spite of the sacrifice made by these leaders, and countless others on the local and national level, the past quarter century has nearly erased the effects of their profound leadership. Their message of hope for positive change raised a generation of free-thinkers who, on the death of their mentors, were summarily homogenized by the collective gluttony of consumerism, leaving the current generation asking "Where have all the leaders gone?"

As consumerism is down-graded from a national past time to simple survival by a stumbling economy, generations are looking for someone to lead them to the promised land; a proverbial Moses. Our distributed and digital jungle has, for the past decade, prevented us from seeing the changes that were transforming the world around us. Lost in an all-consuming world of web-links, iPods and digital television, finding leaders, and helping them find themselves, requires a unique blend of entrepreneurship and mountain-top guru with a dash of Indiana Jones.

Dr. Karen Stephenson, who was interviewed recently on Smart City Radio, is the founder of Netform.com. A corporate anthropologist, she specializes in helping companies discover and strengthen hidden leaders while advocating for the need to identify and capitalize on the knowledge of the human network. In October 2006 LEADERSHIP Philadelphia released a list of 101 leaders as analyzed and identified by Dr. Stephenson and her team. Over 4800 candidates were identified as possible leaders within the community and, through an online survey, were analyzed to determine their focus on the common good and their ability to be connectors.

Through this process of leadership identification and intensification, strengthening of civic connections, and developing symbiotic relationships, Philadelphia realized that it had the citizen strength to build a better city. (ED: Philly’s idea of ‘better’ and ScaleDown’s idea of better may differ, but the process for leadership identification is still the same.) Chris Satullo, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, refered to Philadelphia’s leadership, pre-Stephenson identification, as embattled or indicted in an Oct 15, 2006 article. Any casual observer of Windsor city council will agree with the embattled leadership title, which begs the question – Does Windsor have 101 hidden leaders and can we harness these community leaders to create a more livable, sustainable, attractive city? (Hint: Here is the list of connector qualifications)

While we don’t have the sophisticated software or technical expertise of Dr. Stephenson, we, at ScaleDown.ca, want to know who are the hidden leaders in our city. Post a comment and let us know who you are nominating and why. While you are at it, drop your nominee a note and let them know that we’re looking for them, we want them and we need them as we work together to build a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable Windsor.

Official Plan Review - Public Information Sessions

As you know, during the process of Windsor's Official Plan Review, the city is holding five public information sessions. This is all for the "Moving Forward" portion of the exercise.

I sincerely appologise for the eleventh-hour notice for these. The College Avenue session is going on as I type this.

Official Plan Review - Moving Forward Phase Public Information Centres

College Avenue Community Centre - 3325 College - Tuesday January 29, 2008 4pm-8pm

Optomist Community Centre - 1075 Ypres - Wednesday January 30, 2008 4pm-8pm

Gino A. Marcus Community Complex - 1168 Drouillard - Thursday January 31, 2008 4pm-8pm

South Windsor Recreation Complex - 2555 Pulford - Tuesday Feburary 5, 2008 4pm-8pm

Forest Glade Community Centre - 3215 Forest Glade - Wednesday February 6, 2008 4pm-8pm

Here are the Moving Forward reports for you to prepare yourself with prior to attending the session closest to you

25-Year Population and Housing Projections (PDF, 504 KB)
20-Year Employment Projections and Employment Land Needs Analysis (PDF, 265 KB)

It is imperative that every citizen attends these information sessions. They are the time for you to have input into building the city you want to live in. Put on your thinking caps, get out your wish list, and be sure to tell those running the seesions everything you want. Remember, they work for you.

The Urban Village Saga Continues...

For those of you who don't read Chris Schnurr's blog (I know there's one or two of you out there) I wanted to point you in that direction today.

Chris is keeping tabs on Windsor's city council and their plans for the City Centre West lands. Luckily, there is one city councillor who is also keeping the pressure on the Mayor and our previous committments to develop an Urban Village on those valuable parcels of downtown real estate. Check out Chris' continuing committment to the medium of video podcasting to see how Councillor Halberstadt is continuing to keep the issue of our Urban Village plans in the public realm and reminding people that we have already dedicated significant resources to this redevelopment model.

We need to join together as a community and make our voices heard as to our feelings regarding furthering the development of the Urban Village and how important it is to revitalizing our downtown core. Be sure to make plans to attend Bleak or Blessed, a forum featuring keynote speaker Matt Fischer, CEO of the Windsor Essex County Economic Development Commission, to give your comments and suggestions as to what you think Windsor should do to survive and flourish in the economic crisis we are currently experiencing - and be sure to include your thoughts on the Urban Village. The organizers plan to record ideas generated from the forum and compile them in a report, which will be presented to all three levels of government -- the city, the province and the feds. The forum, which is free of charge, will take place Wednesday at All Saints', 330 City Hall Square, from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information, call 519-253-8001.

(this plug has nothing to do with the fact that Chris Schnurr helped me to access the audio of my interview with AM 800 yesterday or plugged Scaledown on his blog today :)

Get the Lead out

Way back on December 15, the Mayor of Monmouth told everyone to get their lead levels checked for FREE if your house was built before 1948. Hopefully, you listened.

It seems that Enwin is only going to do exactly what is provincially mandated for them to do, and therefore is not going to notify any neighbours of the participating households who tested high for lead content in their municipal water. According to todays Windsor Star...

"Sylvia de Vries, the spokeswoman for Enwin Utilities and the Windsor Utilities Commission, said only the homeowners who volunteered for the provincially mandated testing will receive the results."

I just got my water checked out yesterday (it took about a week after calling for an appointment) so I don't have any results to pass along to my fellow Walkerville residents, but I highly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity. Obviously, if the province didn't overwhelmingly believe there was a problem, do you honestly think they would be doing this for free?

"Lead exposure has been linked to delays in physical and mental development. Excessive exposure can seriously injure the brain, nervous system, red blood cell development and kidneys. It can potentially cause mental retardation, seizures, comas and even death, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health."

Ms. de Vries is offering different dates that the Mayor of Monmouth stated in his blog, so to be safe, please take the earlier ones to be sure you are able to get your water tested.

"She said 110 Windsor homes will be tested in this current round, which runs from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9. Another 110 will be tested in July or August. The cycle will then be repeated at six-month intervals for two years."

So heed the advice of your M.O.M.: To make an appointment, please call the W.U.C. telephone Center. The trick is to call now because free testing is only going to take place between December 15, 2007 and April 15, 2008. To ensure participation you have to call this number now. (519) 255-2727. Please select option 3

Raise the Hammer

In my post on Saturday I misrepresented Ryan McGreal and raisethehammer.org. It is not Ryan McGreal's personal blog. They are a group, very similar to ours, from Hamilton. They have been working on the same type of issues since 2004.

Ryan says, that he will write a blog about scaledown.ca in the near future. I would encourage everyone to visit raisethehammer.org and see how another group in another city is getting on.

Editorial Staff
Editor: Ryan McGreal
Associate Editor: Adrian Duyzer
Graphic Design: Trevor Shaw
Contributing Editors
Accidental Activist: Ben Bull
Photo Essay: Mark Fenton
Downtown Bureau: Jason Leach
Ideas: Ted Mitchell
Suburban Bureau: Trevor Shaw
Entertainment: Kevin Somers