Community Building 101

I spent Saturday morning learning just how important food is to building a sense of community.

Members of Windsor's fledgling community garden cooperative Fed-Up Windsor made the trek across the border to Detroit to see how Earth Works (who's motto is "Connecting Urban Detroiters With Nature") has accomplished all that they have. According to the American Community Gardening Association, "... community gardening improves the quality of life for people by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education."

The EarthWorks Garden started in 1999 as a partnership between the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Gleaners Community Food Bank. The garden started as a small plot of land in the inner city of Detroit and has grown to 3/4 of an acre on three plots near the Meldrum Street Soup Kitchen. Complete with a greenhouse, EarthWork's primary goal is the education of Detroit area school children in areas of science, nutrition and biodiversity of organic agriculture. The project also yields fresh produce to benefit such programs as WIC and the Soup Kitchen's daily meals. As noted on their website;

"As a society, we have become dangerously disconnected from the land
and the sources of food that sustain life. We have detached ourselves
from the real source of wealth - a respectful and reverent relationship with
the land.

In 1998, I felt a calling to start a garden at my workplace, the Capuchin Soup
Kitchen. The response was overwhelming and positive. That small plot of land
grew into what is our Urban Farm project today.

EarthWorks Garden seeks to restore our connection to the environment and
community in keeping with the tradition of our spiritual patron, St. Francis. It is
a working study in social justice and in knowing the origin of the food we eat"

So we made the trek over to see what we could learn from them. Myself being the transplanted urban-boy-grunt work (I've seen a farm, once...:), I had so much to learn. While I didn't learn the nuances of sacrificial plantings or nitrate-building ground cover, I did see first hand how numerous different people from different socio-economic backgrounds, when they get around dirt and worms and compost, seem to lose all inhibitions and cooperate towards a common goal. When we take food production for granted, we tend to lose the connectedness it brings, and this is something that I hope Fed-Up Windsor can bring back into our community.

From one of my gardening comrades blogs... "We also learned quite a bit for our own FedUp community gardening project, which currently has three plots here in Windsor (at the Ecohouse on Sunset Ave, on Malden Rd, and on Moy Ave), and is already giving us some zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. We have no website up yet, but that is a near-future project, and we are always looking for more volunteers, small plots of land, and other resources. We meet every Sunday at 6pm for a potluck in the backyard of the Ecohouse, where we divvy up the week' harvest and make plans for future gardening adventures. "

I will try and give you some information about Fed-Up in the near future if you are interested in participating. If you want to head over to Detroit and do your thing at Earth Works, they welcome any and all volunteers on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Just get in touch with them through their website.

Good News in Olde Walkerville

Some very welcome good news regarding Walkerville's Distillery District, courtesy of Windsor's Biz X Magazine;

"Olde Walkerville in Windsor ain’t dead yet! Biz X has compiled a list of new business openings and bargain-basement property transactions that promise to pull the district out of an economic tailspin. The former ICON store, 1623 Wyandotte Street East (which closed in January), is re-opening as a fitness studio, complete with juice bar and yoga, in late summer. The proprietor is
Michael Bates, retiring Managing Director of Human Kinetics Canada, the fitness publisher housed at 475 Devonshire Rd. Meanwhile, Alynn Anglin & Steve Hewitt have opened Anglin Financial Management at 1580 Wyandotte East, which previously housed the Meeting Place. Anglin and Hewitt have done a marvellous job renovating what was once a deli and lunch place. The old BMO bank at 1799 Wyandotte Street East, former home to T’Dye For Hair Salon (recently moved to 1464 Ottawa Street), has sold for $295,000. It will be leased for eight months while the new owners apply for a liquor licence with a long-term plan of opening a Martini bar. The landmark Peerless Ice Cream store, on the east side of Chilver at Wyandotte, has been sold and ice cream sales are now combined with an amazing tasting sushi. The old Deliotte and Touche building, 1666 Wyandotte St. E., has been bought by a group with plans to convert it into a church and community centre. The former Scratching the Surface building, 1514-20 Wyandotte East, yielded the best bargain. This property, listed under power of sale for $109,000, had seven offers the first day and was acquired for $140,000 by a numbered company. The 7,000 square-foot vacant lot on the north side of Wyandotte between Chilver and Windermere, is on sale for $319,000. This block housed four businesses before the buildings burned down during the blackout earlier this decade. Last, but not least, there is word that negotiations are in the final stages to locate a restaurant in the old Walkerville Pizza, 1737 Wyandotte E."

Fans of this neighbourhood (and fans of a healthy Windsor, period!) will welcome all this good news.

How Walkable Is Your Neighbourhood?

We have discussed before the fact that the more walkable a neighbourhood is, the more likely its residents are to engage in different forms of active transportation. Walkable neighbourhoods also tend to be more community focused and tight knit.

Thank your lucky stars that you now have a very useful tool for figuring out if that new house you were looking at purchasing is located in a walkable neighbourhood. You could have gained 30 pounds if it weren't for this blog post.

WalkScore.com is a newly launched website designed to do just that. It uses Google Maps and relevant data, provided when you type in your address, to give you a rating out of 100 as to just how walkable your neighbourhood actually is.

From their press release;

Seattle – July 23, 2007 –

"Is your neighborhood a walker’s paradise? Can you easily stay fit by walking to a nearby grocery store to shop for food while simultaneously saving money on gas, parking, and repairs? Plug your address into just launched WalkScore.com to find out! WalkScore.com calculates a home’s walkability “score” and encourages walking by identifying the closest schools, grocery stores, and other businesses. WalkScore.com is also a great way to find out if that new house you’ve been eyeing meets your needs as a walkable neighborhood. You can also find out the walkability scores for other houses, like your uncle’s house, the White House, any address that piques your interest. WalkScore, a Google mashup that uses Google maps and business listings, was designed by Seattle residents Jesse Kocher, Matt Lerner, and Mike Mathieu. It works for any street address in the United States of America and Canada, assigning points based on the distance to local amenities, then averages the score. The site also lets you compare your score to that of famous locations and people such as Bill Gate’s house, Fenway Park, even Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt’s (pre-divorce) house. "We wanted to create the Zillow of walkability so people could easily compare one house to another. Walking isn't just good for your health, it's good for the health of our neighborhoods and the planet," says Matt Lerner, one of the site's creators. The group was inspired by reports from the Sightline Institute, a Northwest think tank, on how city design and health are affected by each other, from obesity to air pollution to social capital. The appeal of living in a walk or bike-friendly neighborhood is gaining momentum and not just with city professionals and hipster urbanites, but also with a growing number of families that want their kids to be able to walk to school and older adults that want to stay active by walking. “Instead of spending time in traffic, I can chat with my daughter and neighbors on the way to day care,” says Kristin Kolb, a mom who lives in a Seattle neighborhood that scores a 74 out of 100 on WalkScore.com, and who recently started walking her three-year old to day care instead of driving. According to Sightline Institute, recent studies show that residents of compact areas—where homes are mixed with stores and services and the street network is designed for walking—are less likely to be obese; suffer substantially fewer chronic illnesses such as diabetes, lung disease, and hypertension; and have a lower risk of dying in a traffic accident because they drive less. The air they breathe may even be cleaner than their suburban counterparts’, especially if they spend less time in the “pollution tunnel” of busy highways. Some users of WalkScore are comparing their neighborhood’s Walk Score as an emblem of local pride and of their lifestyle choices. Step by step, walking can help you stay well. And walkable neighborhoods mean enough people to support good mass transit, a reduction of gas use and green house gas emissions, and increased support of local businesses."

I found it a little lacking in accuracy when I typed in my address, but for the most part it is a very cool new tool. Here's a few of the results from my brief time on the site;

- my neighbourhood of Olde Walkerville - 55 out of 100

- my old neighbourhood in South Windsor - 18/100, for an improvement of 37

- my buddy Tommy's move from the Blue Heron area by the Tecumseh border to just down the road from me - 14/100 to 51/100, for an improvement of 37 points. Way to go, Tommy

- my brother in LaSalle - 28/100

- my parents in the Riverside area - 14/100

The best score I could come up with in Windsor was a 62 for somebody living downtown. Be sure to leave a comment after you've done your neighbourhood. Let's find out what is the most walkable community is (according to WalkScore, anyways) in Windsor/Essex County.

Idea Exchange

Yes. I am not the only one who doesn't believe we're screwed.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people and groups out there who are actively working at assembling the different little pieces needed to "fix things". Over at WorldChanging.Com, they work under the premise that real solutions already exist for building the future we want. it's just a matter of grabbing hold and getting moving. Take a look at their manifesto;

"WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together"

They started out as a blog, and then shot skyward from there. Yet, they hold true to the idea that all the pieces to the puzzle are out there, we just need to assemble them at home. No, it's not a simple technological fix they're espousing. It's a predominantly social one. So what they've done is assembled an international crowd sourcing resource to help us along in our quest.

Like they say on their site, Changing the world is a team sport

Planning Department in Shackles?

A comment on a previous post has been made that it appears that the City of Windsor has no clear goals or objectives relating to the future of its built environment.

Navigating through the cities official website, there are many pages devoted to how important good urban design is to the quality of life of Windsor residents. Clearly, by publishing these pages on their website, they know there are better ways of developing Windsor. Now, let's see if they are following their own advise.

Windsor SEEN is described as being a "...Municipal Urban Design Agenda For The Windsor Community". It was adopted by city council over three years ago. Quickly glancing through this six page document will reveal just what this city means by Urban Design. Throughout, it stresses "image" and "impressions", focusing on what people will think of us "(b)y the time the 2006 Superbowl draws the visitation and global media attention of millions to the shores of the Detroit River, we must be seen at our best". It is a document whos clear intent is to "manage (our) identity". Form over function. (there's a headline on page two that actually uses a James Howard Kunstler reference - "Avoiding the 'geography of nowhere'" - in support of their plan!) In all the years in which I studied Urban Design at the post secondary level, I didn't come away with this description as being the main driving focus of the craft.

It was during soon-to-be mayor Eddie Francis' "Town Hall"-type campaign meeting in ward three, prior to his first term win, when I heard him call the Legacy Park big-box development Smart Growth. It was then that I knew we were in for a long, uphill battle. But, I digress...

Wikipedia describes Urban Design as a discipline "concern(ing) the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture. However, with its increasing prominence in the activities of these disciplines, it is better conceptualised as a design practice that operates at the intersection of all three, and requires a good understanding of a range of others besides, such as urban economics, political economy and social theory." This encapsulates what I spent my time studying. Yes, a successful community design is aesthetically appealing, but that is but one portion in a complicated recipe. Yet, it is the only ingrediant our planning department is allowed to use.

It was during the 2005 community meetings for the Huron Church Road Urban Design Master Plan when it hit me - the city is interested only in making this street prettier for motorists. It has nothing to do with urban design. Their design did nothing to address the lack of function of this "Civic Way". It did nothing to address the environmental concerns of the abutting property. It did nothing to address our ever expanding reliance on the private automobile. What it did do was plant a few gardens, berms and pretty ornamentation for the motorists stuck idling behind transport trucks to admire. Yet, this is their idea of what constitutes "urban design".

What is even scarier is that these "urban design" ideals are now firmly ensconced in our Official Plan. You know - the Official Plan that basically guides everything that the city does from now on by law!

My definition of urban design is more focused on the day-to-day life of the cities residents, instead of putting simply on makeup for the guests. By increasing the quality of life for the everyday users of our infrastructure, we are investing in our own future. For as the residents begin to develop a pride-of-place, they start losing the attitude that Windsor is disposable. Urban design is an organic process, and one that is continually building upon little successes over time. Jane Jacobs hated the idea of putting all our eggs in one basket and relying on mega-developments to "save" a community and so do I. The sense that I get when reading through the cities online documentation is just what a previous writer noted - we have no clear direction as a city. We are ambling along - as our Mayor attends Wrestlemania events on behalf of his citizens - grabbing at each and every new, shiny thing we come across. Hoping that "pretty" will be "enough". Hoping that we can build a "brand" that will fool people into visiting and investing here. Hoping that the taxpayers continue sleepwalking through life and don't start demanding better.

Well, it's not. We must identify our municipal destination and devise a clear path to get there. What kind of city do we want to be? What kind of residents do we want to attract? What kind of economic development do we want to inspire? In what kind of neighbourhoods do we want to raise our children? These are all aspects of my urban design. Elements of daily urban life that build confidence in one's elected officials and their leadership skills. One that recognises the learned expertise of our municipal administration and allows them the flexibility of suggesting alternatives without an iron fist driving them back to the plan of subdivision that they are working on.

Good planning will not be the silver bullet for our current economic and social woes, but we will definitely not be healed without it.

'Sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city's wealth of public life may grow.' Jane Jacobs

This Weeks Local Music Line-up

After replying to a previous post, I realised that I had access to information that would help people (re)discover local talent and some of the local business' that support this local talent. Check out the following list assembled by local booster Jamie Greer. All bands are local Windsor bands unless noted. All shows are at 10pm unless otherwise stated.

I will make this a weekly addition to the blog

TUESDAY JULY 24

The Avalon Front (300 Ouellette Ave.)

SAIGON DISCO w/ DJ Shawn Renaud

Electropop, New Wave, Post-Punk Alternative

WEDNESDAY JULY 25

The Avalon Front (300 Ouellette Ave.)

The Mod Club w/ DJ Jamie Greer

Motown, Britpop, 80's/90's Alternative,

60's British Invasion, Modern Rock

The Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St. West, beneath Pogo's & The Loop)

.ninjaspy. (Vancouver) wsg Batoche (Vancouver) and Destroy Thy Will

http://www.myspace.com/thetriadinblood

http://www.myspace.com/batocheband

Leopard's Lounge

My October (11pm start)

http://www.myspace.com/myoctoberband

THURSDAY JULY 26

The Avalon Front (300 Ouellette Ave.)

Mihirangi (New Zealand) wsg Portia

http://www.myspace.com/kulchanation
http://www.myspace.com/portia

The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)

Not Even Third

http://www.myspace.com/noteventhird

Oishii Sushi & Ultra Lounge (255 Ouellette, beside Chanoso's)

Rock and Roll Sushi w/ DJ Jamie Greer (8pm - midnight)

Old Fish Market (156 Chatham St. West, beside Pogo's)

Huladog

http://www.myspace.com/huladog

Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)

Steve Ward's Scattered Trio (early show - 5-8pm)

http://www.myspace.com/stevewardtrombone

FRIDAY JULY 27

Big Tony's (911 Walker Rd.)

Mr. Chill & The Witnesses

http://www.myspace.com/mrchillampthewitnesses

The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)

Focal Point wsg Evelyn Falls and Aravice (Detroit)

http://www.myspace.com/focalpointband

http://www.myspace.com/evelynfalls

The Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St. West, beneath Pogo's & The Loop)

Shot Down Stars wsg Foxfight (Tillsonburg),

Afallenhero and Unblinded Eyes

http://www.myspace.com/shotdownstars

http://www.myspace.com/foxfight

http://www.myspace.com/afallenheroband

http://www.myspace.com/unblindedeyes

The Loop (156 Chatham St.)

Stereo Friday w/ DJ Shawn Renaud

80's/90's Alternative, Electro, Modern Rock, Retro

Sky Lounge (261 Pelissier St.)

Kanada - Anti-Plugged

http://www.myspace.com/rocksteadykanada

The Windsor Armouries (37 University Ave. East)

Windsor Pride presents "A Night at the Armouries"

(Doors at 6:30pm)

7:45pm - Screening of the film "The Bubble"

10:00pm - The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & Spirits

http://www.myspace.com/thegoldenhandsbeforegod

SATURDAY JULY 28

Aleksander Estate Wineries (Ruthven)

Mr. Chill & The Witnesses

http://www.myspace.com/mrchillampthewitnesses

The Avalon Front (300 Ouellette Ave.)

SHINE: Music Video Dance Party w/ DJ Whiteshoe

The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)

One Man's Opinion wsg Rotation (Flatrock, MI) and StereoGoesStellar

http://www.myspace.com/onesmanopinion

http://www.myspace.com/rotation

http://www.myspace.com/stereogoesstellar

The Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St. West, beneath Pogo's & The Loop)

Voodoo Mafia wsg Jen Militia (Toronto)

http://www.myspace.com/voodoomafiaband

http://www.myspace.com/jenmilitia

Riverside Plaza (across from Casino Windsor)

Windsor Pride presents "Summer Sizzle" (Gates at 4pm)

Carole Pope (formerly of Rough Trade)

wsg Kelly & The Kellygirls (Toronto)

http://www.myspace.com/carolepope

http://www.myspace.com/kellyandthekellygirls

Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)

Megan Hamilton (Toronto) wsg TBA

http://www.myspace.com/meganhamilton

Sky Lounge (261 Pelissier St.)

Terry Thompson

http://www.myspace.com/tendonitist

SUNDAY JULY 29

Riverside Plaza (across from Casino Windsor)

Windsor Pride presents "Pride: Front & Centre"

The B-Girlz (Toronto) wsg Barbara Payton (Detroit)

and The Joys (London)

http://www.b-girlz.com

http://www.myspace.com/barbarapayton

http://www.myspace.com/thejoys

I hope you get out and try to take in some of our fantastic local talent.

Does Windsor have what it takes?

Does Windsor have what it takes to survive in the competition to attract cultural creatives?

This is a question that we intend to explore a lot more intimately in the days and weeks to come. But first, let's define just what the "Creative Class" is and why it is an attractive goal for our little ol' municipality to bring them into our midst...

The creative class, as defined by Richard Florida in his book "The Rise Of The Creative Class", are the segment of the population who make their living utilizing their personal creativity and resources. Those individuals whose talent is to create meaningful new forms; such as the artists, architects, information technologists and entrepreneurs - the purveyors of new ideas. This group of individuals, traditionally identified as college educated 25 to 34 year olds, have recently graduated college and have yet to set down roots in any one particular community. They have yet to develop the cynicism that infects the older generations. They are unafraid to experiment with new ideas and concepts - those ideas and concepts which are looked upon as the seeds to new economic "revolutions".

They are drawn to culturally vibrant communities, rich in diversity and tolerance with a low cost and high standard of living. They need access to markets and populations to feed off. This "Young And Restless" demographic, as labeled by CEO's For Cities, will be seen as the driving factor in a cities economic and cultural health in the years to come. The questions then arises; Does Windsor Have What It Takes To Attract The Creative Class?

Geograpically, Windsor is situated on a 685 square mile peninsula, across from Detroit, Michigan. With a metropolitan population of 350,000, we are only a one hour drive away from 4.5 million Americans, two hours away from 11 million and six hours away from 25 million, of which over nine million travel here to visit.

In the 2001 Canadian census, the city had a population of 208,402 and its official metropolitan area had a population of 307,877. Windsor attracts many immigrants from around the world. It is the fourth most diverse city in Canada with over 20% of its residents being classified as foreign-born. University of Windsor electrical engineering prof Majid Ahmadi says this area can become a high-tech hub with it's culturally diverse population, proximity to the U.S. and research talent. According to prof. Ahmadi, we could duplicate Vancouver's success in attracting high-tech giants like Microsoft.

Windsor has one of the lowest median housing costs on the continent when compared to other urban metropolitan areas. Young upstarts normally seek out affordable areas so they have more available resources to devote to their business'.

Whereas this target demographic has never traditionally sought a specific climate (chilly Denmark and Sweden are excellent at attracting these folks), Windsor's climate is one of the warmest in Canada - posessing what's called a humid continental climate. Being away from the lake effect, Windsor is one of the cities receiving the least amount of snow and it's summers are some of the warmest in Canada, seeing how we're on the same latitude with Northern California.

Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, the London, UK based publication devoted to establishing itself as the most trusted source of information for those companies involved with cross-border expansion, named Windsor, Ontario as North America’s leading “small” City of the Future, scoring well for business-friendly policies and a strong development programme that includes several large-scale projects involving public and private investment.

Yet, Windsorites seem to be ignorant of their potential. Numerous international publications have identified our favourable climate, access to markets and economic environment as "just what the doctor ordered" with regards to economic success, yet we fail to see it. True, we have a lot of ground to cover when it comes to increasing our liveability. Our city council seems to dither on implementing necessary changes. Council's neglect of the Capitol Theatre and the arts community as a whole is a hint of their cavalier attitude. Segments of our residential populations are averse to change, as proven by the residents of Riverside Drive's campaign against bicycle infrastructure and active transportation. Our declaration that the downtown core should become an "Urban Village" replete with mixed-use residential land use and emphasis on public transportation was a bright spot in 2006 , yet where is the physical evidense that this is anything but wishful thinking? The University of Windsor's Engineering Department was said to be investigating moving to this downtown site, joining St. Clair College's Cleary acquisition in bringing over 2000 students and faculty into the core. Yet, nothing but tumbleweeds have appeared to date.

We have a ways to go, yet numerous groups and individuals believe our future is indeed bright. Meaningful change happens at the transitionary periods of history, and Windsor is by no means an exception to this rule. The University of Windsor's Lloyd Brown-John wrote in his June 18 Windsor Star column; "Windsor can reinvent itself. To do so will take the talents and imaginations of its most creative and innovative minds. These are not always apparent - simply because one occupies a position does not ensure creativity. Where are those creative and innovative minds? How can they be identified or self-identified? How will those imaginative minds which have the capacity to take this city into the future manifest themselves?" Those are some of the questions that we need to ask ourselves, for it will take the open minds - those who are not dwelling on the status quo as savior - to see our way to this bright future.

Windsor will not only survive the latest economic woes, but will flourish - only if our attitudes and mind-sets change with the times.

Pint Of No Return

It continues to boggle my mind that I can find a restaurant or pub in Windsor that doesn't serve Walkerville beer.

Come on folks We really do need to support our own in this city. Ambassoador Brewery lasted for three years before it closed it's doors in 2002. Charley's Brew Pub continues to brew it's Time Out beer, but unfortunately it's only available in-house

Karen Behune Plunkett and her husband Michael Plunkett re-opened the Walkerville Brewery in 1998, after it ceased it's original operations in 1956. Walkerville was voted "Canadian Brewery of the Year 2004" and 2006 World Beer Cup Winner. Karen has sat on many community Boards and is currently a member of the Windsor Regional Foundation, Windsor Utilities Commissioner, Honourary Chair of the Alzheimer Society and a 2000 International Athena recipient.

What has Chairman of the Board Pete Coors done for us since his Coors brewery swallowed up Canada's second oldest corporation Molson breweries (behind only the Hudson Bay Company) and moved them to Denver Colorado? They have pocketed Canadian brews Creemore Springs, Rickard's Red, Laurentide, Black Horse and India Beer. In addition to alcoholic beverages, Molson owns a 20% stake in the Montreal Canadiens, who historically have been the NHL's most successful hockey team. They also sponsor the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks. Molson is part-owner of Brewers Retail Inc., operator of The Beer Store retail chain, which--protected by legislation--has an over 90% market share of Ontario beer sales. Their advertising campaigns are still focused on Canadian's latent anti-Americanism, which proves this Colorado-based corporation's patriotism runs second to their bottom line. "I AM Canadian" my ass!

London, Ontario's beer-darling Labatt's? Yup - since 1991 it's now Belgian, along with the other Canadian beers in it's corporate arsenal; Nova Scotia's Alexander Keith's, Hamilton's Lakeport and B.C.'s Kokanee. Labatt (well, Inbev now) is also part owner of The Beer Store retail outlets, so most of the money you spend there heads overseas.

So, belly up to the bar at your local watering hole this Canada day and ask for a pint of Walkerville. Not in stock? Go elsewhere. Head to the brewery to stock your home supply as well. Walkerville has a great summer special going on now - for $29.00 you get a mixed 2-4 of their Original Lager, Premium Blonde and Superior Light.

Now you can't use the "too expensive" excuse.

Tell 'em Topher sent you.

Indies are just plain cooler

Independant retailers shape the character of a neighbourhood. They create a sense of place. They are tourist magnets. I bet you've never heard anyone say "I've got to get to San Francisco - there's a GREAT Starbucks there!", Montreal? "That Tim Horton's on Ste. Catherine's rocks my world!"

Not gonna happen. It's the indies that make the memories.

Independant retailers are members of your community. They belong to your local school board, coach your daughters soccer team and support the local artists. They honestly care about the health of the neighbourhood as much as the health of their business.

It's time we treated them with the respect they deserve.

A 2002 case study in Austin, Texas showed that for every $100 in consumer spending at a national bookstore in Austin, Texas the local economic impact was only $13. The same amount spent at locally based bookstores yielded $45, having more than three times the economic impact.

A 2003 case study of Midcoast Maine covering several lines of goods and services validated these findings. In Maine eight locally owned businesses were surveyed. The survey found that the businesses spent 44.6 percent of their revenue within the surrounding two counties. Another 8.7 percent was spent elsewhere in the state of Maine. The four largest components of this local spending were: wages and benefits paid to local employees; goods and services purchased from other local businesses; profits that accrued to local owners and taxes paid to local and state government. All eight businesses banked locally, used local accountants, advertised in local businesses publications, purchased inventory from local manufacturers, and used local Internet service providers and repair people. The study estimated that a big box retailer returns just 14.1 percent of its revenue to the local economy, mostly in the form of payroll. The rest leaves the state, flowing to out-of-state suppliers and back to corporate headquarters.

Beyond the fact that traditional big-box retail blocks are just plain ugly, they also promote many suburban ills that creep into our urban fabric. The perpetual race-to-the-bottom that has started our local mom-and-pop shops feeling that they must purchase the same cheap, disposable Chinese sweatshop wares to stay competitive. Fighting these "category-killers" by their rules means sure defeat. Local business must retain it's local flavours, while offering quality products if they are to survive. Yes, it will involve some innovative thinking, but the evidence shows that smaller, locally-owned business' know their markets better and are quicker to adapt to a changing market.

So, let the big-butt-ugly-box retailers flame out in the peak-oil hangover that is on the distant horizon. The Walker/Provincial road Legacy Park development will cease to be a profitable enterprise when the SUV-driving unemployed autoworkers figure out that they cannot afford the gas to make it out there to purchase their 69 cent underwear in bulk. Then you will see these chain retailer's committment to Windsor as they pull up their stakes in the looming economic downturn.

I think I'll head down to Taloola Cafe for a coffee now...

The Walkerville Diet

I live in Olde Walkerville--an appropriately named community nestled amongst century old trees, beautiful garden townhomes and stately manour houses. It's built in a traditional grid pattern that encourages pedestrian traffic. The homes are built close to the street with large, welcoming front porches, making socializing a natural hobby. I even built a nice little waterfall out front to augment the street life with it's sounds of trickling water. One of my favorite pastimes is to relax on the front porch with friends and my favorite frothy beverage and people watch. I know we're not performing any scientific studies, but the conclusion we've drawn from our many hours of performing these rigorous observations - Walkerville residents are in great physical shape.

Old, walkable communities have long been sought out as vaction retreats in quaint European cities. How many members of your family have saved their pennies for years to afford to visit Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom? Mackinac Island, Greenfield Village - all very popular pedestrian oriented vacation spots that seem to make people forget their daily drudgeries. These locations are sought out for their peaceful environments and postcard-like settings. There's also another je-ne-sais-quoi quality that makes people feel comfortable - the lack of vehicular traffic. So, why is it that we don't demand the same environment in our day-to-day life?

"The evidence is conclusive: our car-dependent habits are killing us," Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Anthony Graham said in a news release. "Simply put, the suburban dream has gone sour," The foundation's first study of urban versus non-urban living shows that car-dependent Canadians are more sedentary and at increased risk of being overweight or obese.

The group's research shows that city-dwellers are much more likely to walk or bike to work or to do their shopping.

"It kind of comes to the fact that if you're a long way form where you want to go, you're unlikely to take your bike or walk," said Dr. Todd Anderson, a cardiologist in Calgary. "You're going to take your car."

In my neighbourhood, we have all the necessary amenities within walking distance, so we tend to use our feet a little more than those living out in Southwood Lakes or Forest Glade.

As reported in Science News; Lawrence Frank is no couch potato. Taking full advantage of his city's compact design, the Vancouver, British Columbia, resident often bikes to work and walks to stores, restaurants, and museums. That activity helps him stay fit and trim. But Frank hasn't always found his penchant for self-propulsion to be practical. He previously lived in Atlanta, where the city's sprawling layout thwarted his desire to be physically active as he went about his daily business.

"There was not much to walk to," says Frank, a professor of urban planning at the University of British Columbia. For example, he recalls that there was only one decent restaurant within walking distance of his old home. Many restaurants and other businesses in Atlanta cluster in strip malls that stand apart from residential areas.

In Vancouver, by contrast, Frank's neighborhood contains dozens of eateries, and he often strolls to and from dinner. "I'm more active here," he says.

As of late, there has been some serious research behind the notion that a city's urban design will determine the health of its residents. This is important research that Windsor's elected leaders should come up to speed on before it puts any more shovels in the ground.

In September 2003, two major studies linked sprawl and obesity. Since those reports, researchers in fields as disparate as epidemiology and economics have generated a spate of similarly themed studies.

In the first of the 2003 reports, researchers analyzed data from a nationwide survey in which each of some 200,000 people reported his or her residential address, physical activity, body mass, height, and other health variables. Residents of sprawling cities and counties tended to weigh more, walk less, and have higher blood pressure than did people living in compact communities, concluded urban planner Reid Ewing and his colleagues at the University of Maryland at College Park's National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education.

In the second study, health psychologist James Sallis of San Diego State University and his colleagues reported that residents of "high-walkability" neighborhoods, which have closely packed residences and a mix of housing and businesses, tended to walk more and were less likely to be obese than residents of low-walkability neighborhoods.

In 2004, Frank and his colleagues produced additional connections among urban form, activity, and obesity. The data on more than 10,500 people in the Atlanta area indicated that the more time a person spends in a car, the more obese he or she tends to be. But the more time people spend walking, the less obese they are.

Frank's team, like the other groups, found that areas with interspersed homes, shops, and offices had fewer obese residents than did homogeneous residential areas whose residents were of a similar age, income, and education. Furthermore, neighborhoods with greater residential density and street plans that facilitate walking from place to place showed below-average rates of obesity.

Still, institutional hurdles remain. Many developers prefer to do as they have always done: build horizontally -- an approach that allows them to build in phases and to cut and run if the economy turns sour. (Such strategies don't work so well when you're building vertically.) Many transportation engineers also have a stake in maintaining the status quo because funding for transportation has generally been geared toward moving cars, especially via highways. Since changing road standards and zoning is difficult and time consuming (because these laws tend to be local),as Sallis puts it, our city's "DNA just keeps replicating itself."

With a generation raised in sprawl, eating fast food and driving long hours, is it realistic to assume that people's behavior will change if the environment changes? Some studies suggest no -- that less-active people will naturally choose communities that allow them to be less active. However, another study showed 30 percent of the respondents reporting that they wanted to live in walkable neighborhoods but were unable to afford them. Luckily, here in Windsor, these walkable communties (the ones that are left, that is) are not yet held as valuable as the fringe-built suburbs. Many experts agree that this will change, and as gasoline prices continue to climb into the stratosphere, these old pedestrian-friendly communities (Olde Walkerville, Sandwhich Towne, etc.) will once again be a preferable environment to raise a family.

In 2007 however, when many families choose a suburban life, they make a clear-eyed choice: to sacrifice the adults' health and well-being (with a longer commute, fewer cultural attractions, etc.) for the children's well-being. The suburbs are presumably built with children in mind - with crime-free residential neighborhoods, backyards and cul-de-sacs to play in and better schools. But studies have shown that the new suburban realities may be affecting children's health as well. Currently, an estimated 20 percent of school-age children are obese. And only 13 percent of children walk to school, compared with 66 percent in 1973. Sometimes even those playful, active creatures for whom the suburbs were made find themselves stranded like commuters on a long ride to an unhealthy adulthood.

So, want to appear as the "Next Biggest Loser" in future Windsor Star "Fit City" reports? Chose your next neighbourhood wisely.

Piggybacking Suburbanites

There has long been a philosophical divide between urban and rural dwellers. The conservative-minded "king of the castle" suburban dwellers vs. the more idealistic liberal minded urban dweller. There are always going to be exceptions to the rule, but this generalization will stand up to scrutiny.

There's always those who feel that they are being asked to contribute more than everyone else.

That was the sentiment articulated in this letter to the editor printed in the Windsor Star yesterday. It captures the urban/suburban divide quite nicely:

Let those who benefit pay for the new watermains
Monday, June 25, 2007

Re: Watermain replacement levy.
This recently enacted additional charge on every water bill in the City of Windsor is a gross abuse. This practice applies a financial burden upon all its water users, not just upon those who actually require the upgrading of water delivery lines due to age, damage or impaired operation. Some (in fact many) citizens reside in homes built within the past 25, 15, 10 or five years upon which hefty development charges were levied before their respective dwellings were constructed and occupied.
To now apply additional levies each month constitutes double taxation. These citizens are being assessed on the water bill as if they lived in homes that now need new waterlines. This is not the case.
If the city needs to replace watermains, as I suspect it must, the appropriate mechanism would be a local improvement charges bylaw under Ontario Regulation 586/06 and the Municipal Act 2001. When a watermain or mains and feeders require maintenance or replacement, it would be appropriate that the charges for such works be raised from those in the areas concerned who have enjoyed the benefit of delivery through those mains being replaced for periods (according to public works) of 60, 80, 100 or more years. These costs should not be collected from others who have received no advantage or service from those pipes nor will enjoy the benefit in the future. Such costs are rightly collected from those who will profit from the improvement.
Bruce R. McLeod
Windsor

Mr. McLeod should be careful what he wishes for.

The subsidization that urban sprawl receives is well documented. The late Jane Jacobs, Toronto's pre-eminent urban theorist, warns "Suburban sprawl is far more costly than anyone imagines". That new raised ranch out in the suburbs might not seem to be a bargain if the hidden costs incurred by a few people -- but paid by everyone-- were added to the price. "Beware, there are always side effects," said Ms. Jacobs, whose new book, The Nature of Economies, is making analysts rethink how important human potential is in economic growth.

All taxpayers are subsidizing sprawl to the collective tune of at least half-a-billion dollars a year, concluded the Greater Toronto Area Task Force headed by consultant Pamela Blais. The further utilities are extended and the busier the highways, the more expensive they are to build and maintain. But these costs are shared by everyone through utility rates and taxes. More difficult to tally are the costs of air pollution, deterioration of the environment and traffic chaos. Ms. Blais estimated the suburban sprawl is adding as much as $1-billion each year to the costs that have to be covered by taxpayers for health care and law enforcement.

Sprawl is subsidized through infrastructure funding

Leslie Parrish, of Corporation For Enterprise Development writes that when development occurs on the outer fringes of town, the local government must re-create a system of roads, schools, and public safety services, while having to continue to support an underutilized set of older ones in the center section of town. Development that occurs in these outlying areas has far higher marginal costs than infill and renovation in developed areas. This cost rises even higher when new developments are low density. Since in low density developments residents are spread out on larger lots, the same amount of sewer line, roads, and other services are used by fewer people, reducing economies of scale.

Utility companies also subsidize sprawling, low density development. Telephone, cable, and electric companies often charge customers on an average cost basis, with the same rate collected for all customers no matter where they live within the metropolitan area. Compared to a customer in the downtown area, a household in a fringe suburb costs 10 times as much to serve. Therefore, residents living closer in subsidize those living farther away. Though many local officials encourage new growth, citing its economic development potential, the services these communities must provide often outweighs the benefits they receive. Commercial and industrial uses do tend to pay for themselves, however, these developments usually spur more residential development, which make their benefit questionable from the sprawl perspective as well.

Sprawl is subsidized through automobile and highway subsidies

A majority of federal transportation spending has traditionally always gone to highway funding. These new highways open up additional development potential on newly accessible, undeveloped land. Driving is also heavily subsidized. Despite recent complaints of rising fuel costs, these prices are much lower than they would otherwise be if the full environmental and health impacts were taken into account.

Data gleaned from Canada's 2003 census helps to shine a spotlight on the current imbalance between urban infrastructure spending and the expense of supporting suburban development. For every dollar that suburban dwellers received in municipal infrastructure upgrades/installations and services, they only paid 86 cents. That leaves the cities established neighbourhoods - those who have been paying for their infrastructure for decades - to pick up the tab. This includes fire, ambulance and police services, as well as all the hard infrastructure that is provided to these fringe developments.

Writers such as Mr. McLeod have no problem being on the receiving end of municipal largess, yet when it is their turn to contribute to the pot (that they have done their fair share in emtying) they scream foul. I suspect there would be a huge problem with a user-pay system if it was fairly implemented across the board. Then, those $200,000 raised ranches out in the farm fields would easily begin to approach $750,000+. I doubt we would have a problem with urban sprawl then.

Cultivating Windsor’s Creative Class

Cultivating Windsor’s Creative Class
An economic argument for cultural investment

“Want to know where a great place to invest in real estate will be five or ten years from now? Look at where artists are living now.” The reason? It has been proven that artists—defined as self-employed visual artists, actors, musicians, writers, etc.—can stimulate local economies in a number of ways. This is the advice Business Week Magazine gave it’s readers in February of this year.

This may come as a bit of a surprise to the casual reader, but there are numerous tangible economic benefits to promoting and investing in the local arts and culture scene. These reasons were apparently well hidden when our municipal politicians recently made the decision not to extend emergency funding to the Capitol Theatre. For the economic benefits that accumulate when a community values its artistic and “bohemian” constituency are precisely what Windsor needs in times such as these, with our worst economic and employment outlooks ahead of us.

The inertia of our industrial economy

Generations of “living large” off the fruits of the industrial revolution has lead to an economic monoculture in this community. There are presently families in Windsor with four or five generations of employment history with the same company. As any biologist, or economist will tell you, a monoculture will not survive long as it is vulnerable to even the slightest ill-health and change in its environment. All it took for Windsor to experience this market downturn that is sending thousands of autoworkers to the unemployment line is a spike in oil costs. These are global factors which are out of the control of our municipal government, so it is imperative instead to focus on aspects of our local economy which we can have a positive influence on.

This is why we must diversify our local economy if we are to avoid the dust bin we are headed towards. This idea is nothing new – Eddie Francis has made the quest for new information-based investment one of his mayoral mantras. What city council needs to realize is that their firm disregard for the Capitol’s future, and that of the arts community in general, will have negative reverberations throughout the city as a whole.

If we are to achieve the strong and diverse economy that the Mayor states that he desires, then Windsor must build the kind of community that is attractive to the “creative class” - those individuals whose talent is to create meaningful new forms, such as the artists, architects, information technologists and entrepreneurs - purveyors of new ideas, high-tech industry and regional growth. It is the role of creative industries and occupations that are recognized as a driving factor in the development of cities such as New York, finding that networks of artistic and creative individuals are key conduits for investments that result in new ideas, commercial innovation and income growth.

According to CEO’s For Cities, a Chicago-based urban think tank dedicated to speeding innovation in cities, “[I]t is difficult to overstate the impact that the college-educated 25 to 34 year-olds … will have on a city’s future prosperity. With rising demand for their skills and with competition for them now on a global scale, cities must be magnets for these highly-coveted workers or they will fail, because in the knowledge economy, it is the creativity and talent inherent in a city’s workforce that will shape its economic opportunities.”

Artists and bohemians are direct producers of amenities that draw other creatives through what is called the “artistic dividend”: the arts and cultural activities that increase the vibrancy and diversity of metropolitan areas, influencing other industries and generating growth. Several studies document the role of amenities and lifestyle – in the form of entertainment, nightlife, culture, and so on – in attracting educated populations. In fact, an empirical study finds that high amenity cities have grown faster than low amenity cities. So when a community is stagnant in its investment in these amenity-increasing arts and cultural activities, it will be overlooked by the growth-inducing creative class. When a community actually divests in its established arts infrastructure, it is taunting its home-grown artistic community to find a welcoming environment elsewhere. This is precisely the message that our current city council is sending out – that our community doesn't value our cultural institutions.

Entrepreneurs add to and thrive on creativity, the arts and entertainment.

Entrepreneurs are often the most creative people you'll ever meet, and since birds of a feather flock together, they're often frequenting the most artful, entertainment-rich venues, events and movements in their city. They locate in communities with low housing prices and a high quality of life. They gravitate to dense urban cores with a high amenity quotient. They are patrons of local arts and cultural venues. And to top it off, they have the highest earning potential of most of the rest of the population. It's a positive feedback loop - build it, and they will come - to continue building it.

Therefore, we not only need to attract the creative class to Windsor but we need to retain them once they're here. We also need to nurture our homegrown creatives and show them that we understand just how important it is that they grow and prosper here in this community by providing them with the support they need to thrive. Windsor has the low housing costs and access to markets and population that makes it ripe for attracting and “growing our own” creative class. These individuals will play a key role in Windsor's recovery from our economic downturn. However, forcing a landmark like the Capitol Theatre to close its doors forever is not the way to lay the groundwork.

Welcome to ...scale down

Welcome to ...scale down. It's truly a pleasure to have you here.

"...scale down" is a response that few people consider nowadays. Here in 21st century Western Society, when "growth" equals prosperity, anything else - by default - equals decline. It's a mantra that is repeated so often that it has become truth. With respect to the community of Windsor, Ontario, the ...scale down blog seeks to determine whether the ideals of growth holds the promise of prosperity that it's cheerleaders say it does.

Windsor's future is too important to leave in the hands of a government whose vision is limited to getting re-elected in four years. Our history has shown that short term gain equals long term pain. Today we find ourselves mired in a monoculture of hemorrhaging industrial jobs and an evaporating tax base inadequately being used to fill the money pits of ever expanding road networks leading to unsustainable suburban sprawl. As a community we rally against a heavy-handed border solution being imposed upon us, yet we are akin to the proverbial boiling frog when it comes to the effects of our quest for the newest, shiny acquisition.

So now it's time for our community leaders to add a new term to their repertoire ...scale down. By scaling down our drive to grow for the sake of growing, we will in turn strengthen our community. (Organisms in a natural environment do not grow in perpetuity. At some point in their existance they reach their limit to growth and start to mature and strengthen) By redirecting the millions of dollars we're allocating to auto-centric infrastructure, we can invest in welcoming, pedestrian-scaled walkable neighbourhoods. By scrutinizing our current fixation on Big-Box retail development being built on agricultural greenfield sites, we will reinvest in our locally owned Mom-And-Pop stores that keep our wealth right here in Windsor where it belongs.

So that is the purpose to this blog. It is my first, and I hope it eventually compares favourably to the rest of it's brethen in Windsor's established blogville. Please be patient with me as I settle into a routine. Jump in when you want and we can start to build an urban-design idea-factory that can shed a little light for our elected officials and misguided administration. Yet, the devil is in the details, and I can't wait to see where this ride takes us.

Thanks for reading...

Chris