Tag / CivicSquare
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Federal Brownfield Funding Could Kickstart Redevelopment of Former Stelco Land
With the federal budget approaching, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has released its 2017 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Among its many thoughtful and sustainable recommendations is a much needed investment that is very relevant to my hometown of Hamilton. Civicplan Principal Paul Shaker contributes to the AFB section on Infrastructure and Cities, which…
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Understanding the Supercrawl Festival with CivicSurveys
Supercrawl is an annual celebration of the diversity of James North, the multi-disciplinary arts district in Hamilton, Ontario. The eighth edition of the music and arts festival was held in September of 2016 and was, by all accounts, one of the most successful yet. Over the three-day festival, an estimated 200,000 people descended on downtown Hamilton. The…
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Engaging communities with participatory planning
It was 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in late June. Kids and parents trickled into the playground. There was a buzz outside Dr. Edgar Davey Elementary School in central Hamilton, Ontario. School was almost done and the excitement was palpable. The end of another school year wasn’t the only event happening that day. The…
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How Pedestrian and Transit-Oriented Environments Attract Creative Jobs
While it is understood that pedestrian friendly and transit-oriented environments are elements of good planning, they are also starting to be understood as good business. The broader municipal decision-making community is realizing the important connection between transit, walkability and economic development. The US-based Progressive Policy Institute’s comprehensive study of American urban centres, called the Metropolitan…
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To the Little Things
A snowman is just a snowman. Or is it? We passed this snowman over the weekend, happily standing on the median of a busy intersection. We don’t know who built it, but we do know it made us smile. Winter is a good time to stop and appreciate the little things that build a community.…
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Leveraging civic assets as economic development and renewal infrastructure
Some of the Civicplan team had the recent opportunity to visit beautiful downtown Cambridge, Ontario. The revitalization along the banks of the Grand River was impressive with many historic buildings being brought back to life including the home of the University of Waterloo Architecture School. The economic spin-off from the university campus is very evident…
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Capturing and measuring local character can help with future planning.
When you think about shopping local, you often think about different districts in your city. In Hamilton, Canada, locals think of places such as Concession Street, Locke Street or Downtown Dundas. Each of these distinct areas has a different character that influences how people describe them. Usually, it’s the mix of local businesses that help…
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Building a network for women-centred health care
The feasibility study into the creation of a Women’s Health Network in Hamilton was a partnership between the YWCA of Hamilton, the North Hamilton Community Health Centre (NHCHC), and Civicplan. The study was made possible with the support of a Women’s College Hospital, Women’s Xchange grant. It was conducted to identify community interest in a…
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Our natural environment is a big plus for the city to define itself as an attractive, healthy, and unique environment.
It surrounds us, but we take it for granted. Our natural environment is often overlooked when discussing our community but you could hardly find a city more strongly defined by nature than Hamilton. This is evident in the names we give to things: the Mountain, the Valley, the Bay. We qualify our street names using…
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Grid layout creates walkable, livable neighbourhoods
While outsiders may look around in bewilderment when Hamiltonians refer to “the Mountain,” we know exactly where it is. The area atop the Niagara Escarpment can’t be missed, with “Mountain Access” signs at all key roads. This striking geography will always be an important part of our identity as Hamiltonians. While it’s hard to miss,…
