Guelph Civic League works to improve quality of life in city

Martin deGroot / the Reocrd May 2, 2006

There was a call at the Waterloo Regional Arts Council office a couple of weeks ago from a volunteer working for the Guelph Civic League: Could we help spread the word about an event coming up that should be of interest to people who care about arts, culture and heritage as an integral element of their community ?

She went on to describe a half-day conference entitled that Amazing Possibilities: Leading Practices in City Building for the Future that will be held at the University of Guelph Friday from 12 to 4:30 pm.

Designed "for anyone interested in why our cities aren't working and how they can be fixed," it is an event that seems especially pertinent with the news of Jane Jacobs' passing last week. The conference is an opportunity to hear and discuss ideas presented by three well-known speakers who will all acknowledge that they have been profoundly influenced by the great urban thinker and activist who chose Toronto as her home.

The keynote speaker is author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, who is presented in the Amazing Possibilities promotional materials as "the Firebrand."

Kunstler is probably best-known for his 1993 book The Geography of Nowhere, a history of urban development in the U.S. that was written, as he puts it, "because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, McHousing subdivisions, megamalls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that make up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work."

The second speaker is Patrick Condon, who is introduced as "the Problem-Solver."

Condon, who is the director of Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia, has received international attention for his design strategies "for walkable and complete communities -- communities that work with, not against, the natural capabilities of the site, and doing so with the people involved -- the citizens and stakeholders of the area."

The third presenter is "the Practitioner:" Glen Murray, former mayor of Winnipeg, recent national chair of the Big Cities Mayors' Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and a leader in the Creative Cities movement.

Murray, who has been in this area several times in recent years, will touch on "how culture and prosperity go hand-in-hand in cities, and how Canadian cities can become more economically efficient without sacrificing the building of first-class cultural and lifestyle amenities."

The Guelph Civic League is a relatively new organization, formed in the wake of the last municipal election by people who had "concerns about the direction the city was going politically." It was decided that the best remedy would be the formation of a citizen-led umbrella organization "committed to protecting our city's quality of life by keeping citizens informed, and encouraging active participation in local democracy."

Last year the league committed itself to the task of increasing voter turnout in Guelph in this year's municipal election to over 50 per cent from the 36 per cent turnout in 2003.

The league's goals include excellence in government, better city planning, smart industrial development, less red tape for local businesses and a cleaner environment. And though there is no mention of the arts specifically among the key goals and values, there has been a strong emphasis on heritage preservation and the role that a vital arts and culture scene can play in building a city that is "inviting and identifiable, distinctive and diverse or prosperous and progressive" is implicit if not explicit.

Although there is nothing quite like this that I know of in Waterloo Region, the Guelph Civic League acknowledges precedents set by the Urban League of London, which has been active in the Forest City since 1969, and a more recently formed Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods that represents community associations in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, and now Guelph.

What generally appears to be missing in these kinds of endeavours, as well as in comparable Waterloo Region initiatives such as the K-W Good Neighbours Council, is a full recognition of arts, culture and heritage work as significant forms of civic engagement in its own right, for its own intrinsic purposes.

The Amazing Possibilities conference promises to be an instructive and stimulating afternoon. Registration rates are $60 for professionals, and $30 for non-profit staff and individuals. If reservations have met capacity (word has it that advance tickets having been selling very fast), latecomers will be put on a waiting list and contacted if places become available.

For more information, including details about how to register, visit www.guelphcivicleague.ca, or call 1-519-780-5030.

Martin DeGroot is executive director of the Waterloo Regional Arts Council. He comments on arts and culture Tuesdays in The Record. You can reach him by e-mail at: mdg@golden.net