When is a good time to invest in our future?
Also available on the Calgary Herald’s Q.
Several years ago Rick Bell wrote one of my favourite lines about Calgary. He called it, “the city planning forgot.” At the time, I whole-heartedly agreed. It was the mid-90s and it seemed the city was pulling itself apart after a period of growth that all areas of civic infrastructure had not kept up with. In short, Calgary was not prepared for the kind of city it was becoming.
I am very impressed with recent Councils determination to not see this happen again. Even the average citizen can see that planning is a priority for the Mayor and Alderman. And everyone will agree Calgary will be better because of that foresight.
As someone who works in the creative industries, I was especially impressed with the creation of a Civic Arts Policy because, at the time, this kind of advanced planning by our Council almost seemed foreign to me. After extensive surveys, focus groups and reviews of best practices Council set forth determined to invest in “creat[ing] a city where people want to live and do business … by establishing a community enriched by artistic, recreational and cultural choices”. A noble cause, and yet one with its expectations planted firmly in reality. They knew this would not happen overnight and that it would require continued vision and creativity to make this goal come to life.
There is no good time to invest money – especially with all the competing interests City Council deals with on a regular basis. During the recent “boom” arts and culture funding increases found it hard to come to realization because of the high cost of everything else Council was trying to build. That investment would have to wait. And now that the economy has slowed, the citizens of Calgary hear from some that we need to tighten our belts and arts and culture funding might need to be a casualty of that. It is a no-win situation. When is the right time to focus on the noble goals of the Civic Arts Policy?
Here are some interesting numbers that show the “uncultured” stereotypes about Calgary are not true:
- Calgarians more per capita on art works and events than any of Canada’s major metropolitan centres.
- Maclean’s magazine recently published a scientific study proving Calgary was Canada’s “most cultured city”.
- 13.5% of Calgarians work in the cultural industries.
- At $29.43 dollars leveraged from other sources for every City dollar invested, Calgary’s arts organizations achieve the highest leverage of funds from other sources on the City’s municipal investment ($19.86 Winnipeg leverage, $17.53 Edmonton leverage, $15.00 Toronto leverage; and $12.78 Vancouver leverage).
- Albertans spent 75% more on live performing arts ($140 million) than on live sports events ($81 million in 2005. In addition, nearly twice as many Alberta households spent at least some money on live performing arts (43% of households) than on live sports events (23%) in 2005.
Given these numbers ranking us so high on the cultural front, I think it is fair to say Calgary should not rank last on a list of benchmark cities’ investment in the culture per capita.
To create the kind of city we all want to live in we need not only planning but commitment to achieve the goals we have set out for ourselves. That includes reducing EMS wait times, improving traffic flow, increasing LRT ridership, and “establishing a community enriched by artistic, recreational and cultural choices.”
We need to be prepared for the kind of city we are becoming. And there will never be a better time to invest in our future than right now.
Did Bronco suddenly go insane while I was tying my shoes?
I guess I blinked or something because $1.3 billion was just spent by the City of Calgary in one day. And at the very first council meeting! And with four alderman who have only had their jobs for three weeks!
Well, it seems that while I was in the bathroom Bronconnier quickly fulfilled the lion’s share of his campaign promises. Wowie-zowie, talk about fast. All I knew was that he wanted to extend the LRT to the west and build three new recreation centres. Well, that’s about as much as the alderman know too apparently. Even after the pile of money was carted off to Calgary Transit in wheelbarrows that’s still about as much as anyone seems to know.
I can’t help but think we’re a little short on the details here. How does something that just three weeks ago that was merely a campaign promise turn into sound legislation so quickly? (Hell, the federal Liberals promised to scrap the GST in 1993 before being voted in and we’re still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled.)
Should that large an amount of money be spent with so little public input? Where will the rec centres go exactly? Seriously, shouldn’t we actually at least talk about the possibility of the West LRT going to Mount Royal and the Currie Barracks (with their soon to be ridiculously – by Calgary standards – high density)? I didn’t even have enough time to walk to city hall let alone talk to my alderman about the options before the mayor signed a giant novelty cheque.
Maybe its just me, but I’m starting to think Bronconnier might be certifiably insane. And the aldermen are just frightened schoolgirls when he ‘gets that crazy look in his eyes’. I like Bronco, don’t get me wrong. I think a little bit of crazy is a good thing. But it seems like very little due diligence was done here. And for something Bronco himself calls “a tipping point in city history” none-the-less. I have to agree with Naheed Nenshi on this one: WTF Mr. Mayor?
PS – Can anybody tell me if there is enough money left over in this infrastructure funding to fix the pothole in the alley out back of my place? If you pay for the dirt and can lend me a shovel I’m happy to do it myself. No? No more money? Okay, umm… thanks anyway.
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