What do you value about your city?
What is it like for you to live here?
What changes would you most like to see?
What are your hopes and dreams for your city?
How could you help make this happen?
These are some of the questions that could be asked when a city is undergoing a strategic planning process. Cities are having to reinvent themselves in the face of climate change, environmental pollution, changing demographics, political and social unrest.
Here’s an example resulting from the strategic planning of Mississauga, Ontario. The city and its residents committed to these five pillars of change, to build a better, more inclusive community:
MOVE: Developing a transit oriented, pedestrian-friendly city.
BELONG: Developing a sense of belonging for people of all ages, young, old, and new immigrants so that they can thrive.
CONNECT: Enhancing neighbourhoods so that they become complete communities within the larger community.
PROSPER: Building on the uniqueness of the city, encouraging and assisting creative and innovative businesses.
GREEN: Living in harmony with the natural environment.
I am excited to see the results of our own city’s vision and resulting strategic plan our community will have. Throughout Northern Ontario our goal as a collective community is to ‘Move, Belong, Connect, Prosper, and Green’.
