A New Agenda for Local Democracy: Building Just, Inclusive, and Participatory Cities

Brittany Andrew-Amofah, Alexandra Flynn and Patricia Wood
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Patricia Wood: University of Toronto

No 60, IMFG Papers from University of Toronto, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance

Abstract: There is a crisis of growing inequality in Canadian cities. As COVID-19 spread through Canadian cities beginning in spring 2020, racial inequities became apparent, including biased enforcement of bylaws and higher coronavirus rates amongst racialized and vulnerable communities. These health care injustices exposed municipal decisions that have led to negative outcomes for marginalized groups, especially in policing, community safety, housing, homelessness, and bylaw enforcement. In response, cities have been called upon – again – to change their governance models to allow for greater participation and better include the voices and lived realities of racialized and marginalized people in decision-making processes. In a post-pandemic period of city building, where socio-economic and racial inequalities have been exposed, municipalities must incorporate social equity and explicit race-based lenses in their decision-making and reimagine their governance practices. This paper sets out the ways in which municipal governance frameworks have worked to exacerbate inequality, with suggestions on how cities can design more democratic and responsible models. These include greater engagement with equity-deserving communities and community bodies, modifications to existing governance models, and legislative changes.

Keywords: municipal governance; inequality; justice; inclusion; public consultation; local democracy; public participation; citizen engagement; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 D73 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2022-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/ ... lusivegovernance.pdf First version, 2022

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