Urban Regeneration and Economic Development in Ontario's City-Regions
Ian Bromley
Urban Economic Development Branch, Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation
TODAY’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS are taking steps to ensure that their urban regional centres are vigorous and dynamic.
Evidence shows that regional economic development depends on such factors as the ability to attract jobs and investment as well as skilled workers, many of whom are concerned about quality-of-life issues. Because of these factors, the attention paid to urban regeneration continues to grow.
Ontario’s large urban centres are responding with a range of revitalization initiatives that enable them to retain and enhance their place among the most competitive city regions in North America and beyond.
In Ontario, and indeed throughout North America, urban regeneration efforts are going beyond business attraction and marketing. They are now addressing many of the circumstances that can act as a barrier to a region’s full economic development potential.
Many creative ideas can be found in Ontario, within mature urban regions that pose particular and unique challenges. These include approaches that address the re-use of former industrial lands (“brownfields” redevelopment), investment tools, changes to the institutional frameworks that govern economic development organizations, extensive community “visioning” consultations, heritage preservation programs and more.
A range of tools, programs and strategies are being employed to facilitate and meet urban regional economic development goals. This paper highlights several exciting initiatives that are underway in Ontario’s urban centres, outlines best practices to help inform and further your community’s economic development goals, and provides links to essential resources to assist you in implementing and enhancing regeneration efforts in your own metropolitan area.
Ontario’s Downtown Regeneration Efforts
Led by economic developers and/or city planners, many of Ontario’s urban regions are approaching urban regeneration through a range of programs and strategies. Many recent initiatives focus on downtown revitalization often linked to broader growth and infrastructure strategies. Some examples:
- The City of Hamilton’s Environmental Remediation and Site Enhancement (ERASE) Community Improvement Plan; its downtown Enterprise Zone and Downtown Residential Loan programs and its Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy;
- The City of London’s support for the Main Street and the Downtown Business Association to renew the downtown core through initiatives such as the About Face historic restoration program, the new downtown mall and the Covent Garden market developments;
- The City of Kingston’s Downtown Action Plan, intended to unify the downtown public infrastructure through a comprehensive landscape and public space strategy;
- In Waterloo Region, the City of Kitchener’s recent Downtown Strategic Plan and Downtown Vision, focusing on the livability of the downtown core as a centre for the region;
- The City of Ottawa’s undertaking of the Ottawa 20/20 growth management strategy;
- The City of Brampton’s proposal for a new Downtown Economic Development Corporation;
- The City of Toronto’s waterfront redevelopment initiatives; and
- The City of Windsor’s City Centre Revitalization program.
At the provincial level, the Urban Economic Development Branch (UED) of the Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation (MEOI) works to build stronger regional economies in southern Ontario’s large metropolitan areas, including Hamilton, London, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Niagara, Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area and Windsor. The October 2002 UED Roundtable provided a timely forum to share information on urban regeneration among economic development professionals from many of these regions.
The provincial role in urban regeneration and economic development is also being realized through brownfields and Smart Growth initiatives. First, the Brownfields Showcase program of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) is available to all Ontario municipalities. Its purpose is to assist municipalities in identifying a range of potential financing and approvals tools that support planning and redevelopment activities, and to highlight the benefits that can be achieved when brownfield sites are redeveloped. The Ontario government is also implementing the Brownfields Statute Law Amendment Act (Royal Assent November 2, 2001), designed to encourage the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield lands by clarifying environmental liability and providing municipalities with more flexibility in planning and financing.
The Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation is also working with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and other ministries on the Ontario Smart Growth initiative, intended to promote and manage future growth. One goal - improving competitiveness and opportunity - aims to help Ontario communities reach their economic potential by building on their local strengths, facilitating decisions on issues that cross community boundaries and promoting investments consistent with the Smart Growth vision. Other goals related to improving infrastructure and transportation choices, the environment and building “livable communities” will also have an impact on the revitalization of Ontario’s urban regions.
On January 1, 2003 the new Ontario Municipal Act took effect, bringing potential new opportunities for urban regeneration. Of particular relevance is consideration of provisions to allow municipalities to establish corporations that utilize and focus on innovative ways to promote economic development. MEOI and MMAH have been consulting with municipalities that may be interested in establishing development corporations.
The Ontario government is also studying the role that tax incentive zones can play in economic development and is proceeding with establishing a number of tax incentive pilot projects.
Best Practices
How are some of Ontario’s urban regions undertaking urban regeneration?
Among the most unique, active and studied approaches is the City of Hamilton’s ERASE (Environmental Remediation and Soil Enhancement) program, designed to clean up the brownfield sites of its older industrial areas and replace them with productive economic land uses. Within a 3,400-acre Community Improvement Area, the city is meeting economic development and environmental goals by implementing a comprehensive set of financial incentives including redevelopment grants, environmental study grants, and a planning and development fees program. The results to date are remarkable - a residence for senior citizens, waterfront housing, parks and trails - that now contribute to an expanded tax base and a revitalized downtown.
There are several keys to the success of the Hamilton program:
- Focus on partnerships: facilitation, co-ordination and advocacy among diverse public and private-sector partners was led by economic development department.
- Ease of implementation: the city provides a single point of contact.
- Government participation: securing funding and having the city play an active role, with provincial co-operation are important.
- Look long-term: Hamilton has focused on the long-term benefits while undertaking often complicated steps in the present.
- Community focus: the city defined what would work within the Hamilton community and set goals accordingly.
Another unique approach to downtown revitalization is underway in the City of Brampton where the economic development office is proposing a structural change to create a Downtown Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) which would have as one of its key objects the economic development, growth and revitalization of Brampton’s downtown core. This arm’s-length agency of the City of Brampton would report and be directly accountable to municipal council but would have a lead role in formulating downtown-related policy proposals and making development-related recommendations to council. Advice for those considering similar approaches:
- determine the focus of the corporation: industrial/commercial, functional?
- determine your own community needs. In some cases a business improvement association (BIA) model may suffice.
- identify the need for the corporation to have specific economic development functions supported by this new organizational framework.
- clarify goals to ensure the new corporation has a clear purpose.
- consider the “public interest” and ensure a governance structure that ensures accountability to the public.
Next Steps
The economic development benefits of downtown revitalization can include an increased population living and working in the core, an expanded tax base, more tourism, beautification and stronger partnerships among all the key players in an urban centre.
While the Hamilton and Brampton urban regeneration initiatives highlighted here are unique and locally driven, other urban centres can learn and benefit from these and other Ontario examples. The Hamilton and Brampton examples emphasize the importance of determining local needs and strengths and working with them. This could involve research on projected regional trends as well as knowing what programs and resources are available.
Another important consideration is to seek out creative ways of collaborating and co-operating with all those involved in urban regeneration - in particular, the local business community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Bromley was hired in 1998 as Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Urban Economic Development, Ministry of Economic Development & Trade to lead a new start up initiative at the Ministry aimed at strengthening Ontario’s largest urban regional economies. For two years (1999-2000) he served concurrently as Ontario’s Director of Economic Development Strategy, and in 2000, UED became a permanent Branch within the Ministry with Ian Bromley as its first Director.
Prior to joining the provincial government, Mr. Bromley was Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto where he was responsible for all external and internal communication matters, reporting to the Chief Administration Officer of Canada’s largest municipal government. For eight years, he was also an economic development official with the Metro government, which he joined after two years with the Canada Consulting Group/Boston Consulting Group of Canada.
This article is based on an issue paper resulting from the October 2002 UED Roundtable. These roundtables are a quarterly discussion forum organized by the Government of Ontario that enables senior Ontario economic development stakeholders from the eight largest urban centers in Ontario to meet and discuss current issues and share experiences.