Reflection on the Course

When I started this course, I barely had any knowledge on urban policy. The past eight weeks have not only encouraged me to look at public policy with an urban lens, but also equipped me with important knowledge and information on municipalities as non-traditional forms of government, cooperation between cities and their regional, provincial and federal counterparts, and the role of the civil society in service delivery and shaping policy.

While I enjoyed the academic portion of the course, I really appreciated the opportunity to connect with alumni and get their perspective on issues that we discussed in class. The trip to City Hall was one of the most memorable moments from this course. Not only was I able to get valuable advice from Munk alumni but also get a feeling what it would be like to work at City Hall. Class material and real-life conversations enhanced my understanding of the subject matter and inspired me to look into a career that I had not previously considered.

Another highlight from the course was working with my team on the Maytree project. My group explored whether the City should bid to become the SSM for employment services from a data and digitization perspective. During my internship, one of the files that I worked on was launching a Portal, which would serve anti-money laundering professionals at all levels of government build expertise and share knowledge. While I participated in conversations surrounding privacy concerns and developed an understanding of the user and provider perspectives when it comes digital delivery, I found that such perspectives, implementation, and cost considerations largely change when working in a different policy area.

Through the final project, we worked on a real-life, challenging and important policy issue, which allowed me to explore an area that was unfamiliar to me and reflect on the differences between policies I work on through my job and these social services. Working on this topic has helped me understand the great impact that urban policy and services delivered at the local level have on the lives on individuals, especially those living in the most vulnerable conditions.