Reflecting on the Reflections on Urban Policy
Sometimes being on the later end of things has its advantages. Prior to settling in to write this final blog post for Urban Policy, I took some time to peruse the reflections posted by my more timely classmates. What I read was demonstrable proof in the old adage, “great minds think alike.”
The primary lesson our class seems to have learned during this course is that “all policy is urban policy.” Many commented that they are now looking at the cities they live in or grew up in new ways. Spending six weeks diving into urban policy from a variety of perspectives should make the ubiquity of urban policy clear to anyone. With such a huge proportion of Canadians dwelling in urban and suburban environments, how could any policy area separate itself entirely from urban life? It’s this realization that has resulted in me looking at the places Canadians live with an entirely new level of depth and interest.
Urban policy also seems to have buoyed our class with hope during an uncertain future. Despite challenges regarding contradictions in municipal financing and powers, and how their position as a “creature of the province” inhibits municipalities’ ability to adequately service their growing populations, I believe there is great reason to place hope in urban policy.
I agree with many of my classmates that there is great value in the local, ground-level dynamics that is apparent in urban policy. Being able to work closely with the community is a very appealing aspect of municipal work, and is probably the biggest takeaway I got from our networking sessions with MPP alumni. The local nature of urban policy provides more opportunity for meaningful decisions to be informed by direct involvement of the citizens impacted by those policies. I’m quite sold on a role that allows me to work closely with citizens of the city I live in to best serve their needs and address their concerns. Closer connection to the public seems to bring hope to many of us, and it is a big part of the reason for my interest in urban policy. Democracy only truly functions if citizens are able to consistently and meaningfully impact the decisions of those in power, not just once in a while through the ballot box. Building the kinds of connections that facilitates that level of democracy seems to be easier at the municipal level.
I very much appreciate the opportunity to take this course and further expand my interest into urban policy — thank goodness I moved up the waitlist. Being able to speak with alumni working in the field was an amazing opportunity to become more comfortable with professional networking while realizing municipal work could be very interesting. Despite studying international relations in undergrad, Urban Policy has been very illuminating. The course fuelled a growing personal interest in dealing with local issues rather than complex global ones. There is a frustrating inertia of policy in the world of international relations work that disenchanted me from working in that field even while I was still completing my bachelor’s. By contrast, urban policy seems to be filled with opportunities for creative policymaking and problem solving. I hope to try my hand at some creative urban policy work soon and continue to grow my understanding of the complexities of urban policy through hands on work for the foreseeable future.
