State of the City
Mayor Mandel presented his annual state of the city address to a packed house at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the the Shaw Conference Centre. The text of his remarks is posted here.
[UPDATE: video has been posted here.]
Some of the highlights from my point of view included:
The next generation puts a huge emphasis on the things a city offers outside of your day-job. They value entertainment, recreation, culture and sports. They want Edmonton to look and feel like a green and global city, and many of them know exactly what this means. They go to cities where you don’t have to own a car, and they wonder, why not here.
They know that downtown living can be family-friendly. They know that young families need space to play and be outside, and they find it in our river valley. They understand being eco-friendly means changing how we live.
They are not scared of this change, they are impatient for it.
They want to see Edmonton as a city that can grow upward instead of outward. They want to use transit, or bikes as much as a car.
…
The flavour of this is all about investing in the core, and that’s deliberate. Because as much as we have great neighbourhoods all across Edmonton, future growth will focus on transforming and adding density to the footprint we have today.
Because we can’t sustain our sprawl. We can’t.
We are already forecasting a population in our region of 1.7 million people by 2040 – that’s almost 70 per cent growth – can you see us taking-up 70 per cent more space in 30 years? If we’re forward thinking, we’ll make better use of the space we have.
The mayor’s focus on the long-term is appropriate and inspiring — and it’s very pleasing to see that he’s hearing our demographic loud and clear.
This focus on the future, and emphasis on our exceptional strengths as a city meshes superbly with the forthcoming Edmonton 2030 vision initiative and a soon-to-be unveiled campaign focusing on a genuine and earnest refresh of our city’s image.
He also dropped the gloves on the airport question with the following:
…the city centre airport and whether or not to change. It’s a fair question. It has to be asked. We will hear from those who value the status quo, and from those who think its time for these lands to play a different role. That’s the issue before us.
I’m not here today to prescribe change, but I do want to issue a challenge. When those who value the status quo come to Council to promote their views, don’t tell us why we should not change. Don’t deny we will need the infill room over 30 years, when we are talking about 1.7 million residents.
Please understand that environmental costs will have to be paid either way. Don’t tell us that your business status entitles you to special consideration, and that treating you like every other Edmontonian is somehow an affront.
Don’t scare people with health issues that are taken out of context by not looking at the whole time it takes to initiate and complete a medical transfer.
Don’t act like the 1995 decision was just a “maybe”.
Tell us about your vision. Tell us that you understand what kind of city Edmonton wants to be in 30 years, and how the status quo enhances and supports that vision. Explain where the future is going, and how the status quo enables it. Explain what you know better, what you see for the future and why we have to listen, and I know that we will.
And if you can’t do this, then maybe, just maybe, it’s time to let go of the past and move forward.
You could hear a pin drop as this was being said.
My only complaint about today is I think the mayor’s state of the city should be publicly accessible via streaming webcast. I hope this can be made possible for next year’s speech.
Wow! Mandel is awesome! He loves the environment too!! HOORAY!! Yes, build up and not out! He understands!! YES!!!!
don,
i think we can all agree with the vision but i will take some issue with your “it’s very pleasing to see that he’s hearing our demographic loud and clear”. the need for long-term planning and the desire for more appropriate and inspiring visions are not the sole domain of the “next generation”. some of us would like to think that “our generation” is still contributing something towards that vision and you can rest assured – and so should the mayor – that there are an awful lot of us out here that are not yet ready to be considered the “past generation”…
ken
What a load of bull. He cares for the environment the way I care for a paper cut. Notice the video of our “vision” of the future included development of our river valley…
Also, to include such things as a downtown arena, having no decision being made yet, in a presentation that shows the “City’s” vision of the future is appalling.
The Mayor’s “address” to the city was more like campaign speech. I am very disappointed
Of course, Ken. I didn’t mean that the vision was the sole preserve of ‘my generation’ — far from it.
I was referring specifically to the elements of the Mayor’s speech concerning the things younger audiences are seeking in their cities — I could have been more specific. I do agree that bringing the vision about will be an intergenerational effort — and frankly the power and will is still concentrated in, shall we say, more mature hands, so I absolutely take your point.
You know, I wasn’t too happy about the images of development in the river valley either. The city did not suggest that. I’m not sure which partner in the project took that creative license. I asked about the wisdom of including it but was assured that it was not prescriptive vision, simply ‘blue sky’ conjecture to start debate.
Regardless, understand clearly that council has taken no steps whatsoever in the direction of allowing more residential development in the valley; also understand that that monumental planning and bylaw changes would be necessary to bring this about and there would be substantial public involvement and controversy (rivaling the airport process, I would think). I have heard no indication that anyone on Council is planning to bring this notion forward.
Jenn,
we already have development in the river valley and i’m not referring only to riverdale, rossdale and cloverdale. we have numerous golf courses. we have rainbow valley. we have the zoo (for better or worse). we have kinsmen field house. we have hundreds of kilometres of paved bike paths and paved parking and vehicular access for louise mckinney park and hawrelak park and fort edmonton and horses stables and the river queen… but if you’re not a biker or jogger or cross country skier, one of the largest urban parks in the world is virtually “off limits” to you. there’s nowhere to get an ice cream cone or a hot dog with your grandkids in the summer and there’s nowhere to take them to in the winter for a special occassion. there’s no place to rent and sail a remote controlled boat or buy and fly a box kite or sit and have a latte. it’s an urban park – not a wilderness reserve – but there’s better access to banff and jasper national parks than there is to edmonton’s river valley, never mind comparing it to boston common or central park or stanley park… it should never be “downtown” or “lewis estates” but it should be somewhere to go and somewhere to do things…