Why citizen engagement is important for the future of transportation in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Citizen engagement is a process where individuals can participate and delegate public actions and decisions. It integrates the public and allows communities to have a role in policy making. Engagement of citizens is particularly important in regards to aspects of the municipality such as transportation within the Halifax Regional Municipality, HRM. This system directly affects the daily lives of the individuals who live here, so it is important that they can voice their opinions to get what they want out of this system. When discussing the topic of sustainable transportation for the HRM it is vital that included in the decisions of this …show more content…
Lately, there is a decrease in the trust of governments and their decisions and it is time to change this back. As Jane Jacobs writes in her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” Her argument being, that citizens who are engaged in activities contribute to cities vitality and without vitality, a city loses its sense of place and priorities. In terms of transportation it is time for citizens to set and get the priorities of local transit and transportation issues back into the public’s interest. Regardless of the mode of mobility, local transportation is built to be used and utilized by the general public and not detested and neglected. If people of Halifax want more bike lanes for a faster commute, or bus only lanes on the roads it is up to local governments to listen to these requests. Society plays an important role in political processes and it is time to re-demonstrate that role. As citizens we have to take the time to learn how our government functions, just as governments also have a responsibility to their citizens to allow for this …show more content…
In Speth’s book, The Bridge at the Edge of the World he quotes Benjamin Barber who said “Political consciousness begins in the neighborhood”. This is the idea of bottom up approach, starting at a small scale and through continuous involvement creates a significant impact at the top. By starting with small groups sharing values we share a sense of place. There are many types of communities; geographical, functional, communities of interest, but all concern an individual and collective wellbeing (Klein, 2014). It is this concern that will set the stage for the best transportation option for Halifax. Choosing to participate and being engaged as a community will allow for the exchange of knowledge and create resilience. As Paulo Freire emphasizes in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2000), each person is included in the vision of creating a new and better society. This is the type of idea that will allow for public participation and community collaboration to collectively come together and show and fight for what is best for the health of the communities that make up this city. A healthy community is a happy community and in terms of transportation this must be
He shows that he is contemplative by letting us know that thought long and hard about this topic and that he has done his research prior to writing this article. The assertive tone is brought into this paper when we realize that Clark shows the readers his confidence on his stance throughout the article. He makes certain that the readers know his authority and that he will not back down on his belief that the L. A’s bike-share system is
Some would say that it presents as an absence of commitment to the influence of citizen’s although it becomes difficult to conceptualize the engagement of citizens as the basis for new or changing policy. Is the average citizen equipped with the knowledge to assess any and all governmental issues equally? Is personal opinion, without grounded bearings of evidence, enough? Can contingencies be placed upon the desire to strengthen citizen participation in public policy-making? The questions are endless, and even yet the Woodford and Preston note “statutory requirements for citizens input ‘would not necessarily mean that citizen engagement is accessible and done particularly well’” (356). The inclusion and weight of citizen input is necessary, although to what degree remains un-established.
under funded public transit and urban sprawl contribute to the need to take on this burden?
These include encouraging commuters to use public transport, decongesting public transport, decentralizing businesses from the Greater Toronto Area, investing in transport infrastructure, passing relevant transport legislation and dialog with stakeholders in transport industry. These solutions aim at discouraging the use of private vehicles and increasing the effectiveness of public transport to increase the capacity and speeds needed to reduce congestion in Toronto. However, it is important to involve all relevant stakeholders when developing solutions to the transport congestion since as earlier discussed, these people may offer very effective solutions to this problem since they are the major road users. The general public will also be keen to follow changes made to improve the transport sector if it is involved in the change process. This will ensure that Toronto has one of the best transport systems not only in North America but across the
To have a meaningful, creative and productive society you have to be able to get people from their place of living to their place of employment. Health and wellbeing is dependent largely on your social aspects. If you work and live close to home, you’ll have more time at home, for both family and community. To achieve this you need a very efficient transport system,” says Mr Roth Fowler, Deputy Mayor of Penrith and spokesperson for the ‘Fund our Future’ campaign. To respond to rapid urban growth the campaign and NGAA stress a notion of ‘future-proofing’ our transport access for future generations.
Citizen involvement: A practical guide for change. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan. Beresford, P., 8! Harding, T. (Eds.). (1993).
New Urbanism also recommends centralized ‘main street’ with narrower streets where pedestrian mobility is prioritized and public transit is encouraged. The Charter of New Urbanism hopes to encourages social diversity – meaning within these neighbourhoods, a variety of housing types can be found thus bringing people of diverse ages, races and incomes into daily interaction (#13). New Urbanists aim to control social environment by acknowledging that physical solutions alone will not resolve social and economic issues – but also realizes that socio-economic stability and environmental sustainability cannot be maintained without a supported and integrated physical framework and could be improved through graphic urban design codes (#17). As stated in the Charter, New Urbanism strives to achieve a sustainable, economically and socially diverse and walkable region through design. It is a direct response to the principles of Charter of Athens where market and policy sustained resulted in an unsustainable and economically and racially segregated communities.
We live in a more globalized and interconnected world through the use of technology yet, we are often disconnected from the policy decisions that impact our lives. Since governments do not have the resources or capacity to address all of the economic, political and social gaps that exist, it is crucial private citizens engage in the betterment of our societies. Civic engagement is one way citizens can help shape the collective future of their community albeit on a local or global scale. Civic participation covers a wide array of activities in which citizens participate in the formal and informal political processes that address community needs and seek to improve the quality of life for individuals, groups and entire communities. There are three main themes of civic engagement.
Drew up from the research, they added that the policy maker should consider 1. “Policies addressing the acknowledgment of the value of diversity and contrasting negative aspects of inequality could restore trust in institutions and increase democratic participation” (Barberis & Angelucci, 2015). 2. Soft-control actions rather than strict law and regulation, 3. Urban environment upgrading including cycling lanes, pedestrian paths, repaving roads, improving street furniture and provide the neighborhood with sports complexes and 4.
To achieve civic engagement is undertaken in many diverse ways. These are determined by several factors, amongst them the purpose of the civic engagement, the people involved in it, the funds to be involved amongst others. The...
Although Vision 2020 did help our community, there were still many spots left for improvement which is why in 2015-2016, residents were asked questions again to create our current shared community vision, “Our Future Hamilton Community Vision”. Our Future Hamilton is the largest, broadest, and most inclusive public engagement initiative ever organized by the City of Hamilton. In other words, residents can fully express their thoughts and with an increasing number, approximately 55 000 residents have already done so. There are many ways for the residents of Hamilton to be actively involved and informed for the Our Future Hamilton Community Vision; online at the Our Future Hamilton website, vision cards, community events such as festivals, broad and inclusive participation, online surveys, project presentations, engagement in a bag, and open houses.
Repairing damaged roadways or improving current city streets, while important, should not be made a priority over the citizens that are unable to travel by automobile. These citizens, which make up a large portion of the population, which has been estimated to be up to 37% in some states, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities (U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 2010). Not providing these groups with a mode of transportation to get to nearby schools, businesses, or other locations diminishes the ability to serve the community as a whole. As long as the city makes public its intentions, the surrounding citizens should get behind it. If this were not to happen then it is possible that taxpayer funds could be wasted.
Both of the two auto vehicles are brought into the human industry as the use of benefit students’ lives become more convenient traveler. In commons, the two automobile created opportunities jobs in the economic companies’ nation. Plus, several students did not noticed that both cars and public transportation have one major similar concept where two of the transit vehicle produce environmental pollution, traffic congestion, and oil consumption problems. Encounter, the public transportation and cars can cause a huge impact to the environmental which it can lead human health problems. Mostly, both of the automobile still release noxious gases into the air, and over time the built up can change the environment global warming to like an unhealthy
Most people take the urban public transportation system for granted. It is used in every aspect of our daily lives: work, education, medical necessities, recreation, etc. It is also important for the transportation of goods and services, which aids the growth and maintenance of our economy. Urban public transportation is the critical component of our quality of life and economic stability. The MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is Boston and Eastern Massachusetts’s major transportation service. The MBTA has played a central role in the development of Boston and surrounding cities and towns for more than a century; providing service from 175 cities and towns into Boston. On an average weekday over 1.2 million trips are made on the subway, buses, commuter lines and other services in the mass transit system. With an international airport, a ship port, the highways, and the rail lines to connect regional cities and towns to national and international destinations and markets, Boston’s urban public transportation system has made the region’s growing role in the global economy possible.
Community engagement is the active participation of local residents and community groups in the decisions that affect their lives (Herefordshire Council, 2013). Therefore, community engagement should be about engaging in open communication to ensure the council understands the needs of the local community.