Glenn Miller, VP of Education and Research at the CUI, attended the annual OPPI symposium to find out what's changed in the profession over the last 25 years. He reports back from Ottawa that the scope of planning has expanded beyond recognition. Download the PDF of the ReNew Canada article for the full story.

For those who develop brownfields sites – where the soil and water are contaminated by former industrial and commercial uses – provincial incentives, municipal planning enhancements, and trends toward urban intensification are making the redevelopment of such sites pay off.  Among winners of the CUI Brownie Awards, sponsored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, were leaders in sustainable remediation technologies and project development at the neighbourhood scale.

The Canadian Urban Institute's Jeff Evenson is interviewed in this TV clip from CKWS Television in Kingston about the City's new cultural master plan.

The CUI has developed Kingston’s first culture master plan. The new plan makes the case for the important contribution that culture makes toward wealth creation and quality of life, and calls for a substantial increase in investment toward culture beginning in 2011 and for the next 4 years.

The May/June issue of the Ontario Planning Journal (OPJ) features a cover story by Daniel Nixey and Iain Myrans of the Canadian Urban Institute. "Hamilton Prepares for the New Economy, the Pan Am Games and More" presents the findings of  recent work carried out in Hamilton through a partnership between Infrastructure Ontairo, the City of Hamilton and the Institute.

The Canadian Urban Institute recently released a publication prepared for the City of Hamilton and Infrastructure Ontario titled Building Momentum: Made in Hamilton Infraststructure Solutions. The report provides a roadmap for infrastructure investments that will help to drive the regeneration of Hamilton's local economy. The report recieved substantial coverage in the local press:

• Hamilton Spectator, February 10, 2010
• Hamilton Spectator, February 11, 2010
• CHCH TV, February 11, 2010

Access the report online from our Publications Archive.

The Canadian Press interviewed Brent Gilmour, vice president, Urban Solutions, on Monday regarding a recent housing study conducted by Demographic International. The study examines 272 cities around the world and ranked Toronto and Vancouver among the most unaffordable - with Vancouver taking the top spot.

At the CUI we do not believe that housing costs alone are enough to evaluate the overall cost of living in cities. Dense communities, which often face higher land prices, typically also offer a range of other public amenities that can lower the overall cost of living. Public transportation can offset the energy costs and fixed costs of owning an automobile, for example. Density also affords the use of technologies like district heating/cooling that can lower the overall energy costs of heating and cooling and reduce green house gas emissions.

Read the full article from the Canadian Press on CTV's website by clicking here.

The Canadian Urban Institute hosted an event on November 30 titled "Competitive Cities 10-years later". The event desctiption and a brief profile of Clare is provided below. See TVO's interview with Clare O'Neill regarding Competitive Cities:

About the CUI Event on November 30, 2009

In these tough economic times, competing for investment, talent and brainpower is a challenge faced by cities around the world. In the UK, former Prime Minister Tony Blair designated Manchester as one of two pilot projects to formally identify Manchester as a city region as a way to focus the area’s mission and channel investment and resources.

"Canadian Urban Institute honors work being done to rehabilitate derelict sites across Canada"

- Globe and Mail

The Tuesday November 24, 2009, issue of the Globe and Mail features an article about the CUI's Brownie Awards and annual brownfields conference held in Vancouver last month.