Based on my training and experience in social innovation, entrepreneurship, management leadership and mediation, I recognize the importance of practical strategies that are evidence-based. Check out the hyper-links throughout this web-site to follow up on my resources and references. Here are some of the key elements of my strategies for change.
I see my role on municipal council as very similar to a gardener: creating conditions for the City and citizens to thrive and expand their potential. At the heart of a great city is the relationship between the city and its citizens. It is up to City government to create conditions for citizens to love Cambridge; in other words, it is the responsibility of Municipal Council to facilitate opportunities for residents to engage, participate and become citizen leaders. Community, social and economic development will flow from a central relationship of citizens to a city they love.
City Council has a responsibility to facilitate strong citizen leadership, participation and engagement by minimizing red tape and other barriers to communication. I have had the privilege of participating in citizen advisory committees for the Stronger Together initiative in November, 2018 and, most recently, on the Youth and Older Adults Sub-Committee for the Cambridge Wellness Advisory Council. These have been excellent initiatives for citizen engagement; they can be expanded and revised in order to maximize opportunities and impact by citizen consultation on City decisions. Citizen recommendations need to be fast-tracked and prioritized for improvement of grassroots democracy.
City of Cambridge municipal planning, policies and programs should ensure continuous improvement through calibration and alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The City of Cambridge declared a climate emergency in November, 2019. Further practical action is required. I want to see the City of Cambridge develop a Bioplan for restoration and protection of green spaces . The City can invite citizens, researchers and other stakeholders to a series of roundtables. Perhaps this will be part of a COVID Recovery Plan.
Planning needs to include principles of the circular economy in order to retain and recover value of resources by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products and materials. The circular economy has been explored at government of Canada web-sites and gained world-wide attention with the adoption in the Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025.
Sustainability is about people, the planet and of course, also requires financial management. Too often, political discussion over-simplifies accounting by confusing expenditures with investment or ignoring hidden costs. True Cost Accounting is often discussed in reference to food production but can and should be applied to government budgets. We need to ensure that the City finances are sustainable and build resilience with respect to investment in infrastructure and people while ensuring fiscal responsibility.
Too often, situations are not recognized until there is a crisis; reacting to a crisis is often poorly planned, over-simplified and inefficient. A more effective response is upstream thinking, which is about exploring the cause of the problem and putting in place preventative measures, such as early childhood education, youth programs or age-friendly design features.
My strategy starts with citizens at the heart of the City of Cambridge for stronger engagement, consensus-building, evidence-based policies and upstream thinking. The Cambridge of tomorrow is all about resilience and sustainability in a City with a big heart.