What would major Canadian cities be without their parks, bike paths, recreation areas, plazas and other publicly owned spaces? These urban spaces and places are the ‘hubs’ around which communities organize. They provide a sense of identity, belonging and inclusion, which can improve physical and mental health, social cohesion and creative expression. Urban public spaces increase quality of life, which attracts a diverse array of skilled human capital to major Canadian cities. As such, the successful development of urban places and spaces is key to the continued development and expansion of strong communities and globally competitive Canadian cities.
Canadian municipalities today face tight budgets. As municipalities battle to allocate scarce resources to an ever increasing diversity of infrastructure projects, attention to urban spaces and places often takes a backseat to more intensive infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, water and sewers.
In response to increased municipal financial constraints numerous stakeholders, including the governments, citizen groups, individuals, NGO’s and private sector partners, are developing new and innovative finance mechanisms to fund urban spaces and places, including: Crowdfunding, community bonds, municipal bonds and hybrid instruments. Innovative finance tools have the potential to provide greater funding for urban public space development; however, more research and understanding on these tools in needed to guide policy action and stakeholder engagement in all orders of government.
Our report addresses the issues above by presenting information on these innovative finance tools, stakeholder engagement, and the policy framework needed at the municipal level. We provide concrete examples for specific policies at the municipal, provincial and federal level that could support the adoption and use of these innovative finance tools