Martin Prosperity Institute

Experts from U of T and around the world to share ideas on building innovation clusters

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:23:47 +0000

Experts from U of T and around the world to share ideas on building innovation clusters

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 10/15/2018 - 13:23

Cutline

The Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, housed at U of T's Rotman School of Management, is hosting a global conference focused on innovation clusters in Toronto this week (photo by Syed Ahmed via Unsplash)

Chris Sorensen

Topic

Global Lens

Artificial Intelligence

Cities

Diversity

Global

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Martin Prosperity Institute

Rotman School of Management

Experts from around the world will be in Toronto this week to share ideas on building – and sustaining – economy-boosting clusters of businesses, universities and government agencies.

The annual TCI Network Global Conference kicks off tomorrow and includes a keynote address from the University of Toronto’s Roger Martin, the academic director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and a former dean of the Rotman School of Management.

Other attendees at the three-day conference, hosted by the Rotman-housed Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP) think-tank, include Mercedes Delgado, the director of MIT’s Lab for Innovation Science and Policy, and Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development.

“Our goal is to let the world know what Canada is up to, and to learn from best practices around the globe,” said Jamison Steeve, ICP's executive director.

The institute is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank originally established and led by Martin in 2001, when it formed the research arm of a provincial task force on competitiveness, productivity and economic progress. It’s now advised by Ontario’s Panel for Economic Growth & Prosperity, which is led by current Rotman Dean Tiff Macklem.

The conference is expected to draw attendees from 37 countries and comes at an opportune time for Toronto – and Canada. Earlier this year, the federal government unveiled its $950 -million supercluster initiative. The effort is designed to establish the country as a global leader in key economic sectors by promoting regional groupings of large corporations, innovative startups, research-intensive universities and growth-minded government agencies.

U of T's research is helping drive two of Canada’s five superclusters – one focused on artificial intelligence, based in Quebec, and another focused on advanced manufacturing, based in Ontario. On Wednesday, U of T President Meric Gertler will introduce a panel discussion that includes supercluster representatives and European experts.

Steeve said the topics tackled at this week’s conference will include how to measure the success of cluster initiatives by looking at everything from job growth to the creation of valuable new intellectual property.

“Everyone always talks about the rhetoric of building an innovative economy, but we’re going to try to get at what does that actually look like,” Steeve said.

Also on the agenda are discussions about diversity.

“One of the criticisms that’s come up against clusters like Silicon Valley is that it’s mostly male and predominantly white,” said Steeve. “So what can we do so that isn’t the case – especially when you live in a country where one of your key advantages is multiculturalism?”

Steeve said Ontario has made strides in developing clusters in recent years, noting the emergence of Toronto as a key hub for AI development – supported by U of T, the Vector Institute, MaRS and the Creative Destruction Lab – and health innovation.

However, he cautioned there’s still much work to be done.

“We haven’t quite hit the size and scale that we’re hoping for yet,” he said. “Part of the purpose of this conference, and the federal supercluster initiative, is to kick things up another level so we get the increased wages, increased economic growth and the increased number of companies that [are launched] as a result.”

‘Our goal is to hit some home runs’: School of Cities’ interim director encourages U of T city builders to dream big

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 15:15:11 +0000

‘Our goal is to hit some home runs’: School of Cities’ interim director encourages U of T city builders to dream big

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 07/03/2018 - 11:15

Cutline

Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor of geography and planning, is the interim director of U of T's new School of Cities (photo by Romi Levine)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Martin Prosperity Institute

Research & Innovation

Rotman School of Management

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

University of Toronto’s School of Cities has just announced its senior leadership team, tasked with shaping the newly-created school’s urban-focused research, educational and outreach initiatives.

The team will be led by Interim Director Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor of geography and planning in U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science.

“I'm really excited to be taking this on,” says Siemiatycki. “I think it's a huge opportunity for the university to develop an organization that brings together all of our urban work across the many faculties.

“I think it's a chance to do something that's special and long-lasting that will have a big impact for this city and cities around the world.”

Siemiatycki’s team of associate directors will focus on different aspects of the School of Cities’ mandate. They are:

• Shauna Brail, associate director, partnerships and outreach. She is also the director of U of T’s urban studies program and an associate professor, teaching stream.

• Mark Fox, associate director, research. Fox is a distinguished professor of urban systems engineering and a professor of industrial engineering and computer science.

• Marieme Lo, associate director, education. She is also the director of African studies and an associate professor of women and gender studies.

The School of Cities has also named University Professor Richard Florida as a distinguished scholar in residence. Florida is also the director of cities at the Rotman School of Management's Martin Prosperity Institute.

U of T News spoke with Siemiatycki about his new appointment and the School of Cities’ plan to connect urban-focused scholars and industry partners to address the most pressing urban challenges faced by cities around the world.

What's your vision for the school?

The school is something that is going to bring together our research, our teaching and our engagement activities at the university to amplify the work that is already happening and give us a vehicle to bring it out to an even wider audience – to deepen our connections out into the communities and to do research that is across disciplines and really brings together people and ideas that may not have intersected. There was a long consultation process and a lot of community building around what this should be.

The School of Cities will focus on three pillars – research, education and partnerships and outreach. How will its leadership help to facilitate those activities?

For each of those pillars, we have an associate director who is going to be bringing together colleagues, students and external stakeholders to help drive the activities of those pillars.

For research, we have Mark Fox, who is a distinguished professor. He is going to be bringing forward this idea of how to do interdisciplinary research to tackle the grand challenges that society faces.

Marieme Lo is leading the education pillar. This is going to be a place where we augment the student experience, bringing together different disciplines in order to enable them to learn in ways that add to the programs they're already in.

Shauna Brail will be the associate director of partnerships and outreach. There's a whole host of stakeholders that the university wants to engage with and, as urbanists, we want our work to support and provide insight so people can make better decisions and understand the world around them, and inform how we create a more thriving and just society.

We also have a distinguished scholar – Richard Florida – who brings this excitement and exuberance about cities. He has done some really phenomenal work in identifying how cities thrive and what makes them successful.

As a new U of T institution, how will School of Cities approach urban issues differently?

In terms of people's imagination and creativity, we're going to try and remove as many barriers as possible and allow people to dream – the sky is the limit. We're going to give them support. We're going to say 'how can the school facilitate your success?' It has that incubation function where they bring their ideas and we support them.

Many of these things are hard. When you're doing something new there are often barriers, often there's learning. The school is going to provide that support, networks and the guidance that can help some of these ideas really thrive. Our goal is to hit some home runs – to see things get launched that come from our communities.

How will the School of Cities help us to better understand Toronto?

Toronto has been experiencing a sense of urban growth and dynamism and change over the last two decades that has made it one of the great cities in the world. It has grown phenomenally, it is phenomenally diverse and it is grappling with many of the challenges other cities are facing around affordability, income inequality, race and inclusion. The strategies that are being applied here are worthy of study and are providing insights into how we can address these issues. We also have a lot to learn.

Part of what the School of Cities does is creates this vehicle for a university to be at the core of how you understand how cities are changing, and how you develop policies and programs and entrepreneurship that allows cities to thrive. It's a mutual learning – we hope to share our insight with the city and we hope we can learn from the city to inform our research and teaching.

The School of Cities has a downtown component, but it is also rooted at U of T Scarborough and U of T Mississauga. Having that tri-campus base is very significant because it allows us to build deep and enduring connections in communities with very different compositions.

What is the School of Cities’ role in providing a global urban perspective?

The school is based at the University of Toronto but we see our goal as understanding cities globally. We see it as an opportunity to learn about cities and gain insights from around the world, and to be a convener of conversations about what's working in cities across North America and internationally. We also see opportunities to do research, education and engagement at a truly global scale.

What kind of opportunities for collaboration will the School of Cities offer students, faculty and industry partners beyond their own disciplines?

If you think of how a project like a new transit line gets designed – it will have urban planners, architects, engineers, people doing financial modelling, accounting and oftentimes there's a public art component. There's such a broad diversity of perspectives that are coming together. We need to create these vehicles that teach students and provide opportunities for research that recognize this multidisciplinary perspective, which is how cities are being built.

There is no prosperity without inclusivity, urban scholars say at first event of U of T's School of Cities

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 16 May 2018 04:00:00 +0000

There is no prosperity without inclusivity, urban scholars say at first event of U of T's School of Cities

geoff.vendeville Wed, 05/16/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

“You have the idea that Toronto's star is rising, but you don't know how an outsider sees it,” said Shauna Brail, after giving a tour to San Jose, Calif.'s Kim Walesh (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Martin Prosperity Institute

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Rotman School of Management

Urban Studies

Shauna Brail has taught urban studies at the University of Toronto for over a decade, but even she sees her city in a new light when showing a visitor around.

Before the first-ever conference by U of T's new School of Cities, co-hosted with the office of the vice-president, research and innovation, Brail brought one of the guest speakers – Kim Walesh, deputy city manager and economic development director of San Jose, Calif. – on a tour of Toronto. They visited Toronto's waterfront, Union Station and the Bentway, the 1.75-kilometre public trail under the Gardiner Expressway.

“You have the idea that Toronto's star is rising, but you don't know how an outsider sees it,” Brail, U of T's presidential adviser on urban engagement and director of urban studies, told U of T News.

It turns out that Walesh (pictured left) says she was inspired by Toronto, which she was visiting for the first time. She was impressed with Toronto's residential density and the restoration of the almost century-old train station, which has made the transit hub itself a worthwhile destination.

It is, she says, a city like her own that is facing the challenges that come with growth, such as ensuring that everyone shares in the benefits of prosperity.

“It's the conversations we have with each other about our city that ultimately make the difference in navigating change,” she told the audience at the conference, Toronto: Towards a Smart and Inclusive City-Region.

Nothing important happens in a city today without collaboration between experts of different backgrounds and sectors, she added.

That inter-disciplinary collaboration was on display Tuesday as Walesh joined policy makers, academics, and community and industry leaders, including executives from Uber and Sidewalk Labs (the Google sister company planning to redevelop Toronto's eastern waterfront), to discuss the future of cities like Toronto.

San Jose, Welsh said, grew from a city of fewer than 100,000 people in 1950 into one with over a million residents – a population boom due in large part the success of Silicon Valley.

“Now we want to be more urban, just like you,” she said. To do that, San Jose is building up instead of out, and trying to reduce residents' reliance on cars.

And, like Toronto, San Jose is trying to deal with rising house prices and rents. “This very idea that our city is becoming more attractive to tech companies and workers is understandably causing fear and anxiety,” she said.

Both cities are collaborating with tech giants to work toward equitable growth.

One of the prime examples in Toronto is the Sidewalk Labs project in the Port Lands. Last year, the urban innovation company and Alphabet subsidiary won a bid to redevelop 800 acres on the eastern waterfront as a data-driven, efficient and sustainable neighbourhood.

In conversation with University Professor Janice Stein, CEO of Sidewalk Labs Dan Doctoroff addressed the elephant in the room: privacy concerns. “Privacy itself, and data and how you use it, has to actually be built into every single thing we do from the very beginning to earn the trust of people,” he said.

Watch the conference here

Sidewalk Labs hired Ann Cavoukian, a former Ontario information and privacy commissioner, as an adviser. Doctoroff said the data could be held in a trust led by government representatives and privacy experts.

Speaking with University Professor Janice Stein, Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, said privacy was at the core of his company's plan to redevelop a site on the eastern waterfront (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Sidewalk Labs not only intends to build a smart neighbourhood, but an inclusive one, Doctoroff added. After looking at other sites in Europe, North America and Australia, Sidewalk chose Toronto because of its commitment to inclusivity. Ironically, Doctoroff said, Toronto's values are attracting so many people that the city is becoming less affordable and more congested, pushing low-income people away from centres of opportunity.

"We believe that thoughtfully applied technology" will help us close the chasm between the city's aspirations and reality, he said.

These problems aren't unique to Toronto, as University Professor Richard Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, made clear in his remarks.

Florida says the “the new urban crisis” – the title of his new book – “is about the evisceration of the middle class across the board.” People will turn to U of T's new School of Cities to design the tools and models to make cities more inclusive, he added. “I have no doubt we'll do it,” he said.

University Professor Richard Florida says the question of how a “robust, innovative and diverse” city like Toronto could elect Rob Ford was the starting point of his new book (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

U of T President Meric Gertler, an urban geographer known for his work on innovation and the economies of city-regions, told the conference that the university's new School of Cities is uniquely positioned to tackle urban issues such as climate change, inclusion and transportation.

Listen to President Gertler talk about the School of Cities on CBC's Metro Morning

The complexity of urban challenges requires multidisciplinary approaches, he said, adding that more than 200 faculty members across 40 academic units at U of T are involved in urban research.

The university's three campuses – downtown, Mississauga and Scarborough – also give its researchers an edge when it comes to examining and solving problems facing different parts of a city, he said.

“Ours is a city of large and growing contrasts, with many prosperous residents but also a growing number of disadvantaged individuals and neighbourhoods,” President Gertler said. “Perhaps Toronto's biggest challenge is to ensure that it finds a way to engage all members of its population effectively and create opportunities for everyone to succeed. With that, I think it's fair to say that city-building for innovation and inclusion will be at the very core of U of T's School of Cities.”

Kofi Hope, who studied politics at U of T before going to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, told the conference about his work with Careers Education Empowerment, which provides Black youth with pathways to decent jobs (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Urban experts come to U of T for conference on how to make cities both smart and inclusive

Romi Levine — Wed, 09 May 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Urban experts come to U of T for conference on how to make cities both smart and inclusive

Romi Levine Wed, 05/09/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

Innovation and inclusiveness are the focus of a May 15 conference at U of T (photo by Dan Newman via Unsplash)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Martin Prosperity Institute

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Research & Innovation

Rotman School of Management

Subheadline

Sold-out conference co-hosted by newly created School of Cities will be live-streamed

Cities around the world are looking for smart solutions to urban problems and are embracing technology to help them do so.

At the same time, the gap between rich and poor in urban centres is growing – driving low income residents farther away from city centres.

An upcoming conference held at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus is exploring how to address these two urban trends – bringing policy-makers, academics, and industry and community leaders together for a conversation about how to ensure the future of cities is both innovative and inclusive.

Toronto: Towards a Smart and Inclusive City-Region, which takes place on May 15, is hosted by the School of Cities, the office of the vice-president, research and innovation, and Shauna Brail, the presidential adviser on urban engagement and director of urban studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“We are looking to really think about how to invest in city building and also the tremendous challenges that are faced and how we bring these together into one conversation,” says Brail.

The conference is now sold out but the event will be live-streamed on YouTube.

This will be the first event co-hosted by the newly created School of Cities, a multidisciplinary urban research initiative that seeks to address urban issues by utilizing the university’s expertise and partnering with external industry, government and community groups.

Listen to U of T President Meric Gertler on CBC's Metro Morning

Much like the School of Cities’ mandate, the conference seeks to bring decision-makers from a number of urban sectors together to exchange ideas.

“We as a university work within the city both for the betterment of ourselves but also of the city-region,” says Brail. “Partnerships matter an enormous amount – we can't just work within our small silos or groupings or sectors and expect that we will really make an impact.”

The conference will include a keynote from Richard Florida, University Professor and director of cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at U of T’s Rotman School of Management, a conversation between Daniel Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, and Janice Stein, a professor of political science and the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, and a presentation by Kim Walesh, director of economic development for the City of San Jose, Calif.

There will also be panels with experts representing different urban sectors talking about the role of collaboration and how to balance growing the tech sector with supporting community initiatives.

A lot of urban-focused conferences address either smart cities or inclusion, says Florida – but this conference is unique in its aim to address both issues.

“One of the things this conference is trying to say is it's not one or the other,” he says. “You need a smart, technologically enabled city of startups and high-tech companies that are interested in creating wealth and you need a city that is also inclusive. We've got to make cities work better.”

Initiatives from School of Cities will bring together experts from U of T, all over the world to solve urban challenges

noreen.rasbach — Mon, 07 May 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Initiatives from School of Cities will bring together experts from U of T, all over the world to solve urban challenges

noreen.rasbach Mon, 05/07/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

An interchange in Shanghai, China (photo by Denys Nevozhai via Unsplash)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Martin Prosperity Institute

Research & Innovation

Rotman School of Management

U of T Scarborough

Urban Studies

The University of Toronto’s just-announced School of Cities already has some ambitious projects underway and big plans in the pipeline as it looks to change the way urban centres around the world are studied and understood.

“The School of Cities is really all about bringing people together, providing forums and opportunities to think about cities in new ways, to create new knowledge and disseminate that knowledge with partners in all different sectors in order to turn that knowledge into action,” says Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor in the department of geography & planning in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

First up: The school will co-host a conference next Tuesday, May 15, Toronto: Towards a Smart and Inclusive City-Region, to consider how we can ensure that our cities stay just and inclusive as they get smarter and more technologically integrated.

The School of Cities is undertaking several larger initiatives as well, from a multi-city data project to a living laboratory that will tackle big urban issues.

Here are some to watch out for:

Urban Genome Project

“What are the basic building blocks – the genomic structures – from which, at the neighbourhood scale, cities grow and develop?” asks Richard Florida, University Professor and director of cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at U of T’s Rotman School of Management.

It’s this question that researchers are trying to answer as part of the Urban Genome Project, a multi-faculty initiative that is using data to understand how neighbourhoods change over time.

The team includes Daniel Silver, associate professor of sociology at U of T Scarborough, Mark Fox, U of T’s distinguished professor of urban systems engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Robert Wright, associate professor of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and dean of the Faculty of Forestry, and Shauna Brail, U of T's presidential adviser on urban engagement and director of the urban studies program, as well as Florida and Siemiatycki.

The project has been underway for just over a year and will now operate under the School of Cities.

“We've been making good progress,” but working with colleagues at different faculties can also be challenging, says Silver. “There's different ways of talking about the same thing. There's different aspects of a problem you might think are important that may seem trivial to somebody else and vice versa, so figuring out together how to formulate a problem is not easy.

Read about the School of Cities announcement

Listen to U of T President Meric Gertler on CBC's Metro Morning

“You need time, and you need space and you need understanding – it's going to take a little while to figure out how to do it. But once you do, the payoff can be really big.”

As part of the project, the team has created an interactive interface that lets you explore census data in different cities. You can learn more about it here.

A national urban project

U of T scholars will be lending their expertise to a pan-Canadian city-building initiative, including municipal leaders across Canada, to engage with them on issues that affect their cities.

For the project, the School of Cities is collaborating with a broad coalition of partners. Together, they will “act as a network of expertise across Canada, connecting with universities across the country, leading, collaborating and contributing to the city-building conversation at a national level,” says Brail.

“One of the mandates of the School of Cities is to think about how we can provide training, resources, expertise and research to civic leaders and to politicians,” she says.

A pre-launch event is taking place at the end of this month.

Urban Lab

How does a city create an effective strategy for making a street pedestrian-only?

This is the kind of municipal issue that researchers will tackle at the Urban Lab.

The proposed lab will be a site of experimentation and research and also a physical space that brings groups together from inside and outside the university, says Brail.

“It would include students from across a variety of disciplines, academic leadership and staff from other organizations coming together to address complex questions,” she says.

The lab will also be an opportunity for students to interact with people outside of their discipline, says Siemiatycki.

“We see this as a venue that will augment the education students are already getting in their home disciplines,” he says.

Cities summit

The School of Cities is envisioning an annual event hosted by U of T that brings together the world’s most important urban thinkers and city leaders to discuss the next big challenges faced by urban centres.

“There's no better place to do this than Toronto, if you ask me,” says Florida.

“Universities are going to be called upon as cities become really important, urbanization becomes really important,” he says. “We have this expertise. We developed this research, and we have this knowledge.”

U of T faculty, students advocate for bike-friendly Transform Yonge revitalization plan

Romi Levine — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 04:00:00 +0000

U of T faculty, students advocate for bike-friendly Transform Yonge revitalization plan

Romi Levine Tue, 03/27/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

Mayor John Tory accepted a petition from urban planning master's students Anson Ma (left) and Stuart Dow on Monday (photo courtesy of the students)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Cities

Faculty of Arts & Science

Graduate Students

Martin Prosperity Institute

Rotman School of Management

Urban Planning

As condo towers continue to sprout up at every corner of the city, a group of University of Toronto students and faculty members are trying to ensure that, on a small stretch of Yonge Street, city infrastructure catches up with the upward growth.

Today, Toronto city council will vote on a proposal to reduce the six-lane stretch of Yonge Street between Finch and Sheppard Avenues by two lanes, adding bike lanes and widening the sidewalk, which advocates say will improve safety and walkability.

This stretch of Yonge has seen 78 collisions involving pedestrians and five involving cyclists in the past eight years, with eight collisions involving fatalities or serious injuries, according to a study by Toronto Transportation Services.

Mayor John Tory, however, is not in support of the plan. He wants to keep the six lanes and add a bike lane on an adjacent street.

In response to Tory’s alternate proposal, a group of prominent city builders, including Jennifer Keesmaat, former chief city planner and U of T urban planning instructor, and Richard Florida, a University Professor and the director of cities at the Rotman School of Management's Martin Prosperity Institute, signed an open letter in support of the original “Transform Yonge” proposal.

“Reducing one lane of traffic in each direction allows for expanded sidewalks, greenery, and more space for patios and public life. Bike lanes are part of the package but aren’t the impetus,” the letter says.

“This is a rebuild of a street that will have implications for the next 50 years," says Keesmaat. "So we need to be looking to the future, imagining both the city that we want to create, and anticipating how we can accommodate more people, more vibrancy, and more urbanism.”

Yonge Street is in many ways Toronto’s main street, says Florida.

“It cuts clear through the city and then to the suburbs from south to north,” he says. “From the first day I arrived in Toronto more than a decade ago, I was amazed at how awful Yonge Street is. It is like a superhighway with cars speeding. It destroys the commercial character of the street and makes it very hard to operate as a main street.”

That’s why there’s a need for revitalization, says Florida, adding that there are many great commercial establishments and residential neighbourhoods along Yonge.

Planning master’s students in the Faculty of Arts & Science have also decided to advocate for the Transform Yonge proposal with a website dedicated to the proposal and two petitions: one aimed at the public and one aimed at urban-focused students.

U of T planning students Anson Ma, Cecelia Pye, Stuart Dow, Rebecca Nelson and Helen Loghrin created the Support Transform Yonge website and petitions(photo courtesy of the students)

The petitions have received over 350 signatures so far from faculty and students at U of T and other academic institutions across Ontario, as well as from residents of Toronto and surrounding communities, and even some signatures from Montreal, Vancouver and Switzerland, says Anson Ma.

Ma and five other students in Keesmaat’s planning course decided to come together to create the petition.

“It just made sense that we should be creating streets that are more livable, more accessible, safer, and friendlier for residents of our city,” says student Igor Samardzic.

It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redesign Yonge, says Cecelia Pye. “As planning students we're learning that it's really our responsibility to take care of the public's best interests. We have the resources and the knowledge to fight bad decisions by leadership if we don't feel like it's what's best for the future.”

“This is a decision about the future of our city,” says Keesmaat. “As a result, having students engaged in the dialogue, and advocating for a livable city, is essential. This is their city, their future. They ought to have a voice in shaping it.”

On Monday, some of the students behind the website and petitions hand-delivered the petitions to Mayor Tory at City Hall.

“He did take the petition and said he would read it and appreciated us coming,” says Pye.

'Highly conceivable' Trump will be stronger in 2018: David Frum discusses new book at U of T

ullahnor — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 05:00:00 +0000

'Highly conceivable' Trump will be stronger in 2018: David Frum discusses new book at U of T

ullahnor Fri, 01/26/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

David Frum (centre) was at U of T this week to talk about his new book on Donald Trump. He spoke on a panel with The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg and Indigo Books' CEO Heather Reisman (photos by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah)

Topic

Martin Prosperity Institute

Rotman School of Management

U.S. politics

Toronto native and former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum calls U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election one of the biggest scandals in American history. But he says he doesn't expect any high profile indictments – of President Donald Trump, or anyone in close proximity to him – to come out of Mueller's investigation.

“To sit down to take a meeting with a foreign intelligence agency and say how can we work collaboratively to win this election against an American opponent – that is a great scandal,” Frum said.

Speaking at an event at U of T's Rotman School of Management, Frum predicted we will see a series of indictments on technical infractions of election law and electronic communications law.

When asked about how much Trump knew about the meeting with Russian officials, Frum said, “Trump's son did. Trump's campaign manager did it. And if you believe Donald Trump Jr. didn't share the information – well we don't know he shared with his father – but it seems highly unlikely.”

Known for his role in creating the phrase “axis of evil,” Frum appeared at the Jan. 24 event to talk about his newly released book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. The hour-long discussion, organized by Rotman's Martin Prosperity Institute, The Atlantic magazine and Indigo Books, featured Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, and Heather Reisman, founder and CEO of Indigo Books & Music, who moderated the discussion.

Frum went on to predict that it's “highly conceivable” that Trump will be stronger in 2018 than he was in 2017. If he lasts eight years, Trump will be utilizing more authoritarian means, like more extreme presidential control of parts of the executive branch and pressure on voting registration, especially in contested states, Frum said.

“I think you will see a radicalization of the American left,” he added. “A lot of that is going on right now in response. The Democratic Party will be pulled toward [U.S. senators Bernie] Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. ...You will see the politics of the country being divided, ever less by economics, and ever more by ethnicity and other forms of identity. Urban versus rural is going to be quasi-ethnic, and you will have an open door to Russian meddling because the President will not defend the country from that crowd.”

Goldberg said Frum's writings are some of the most important work in American journalism today on the subject.

“The real fear that I have, this is sort of the 100-year kind of fear, is that the epitaph of the Trump administration, or Trump himself, is ‘He Made China Great Again.’ That's what's happened every day, when we signal to our adversaries that we are irresolute, and we signal to our allies that we are bad friends.”

He said his greatest fear isn't the nuclear threat.

“There was an international order created from 1945 on, that America set the rules of the road and enforced the liberal, democratic order from everything from international trade agreements to keeping the seas safe from piracy. Donald Trump is not interested even in understanding the historical role America has played as a stabilizing democratic force. He is accelerating the rise of the Chinese empire and accelerating the demise of what you might call the American empire.”

Toronto lands on Amazon's HQ2 short list – and that's exactly where it belongs: U of T experts

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:32:21 +0000

Toronto lands on Amazon's HQ2 short list – and that's exactly where it belongs: U of T experts

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 01/18/2018 - 16:32

Cutline

A company sign at Amazon's corporate office building in Sunnyvale, Calif. (photo by Lisa Werner/Getty Images)

Chris Sorensen

Cities

Martin Prosperity Institute

Richard Florida

Rotman School of Management

Technology

U of T Mississauga

Urban Studies

Toronto is one of 20 North American cities – and the only one in Canada – still being considered by online retail giant Amazon for its second North American headquarters. But experts at the University of Toronto say that doesn’t mean T-dot, to borrow a dated moniker, is a long shot – far from it, in fact.

“I think we’re actually in the top five,” says University Professor Richard Florida, who is the director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at U of T’s Rotman School of Management, citing the Toronto region's top universities, diverse local culture and an open Canadian immigration policy.

Read about how U of T's AI-focused research played a role

Florida adds Toronto’s biggest competitors are likely to be New York City, with its status as a global financial centre, or Washington, D.C., with its proximity to American political power. He says Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles comprise a second tier of competition.

Read about how Toronto stacks up to the competition

Read about how Amazon would fit into the Toronto-Waterloo corridor

While some have suggested U.S. President Donald Trump's America-first bent makes it politically risky for Amazon to pick a non-American locale, Brail stresses that politics often cuts both ways. In other words, it may depend on whether Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is keen to avoid the White House's wrath or is eager to take a stand against Trumpian policies that irk many in Silicon Valley, particularly surrounding immigration.

Ruben Gaetani is an assistant professor with the department of management at U of T Mississauga who is cross-appointed to Rotman. He argues that Amazon, an increasingly global player, could conceivably give itself a brand boost by locating in Toronto given the current unpopularity of Trump’s America outside the United States.

“The U.S. is a more business-friendly country,” says Gaetani. “We have to admit that. Taxation is lower, particularly for high income people. But overall I don’t think this is what Amazon is really concerned about.”

One thing is clear: The city Amazon chooses will likely be forever changed by its arrival – though not everyone will benefit.

Gaetani’s research shows the presence of innovative, high-growth firms like Amazon contributes to income disparities and urban segregation as young professionals cluster around high-paying employers and bid up local housing prices. Desirable services like new parks, schools, high-end shops and hip restaurants inevitably follow in their footsteps.

However, Gaetani says that doesn’t mean cities like Toronto should avoid attracting companies like Amazon, which are critical to the knowledge economy. Rather, he says it means politicians need to work extra hard to make sure the benefits are shared as equally as possible.

“For each park that’s built in a high-income neighbourhood, there should be an equivalent park built in a low-income neighbourhood,” he says.

Public transit is also key, adds Gaetani, since it allows workers to spread out more evenly across an urban area.

And while Torontonians like to complain about their civic infrastructure – the Toronto Transit Commission included – Gaetani argues that Toronto is actually in a much better position than many of the other U.S. cities on the list.

In the end, a handful of decision-makers at Amazon will decide who wins the HQ2 sweepstakes, which many have criticized for pitting cities against each other in a reality TV show-style format.

Brail, for one, praised Toronto for not getting sucked into offering big tax breaks or other incentives, which she argues are “great for Amazon” but bad for everyone else.

“New Jersey offered US$7 billion in incentives and some cities offered to change their names,” she says.

“But Toronto had an incredibly respectful, co-ordinated, collaborative proposal that really highlighted our strengths and didn’t give away anything other than an offer to partner and be a good location.”

Win or lose, the impressive bid puts “Toronto on the map for a lot of other potential investments,” said David Wolfe, professor of political science at U of T Mississauga and co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs.

See Wolfe's interview with CTV

Trudeau makes subtle reference to landmark foreign policy speech given at U of T

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 17:31:23 +0000

Trudeau makes subtle reference to landmark foreign policy speech given at U of T

geoff.vendeville Fri, 06/23/2017 - 13:31

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(photo by Yana Kaz)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Global Lens

Rotman School of Management

Martin Prosperity Institute

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

Subheadline

Prime minister cites speech delivered at U of T in 1947 as inspiration for current foreign affairs minister

Speaking at the University of Toronto yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first major speech – in which she espoused a global outlook – as a “sequel” to a 70-year-old lecture delivered by her predecessor, Louis St-Laurent.

Read about Trudeau at U of T

Canadian history buffs might have gotten the reference, which has its own U of T connection.

Although Trudeau got the date wrong, it was an unmistakeable reference to St-Laurent’s Gray Lecture, delivered in U of T’s largest classroom, Convocation Hall, according to historian and U of T professor Robert Bothwell.

Here’s what Trudeau told the The New York Times at U of T on Thursday:

“In 1948, Louis St-Laurent gave a speech defining Canada as having an independent foreign policy from Britain at that point that said, for which Canadian foreign policy was just an extension of British foreign policy, and since that moment we have always had an independent-minded foreign policy. Obviously we’re broadly aligned with many of our friends and values but the choices we make have always been based on Canadian values, Canadian priorities, a Canadian approach to solving problems.”

In January 1947, St-Laurent, then minister of external affairs, spoke at U of T, plotting an independent Canadian foreign policy based on principles such as the rule of law and a “willingness to accept international responsibilities.”

The Gray Lecture was endowed by George Gray in the memory of his sons, Duncan and John.

Bothwell says Freeland’s speech on June 6 is a direct descendent of St-Laurent’s speech.

“It’s a sequel. It rings some of the same chimes,” he said. “The Gray Lecture defines Canada as a liberal democratic state and defines Canadian values and how they should be expressed in foreign policy.”

“That’s exactly what Freeland did. The structure, the ideology is the same.”

While Bothwell usually considers ministerial speeches a “step above the phone book” in terms of their interest value, he plans to add Freeland’s to his syllabus.

Was he disappointed that Trudeau was a year off?

“Oh no, I just took a grade off his talk,” he said.

Trudeau at U of T: Canada and U.S. are “two countries that have grown up together”

lanthierj — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 19:06:58 +0000

Trudeau at U of T: Canada and U.S. are “two countries that have grown up together”

lanthierj Thu, 06/22/2017 - 15:06

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University of Toronto students greet the prime minister on his arrival at Rotman School of Management (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Jennifer Robinson

Author legacy

Jennifer Robinson

Topic

Martin Prosperity Institute

Rotman School of Management

Subheadline

Martin Prosperity Institute hosts talk with New York Times

In navigating the complexities of the Canada-United States trade relationship, it’s important for both countries to remember that “mutual benefit is the only thing that has benefit,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the University of Toronto today.

With an estimated nine million jobs and a trillion dollars in trade at stake, the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) can’t be understated, he said in a sold out, 60-minute conversation with The New York Times.

The talk, which featured chief White House correspondent Peter Baker and Canadian bureau chief Catherine Porter, was organized with the Martin Prosperity Institute at U of T’s Rotman School of Management.

Trudeau entered Desautels Hall to the sound of cheers from students lined up on the pink staircase at Rotman eager to get his photo.

Once inside, he was jokingly described by Baker as “the Trump whisperer” as he was questioned about how his government is negotiating Canada’s relationship with its superpower neighbour.

As “two countries that have grown up together,” there are “massive levels of intersectionality” between us making it “extremely important for the prime minister and the president to have a constructive working relationship,” Trudeau told the packed room.

“He’s a businessman, a dealmaker. He’s someone who knows how to interact socially at a very effective level. And one of the things I’ve learned is he actually does listen,” Trudeau said of Trump.

“I can understand the laughter,” he said, reacting to the audience. “He will be open to shifting his position and that’s something we can definitely work with.”

As an example, Trudeau referred to a conversation he had with Trump a few weeks ago after news leaked the president was seriously considering tearing up NAFTA.

Trudeau said he told Trump that abruptly terminating the 25-year-old agreement would cause “tremendous disruption” to businesses, communities and workers on both sides of the border – but Canada was open to “renegotiating or updating” the agreement.

“There was an openness to that” by Trump, he said.

Instead of focusing on areas where they disagree, he said the two world leaders discuss issues on which they share common views. He also disagreed with a Times story that his government is using a “doughnut” approach to American relations by going around Trump to reach out to mayors, governors and business leaders to further its interests.

Read Canada's Trump Strategy: Go Around Him

“I think of it is as a bun – there is no hole,” Trudeau said, adding Canada’s “whole government” approach makes sense since states and provinces, not to mention industries and cities, have longstanding relationships with each other.

The talk marked the first major sit-down interview with Trudeau on Canadian foreign policy after a speech by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister (and U of T area member of Parliament) Chrystia Freeland to the House of Commons on June 6.

Freeland was among the notable Canadians in the room today, along with alumna and former governor general Adrienne Clarkson.

Although it was interpreted by media and experts as a significant change in Canada’s foreign policy direction in the age of Trump's more inward-looking, protectionist stance, Trudeau said “it was a bit of a sequel” to a speech by Louis St-Laurent in the 1940s that laid out Canadian foreign policy independence from Great Britain.

Canada will continue to chart its own path, he explained and “even close friends like the United States . . . don’t want Canada either to be or be seen as simply an extension of American policy.”

U of T President Meric Gertler, who officially welcomed the Times and the prime minister to campus, praised the Trudeau government for its “deft handling” of Canada’s “most important international relationship.”

“It has been very encouraging to see Canada reasserting its traditional role as a constructive, outward looking, globally engaged player on the world stage,” Gertler said.

“And this in turn is a source of hope for all those — including the citizens of our greatest friend and ally — who share our commitment to freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

Watch a video of the entire event below:

Martin Prosperity Institute

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Toronto lands on Amazon's HQ2 short list – and that's exactly where it belongs: U of T experts

Read about how U of T's AI-focused research played a role

Read more of Florida's thoughts on Amazon's HQ2 short list

Read about how Toronto stacks up to the competition

Read about how Amazon would fit into the Toronto-Waterloo corridor

See Wolfe's interview with CTV

Trudeau makes subtle reference to landmark foreign policy speech given at U of T

Read about Trudeau at U of T

Trudeau at U of T: Canada and U.S. are “two countries that have grown up together”

Read Canada's Trump Strategy: Go Around Him