Inspiration Lakeview – March 18, 2014 Community Workshop: Links to a great video and impressive slides are available here
I attended the March 18, 2014 Inspiration Lakeview meeting discussed below.
An August 2013 interview with Mississauga Ward 1 Councillor Jim Tovey describes the community-driven planning process on which Inspiration Lakeview is based. You can read more at the Mississauga category at this website.
I was very impressed with how the March 18, 2014 Inspiration Lakeview event was organized and how the information was presented. What came across was the sense of enthusiasm, energy, and shared purpose among the participants. I was impressed with the sound system and the design of lighting at the meeting room. Close attention to such details make a huge difference in establishing the ambience for such an event, in my experience.
A key part of the meeting was a session in which community members offered feedback on the current version of the master plan that is at the heart of the Inspiration Lakeview project.
The video, slides, and workshop materials mentioned below are of interest and value. They are well worth the time it takes to view them.
If you know of anything of this scale, with this level of community involvement, and with this level of support from the municipal, regional, and provincial levels, happening in the City of Toronto, please let me know.
The following information is from Inspiration Lakeview:
A Community Workshop – Developing the Master Plan – was held on March 18, 2014.
If you did not have an opportunity to attend, you are invited to review the material provided below and provide comments back to the Inspiration Lakeview Team by March 25, 2014.
> View the Presentation Video >Download the Slides >Download the Workshop Materials>
Provide your feedback by Tuesday March 25
[End of text from Inspiration Lakeview]
Lakeview community’s “3P” approach to getting things done
With regard to getting things done, and making things work, I’m impressed with the “3P” strategy developed by the Lakeview community:
The “3P” Strategy: Proactive, Persistent, and Positive.
The community, located in Mississauga across the border west of from Long Branch, has defined these words in the following terms:
1. Proactive: Be proactive in identifying what negatively impacts your community, and more importantly, what may negatively impact your community in the near or distant future.
2. Persistent: Be persistent in gaining, and sharing with your community, the knowledge required to make fair, informed decisions, and to be able to engage all stakeholders in the discussion.
3. Positive: Never offer a solution to a difficult issue unless it is a positive solution. If you cannot find a solution where there are no losers, revert to the second “P,” Persistent.
Like the 3P approach. Mississauga participation seems far superior to ours in Lakeshore.
I will vote for someone who protects the waterfront and does not support the priority for the Scarborough Subway. Making every household pay over $1000 for a scheme that is not supported by any professional and will have to be heavily subsidised after construction leads to the conclusion Rofo’s ideas will actually give TO higher taxes – especially as infrastructure maintenance will increase with cutbacks.
I’m really pleased that I’ve had the opportunity to learn about the 3P strategy and the Mississauga approach to participation. What I’ve learned underlines the fact the history of every city is different, and the evolving culture of a city manifests itself in characteristic ways. I’m really pleased to know about what happens in the City of Mississauga, and how the city is approaching development along its waterfront – as outlined, for example, in the video and slides referenced in the blog post on this page.
My own views regarding the Toronto mayoralty election are expressed in the Editorial category at this website.
I owe thanks to David Switzer of Long Branch for letting me know about meetings related to Lakeview some years ago. I’m also delighted that, because I live close to the Mississauga border, as does David Switzer, I find it easy to attend meetings related to the Lakeview Waterfront Connection project and Inspiration Lakeview.
Having the opportunity to see how things are done across the border serves as an eye opener and a source of inspiration for me. It’s a delight to learn new things and see things from fresh perspectives. Knowing how things are done in cities across Canada and around the world is helpful in gaining an understanding of the frame of reference and worldview that expresses itself, or manifests itself, in any local community, in the present moment.