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This paper examines how policymakers interpret and deploy cultural economy approaches within municipal economic development strategies and cultural plans. Focusing on the 33 largest municipalities in Ontario, Canada, we conduct a keyword analysis of 63 municipal planning documents, supplemented with key informant interviews with economic development and cultural planning staff. Our analysis reveals that the use of cultural economy approaches in economic development and cultural plans varies depending upon city size, municipal governance structure and municipal organizational structure. However, despite the widespread use of cultural economy ideas in planning documents, we conclude that its uptake in municipal policymaking fails to reflect its professional and scholarly popularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to develop a comparative framework through which to study the effects of immigration-driven demographic change in the ethno-cultural composition of municipal populations on municipal politics and governance in Canada. It asks two central questions. First, how do municipalities respond to dramatic change in the ethno-cultural composition of their populations? Second, what explains the variation in municipal responsiveness to the concerns and policy preferences of immigrants and of ethno-cultural minorities? The paper develops a typology of municipal responsiveness to immigrants and to ethno-cultural diversity to characterize patterns in policy outputs in multiculturalism policy at the local level. Furthermore, in the quest to explain local policy behavior, it brings together two theories – urban regime theory and the social diversity thesis – arguing that the ethnic configuration of municipal societies structures the likelihood that local leaders will coalesce in urban regimes with multiculturalism goals as well as influences the dynamics of the governing arrangements. The paper engages these theoretical ideas with the findings of a comparative study of seven highly diverse municipalities in some of Canada's most numerically significant immigrant receiving city-regions. By showing how local context and politics matter, the paper challenges traditional conceptions of municipal agency in Canada that portray municipalities as mere creatures of provinces rather than as important democratic governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian municipalities have noted that 59% of their water systems and 68% of their sewer systems required repair. To rehabilitate, replace or construct a water or sewer pipeline, several methods can be used: open-cut or one of several trenchless technologies (TTs). The selection of the method positively affects the surrounding environment. Therefore, the impact on environment (IoE) becomes a vital concern in selecting the appropriate construction or rehabilitation method for water or sewer pipelines. The research presented in this paper aims at developing an IoE model that compares the open-cut and TT methods. The IoE factors and their related data are collected, analysed and categorised based on literature review and expert opinion. Two models are designed in order to assess the IoE of the open-cut and TT methods. Results of the open-cut technique show that the impact on social factor has the maximum relative weight of 0.36; however, the impact on project characteristics has 0.33 and on environment has 0.30. The impact of TTs on project characteristics has the highest weight of 0.38, in which social factor is the lowest (0.28). The IoE value, using the open-cut method, is 0.4739; however, its value using the TT method is 0.3346. The developed IoE model shows robust results in quantifying the impact on environment of underground utility work. This research is relevant to both industry practitioners and researchers. It develops models to determine the IoE for the open-cut and TT methods. They are also beneficial to the municipal experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on a study that examined and compared the responses of six municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario to the challenges of global economic changes. Transfer to the municipal governments of administrative and financial responsibilities for local services; Tendency for municipalities to compete with each other for economic advantage.