Hello neighbours,
In my Great Neighbourhoods platform, I suggest that neighbourhoods are not just places, but are people. When we talk about people, what we have traditionally thought about were the people who live there. In reality, communities are much more complex than that; they are the people who live there, but they are also the businesses and institutions that share and shape that space. When I talk about community institutions, I mean everything from schools, churches, mosques and temples, to not-for-profits, and of course, community associations and other organized community groups.
If you look at the history of our neighbourhoods they have changed; sometimes physically, sometimes demographically. A great neighborhood is a place where everyone comes together, talks about where they have come from, talks about where they are, and then drives the change that makes the most sense for their community, rather than reacting to it.
There has always been a general tension between community associations, residents associations, and some organized groups which operate outside of the two that has led to the recognition that we are not as collaborative as we can and should be.
With that, the Community Representation Framework Task Force was born to get people representing different interests in a room, hash things out, and then propose a better way forward.
While there has been quite a bit of mischaracterization of the process that has led to unwarranted fear being spread about the future of community associations, I want to assure folks that as a sitting member of the taskforce, I am excited about where we are, and also excited to engage all of our communities. I believe all of these groups need to be able to come together, be supported by The City, and given the capacity and appropriate level of decision making authority. We have a good process now, but it could be better, and that’s what this work is about.
I am proud to be part of this work, unafraid of tackling our challenges in an uncertain future, and excited to direct that change to make our neighbourhoods the best they can be.
I look forward to working with people dedicated to the best possible future of Calgary and ensuring that we create neighbourhoods that thrive and are prosperous for a long time.
For more information about this, email my office at gccarra.ca, call me at 403-268-5330, or check out my video on this topic at Facebook.com/gccarra.
Gian-Carlo
