NiagaraPalooza was a great conference that presented good ideas about the importance of the creative class in developing a successful city. Richard Florida’s theory, first presented in The Rise of the Creative Class, posits that cities must seek to attract creative individuals rather than businesses in order to develop a vibrant, economically successful community.
Unfortunately, much of the press about NiagaraPalooza and Richard Florida have not correctly understood Florida’s theory about economic development. In her article, Jane Austen, says that what seperates Niagara from the rest is water, energy, and cusine.
Energy because “Beyond the requirement for multiple generating stations, we can implement carbon-free energies. There has yet to be a Canadian community defined by its abundance of energy in recent years. Some Toronto builders sport waiting lists for housing that provides carbon-free energies, greywater usage and oversized rain barrels. Downtown retailers have collectively established solar energies on street corners to provide communal lighting, reducing their dependency on the grid. GoSolar will be discussing joint energy efforts at the upcoming EcoFest Niagara Event.”
Cuisine because of the fresh fruit offered by our region.
Sure, these are the things that seperate our region from the rest. But, these things have been around for years and clearly they are not working to draw the creative class to Niagara. So what can bring the creative class to Niagara? What would keep the youth of Niagara in the area?
What shortcomings or problems do I see with Niagara?
1) There’s not much to do in the city- Sure, alot of people boast that there is the movies or seasonal events such as grape & wine or the Scene Music Festival, but these things only occur on a yearly basis. Niagara needs to create an authentic experience that will draw us youth, us creative individuals to on a regular basis. What can that be? Perhaps the city could close down a few streets downtown on a weekly basis and coordinate a monthly event- with this event we could have food vendors and have live bands playing and perhaps screen movies.
2) Performing and visual arts lags- First, Niagara had one of its main movie theatres close recently: the Fairview Cineplex Odeon Theatre. The Cineplex often played a few indie films that one would normally have to drive to Toronto to see. The Pen Centre and Niagara Square are not picking up the slack. There needs to be a push to show more independent film in the heart of the city. Second, there are no good performing arts venues in the city. Sure we have Shaw Festival in NOTL… but let’s face it- not many youth want to see a play written decades ago. There needs to be a more regular, more advertised performing arts venue that shows MODERN and original plays. The Niagara Artists Centre does this, but it needs to be better advertised and their venue is in deperate need of funding to help give the old building a face-lift.
3) There are too many “Squawkers”- Squawkers, as Florida explained, are people who like to complain about everything and do nothing. It reminds me of the ‘herd mentality’ described by Nietzsche where the group levels unique individuals. Squawkers, The Herd, or whatever you would like to refer to them as do alot of complaining in St. Catharines. These are the people (usually older people) who complain about taxes, students, ‘corrupt’ politicians, development projects, and lack of development projects. These are the people who complain about the crime downtown but have not been downtown (I mean physically got out of their cars and ‘walked’ downtown) in at least a decade. They complain about the crime, they complain about the lack of policing, and then they complain about the cost of policing. They complain about bars in Port Dalhousie, they complain that the tower project for port is too big or too commercial, and they complain about the lack of development in Port Dalhousie. Get the picture?
These squawkers really discourage us young people from… well… doing anything. It discourages us from getting involved in politics, from creating new businesses in the area or new events. These squawkers who are quick to criticize, slow to think, and never act are the people who make us want to leave the area! So what can we do? Squawkers- Think before you criticize. Before you criticize downtown- go and physically visit it. Then offer positive solutions. Also, be encouraging and supportive. Rather than spending your Friday or Saturday night watching television and peering out through the blinds why not visit a local event, go for walk in the community, etc.
4) The Fat Capital- A few years ago a study said Niagara had the highest rate of obesity in the country with 57.3% of residents in the city as being classified as overweight or obese. Residents either dismissed the problem, squawked at the study, or tried to find a source of blame other than themselves. No one really asked why this is the case and how we could change this. Why are we the fattest city? It’s pretty obvious to me: St. Catharines has been designed in a suburban style where individuals must depend heavily upon their cars.
What can we do to change this? That is harder. It’s not as though we can rip up the whole city and attempt to redesign everything. But what we can do is organize events that will get us out of our living rooms and off of our couches. That is a start. Also, YOU must change this- Accept responsibility! Robert Putnam found that many people say that they do not join sports teams or bowling leagues or social groups because their lives have grown increasingly busy and they “don’t have time.” But he found that this perception was inaccurate on the part of people. Most people had the same amount of spare time as people had in the 1950’s or 60’s– the only change is what people do in their spare time: Watch Television. We sit and watch TV. I bet if there was a study it would conclude that St. Catharines residents watch more TV than most cities in the country.
So what do we need to do about the obesity problem? We should take join sports teams or social leagues or do any activity that gets us out of the house. Before you say “I’m too busy” sit down and think about how much television you watch… add it up. Now cut that time in half and look at how much extra time you have now to join sports teams or social groups or do ANYTHING. Take the responsibility and get up and get out! Can’t find a social group to join? Make one up and get your friends and family to join!
If people just got up and joined social groups or sports teams, it would help our sense of community in the city and would create a community that people would want to be a part of.
5) Stop Big-Box Development- Before you go to WalMart and buy… everything… think about where your money is going and then think about what good you could do for your community if you bought those goods at a locally owned and operated business. Big Box stores mean that a portion of the money that you spend is being exported out of the area back to head offices located elsewhere. The money is not recycled into the community as it is when you shop at locally owned businesses.
Lots of people say “But Walmart is creating jobs,” but this is really a lie when you consider the number of higher paying jobs that it destroys to create fewer, lower paying, lower security, part-time jobs. WalMart pays its employers miniscule wages and is adament at union busting.
Before buying anything at a big-box store think about whether you can buy a similar product or service at a locally owned and operated business or restaurant. Shop locally and recycle your money in the community.
These 5 criticisms that I have come up with about St. Catharines provide a good starting point to developing a positive future for the city. It is our problem and we must accept responsibility for it. Each of us must take action to fix the problem. Don’t offload the problem.
