Charles (David) D . Crenna | Western University Canada (original) (raw)
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Papers by Charles (David) D . Crenna
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government’s influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada’s urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local ‘winners and losers’ of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada’s urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities. Competing claims of local growth-promoting coalitions have been managed or denied in building up this system. Governance arrangements called here executive federalism have engaged the private sector and other levels of government in federal policy implementation and smoothed competition amongst municipalities. Methods used to make most productive use of competition amongst urban locations have largely succeeded to 2017, but there is a paradox on the horizon. Different politics of where are emerging as long-term urbanization processes increasingly diverge between growing and declining regions, calling for clearer declaration of desired outcomes
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government’s influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada’s urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local ‘winners and losers’ of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada’s urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities. Competing claims of local growth-promoting coalitions have been managed or denied in building up this system. Governance arrangements called here executive federalism have engaged the private sector and other levels of government in federal policy implementation and smoothed competition amongst municipalities. Methods used to make most productive use of competition amongst urban locations have largely succeeded to 2017, but there is a paradox on the horizon. Different politics of where are emerging as long-term urbanization processes increasingly diverge between growing and declining regions, calling for clearer declaration of desired outcomes
N.A., 2019
Please see Abstract on Website.
From the beginning of European settlement of lands that became Canada, urban places have played a... more From the beginning of European settlement of lands that became Canada, urban places have played a decisive role in their economic development and human geography. Settled locations have competed for population, capital investment, services and political attention, first from founding country and then from national governments. Cities and towns have also had to cooperate with one another for mutual benefit. This study reveals end results of competition and cooperation among Canadian cities over 150 years or more, using ranked statistical indicators. Today's comparative population sizes, attractiveness to immigrants and industry, wealth, and connections with national urban systems reflect competitive success. The federal role in shaping these outcomes has been large: building national infrastructure; guiding immigrants; promoting industry; supporting technological innovation; and funding Canada-wide programs. Focusing only on municipal decision-making downplays the part played by those who manage higher-level competition among some 4,900 municipalities and 152 urbanized regions across Canada. For that process, the federal government is the main one to watch. Specific choices of where always tend to displease many more residents and localities than they please. Such competitions must be handled effectively in order to build or maintain political support and legitimacy in most if not all regions of a vast and diverse country. Federal governments use a system called here "executive federalism" (administrative decision-making behind closed doors followed by individual public announcements). They avoid, whenever possible, declaring exactly where urban growth should occur, explaining the lack of a stated "National Urban Policy". How competition is managed, and who actually does it are revealed here. A growing dilemma is posed at the end of this study: not declaring where new urban growth should occur or existing development sustained is becoming more and more difficult. For example, both climate change and an aging population are pushing toward reducing growth in or even closing down settled areas where people will be at high risk. These and other trends are likely to call for much clearer federal choices of locations to finance and support in future, based on offering shared scientific evidence and explicit, reasonable alternatives to residents.
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government's influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada's urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local 'winners and losers' of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada's urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities.
A variety of books, research reports and articles have appeared on the topic of "federal-municipa... more A variety of books, research reports and articles have appeared on the topic of "federal-municipal relations". However, most have tended to omit consideration of the partisan political elements of such relations, meaning: forming alliances based on ideology and mutual interests in gaining public office; sharing political and financial resources to win elections; recruiting candidates; collecting campaign contributions; rewarding supporters with patronage appointments or funding for local projects, etc. Here we explore the omission of such factors. First, we assess whether the topic is indeed left out of a representative range of recent studies. Second, we explore why such a gap in data collection and analysis may have occurred. Finally, we probe the implications of ignoring partisan political considerations in many expert assessments of the prospects for federal-municipal relations and for federal "urban" policy.
Overall… our urban future is becoming more obvious: a permanent set of place-based winners and lo... more Overall… our urban future is becoming more obvious: a permanent set of place-based winners and losers. There will likely be fewer winners and more losers.
Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examinat... more Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examination will always show that the problem itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution are already present or at least in the course of formation.
Suburban sprawl threatens the viability of our cities, the health of our environment and even the... more Suburban sprawl threatens the viability of our cities, the health of our environment and even the viability of commercial agriculture. There are a lot of commentators making that case, but many of them do it from the viewpoint of an urbanite, attacking the fundamentally anti-urban culture of the suburbs. This is a self-defeating approach to the problem."
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government’s influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada’s urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local ‘winners and losers’ of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada’s urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities. Competing claims of local growth-promoting coalitions have been managed or denied in building up this system. Governance arrangements called here executive federalism have engaged the private sector and other levels of government in federal policy implementation and smoothed competition amongst municipalities. Methods used to make most productive use of competition amongst urban locations have largely succeeded to 2017, but there is a paradox on the horizon. Different politics of where are emerging as long-term urbanization processes increasingly diverge between growing and declining regions, calling for clearer declaration of desired outcomes
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government’s influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada’s urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local ‘winners and losers’ of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada’s urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities. Competing claims of local growth-promoting coalitions have been managed or denied in building up this system. Governance arrangements called here executive federalism have engaged the private sector and other levels of government in federal policy implementation and smoothed competition amongst municipalities. Methods used to make most productive use of competition amongst urban locations have largely succeeded to 2017, but there is a paradox on the horizon. Different politics of where are emerging as long-term urbanization processes increasingly diverge between growing and declining regions, calling for clearer declaration of desired outcomes
N.A., 2019
Please see Abstract on Website.
From the beginning of European settlement of lands that became Canada, urban places have played a... more From the beginning of European settlement of lands that became Canada, urban places have played a decisive role in their economic development and human geography. Settled locations have competed for population, capital investment, services and political attention, first from founding country and then from national governments. Cities and towns have also had to cooperate with one another for mutual benefit. This study reveals end results of competition and cooperation among Canadian cities over 150 years or more, using ranked statistical indicators. Today's comparative population sizes, attractiveness to immigrants and industry, wealth, and connections with national urban systems reflect competitive success. The federal role in shaping these outcomes has been large: building national infrastructure; guiding immigrants; promoting industry; supporting technological innovation; and funding Canada-wide programs. Focusing only on municipal decision-making downplays the part played by those who manage higher-level competition among some 4,900 municipalities and 152 urbanized regions across Canada. For that process, the federal government is the main one to watch. Specific choices of where always tend to displease many more residents and localities than they please. Such competitions must be handled effectively in order to build or maintain political support and legitimacy in most if not all regions of a vast and diverse country. Federal governments use a system called here "executive federalism" (administrative decision-making behind closed doors followed by individual public announcements). They avoid, whenever possible, declaring exactly where urban growth should occur, explaining the lack of a stated "National Urban Policy". How competition is managed, and who actually does it are revealed here. A growing dilemma is posed at the end of this study: not declaring where new urban growth should occur or existing development sustained is becoming more and more difficult. For example, both climate change and an aging population are pushing toward reducing growth in or even closing down settled areas where people will be at high risk. These and other trends are likely to call for much clearer federal choices of locations to finance and support in future, based on offering shared scientific evidence and explicit, reasonable alternatives to residents.
This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and exte... more This dissertation responds to a single overarching research question: what is the nature and extent of the federal government's influence on urbanization in Canada, both on its systems of cities and on their internal structure? Lessons learned regarding the federal role in Canada's urbanization remain relevant and applicable to emerging conditions. They offer a sound, streetwise foundation for future urban policy development, based on understanding the vital politics of where. Large, complex systems of cities are both self-organizing and responsive to strategic guidance by the federal government. Politically-difficult choices among competing urban locations can be made both by hiding selections and by disclosing them according to well-established protocols. These methods ease acceptance of potentially controversial decisions and promote ongoing cooperation amongst local 'winners and losers' of successive competitions. Data sources to track long-term urbanization outcomes include: historical Census statistics; Statistics Canada indicators of system outputs and counts of business establishments by location; wealth distribution data; and program data from federal department and agency sources. Operative politics of where are revealed by ranking places to assess which benefitted most and least over decades of urbanization, and by finding silences and suppression of locational detail in federal publications. Based on available evidence, the federal government has had a fundamental influence on Canada's urbanization, even if that influence has often been undeclared. Specifically, named federal powers in the Constitution have demonstrably accelerated and shaped urbanization processes. Organizations comprising a national community of purpose in urban growth have supported and implemented a continent-wide system of linked cities.
A variety of books, research reports and articles have appeared on the topic of "federal-municipa... more A variety of books, research reports and articles have appeared on the topic of "federal-municipal relations". However, most have tended to omit consideration of the partisan political elements of such relations, meaning: forming alliances based on ideology and mutual interests in gaining public office; sharing political and financial resources to win elections; recruiting candidates; collecting campaign contributions; rewarding supporters with patronage appointments or funding for local projects, etc. Here we explore the omission of such factors. First, we assess whether the topic is indeed left out of a representative range of recent studies. Second, we explore why such a gap in data collection and analysis may have occurred. Finally, we probe the implications of ignoring partisan political considerations in many expert assessments of the prospects for federal-municipal relations and for federal "urban" policy.
Overall… our urban future is becoming more obvious: a permanent set of place-based winners and lo... more Overall… our urban future is becoming more obvious: a permanent set of place-based winners and losers. There will likely be fewer winners and more losers.
Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examinat... more Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examination will always show that the problem itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution are already present or at least in the course of formation.
Suburban sprawl threatens the viability of our cities, the health of our environment and even the... more Suburban sprawl threatens the viability of our cities, the health of our environment and even the viability of commercial agriculture. There are a lot of commentators making that case, but many of them do it from the viewpoint of an urbanite, attacking the fundamentally anti-urban culture of the suburbs. This is a self-defeating approach to the problem."