Innovative Technologies: New ways to repair, renew, rehabilitate and construct infrastructure
Dealing With “Dirty Dirt” (Part II)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation The benefits of urban brownfield development are numerous and significant, breathing new life into old neighbourhoods, increasing local property values and land productivity, and mitigating sprawl. There is also a strong infrastructure connection. Brownfields sit upon an existing network of roads, sidewalks, lighting, water mains, [...]
Go Long!
The following column is written by Gord Hume, President of Hume Communications Inc., former Councillor of the City of London, ON, and author of “Cultural Planning for Creative Communities” and “Taking Back Our Cities” When Casey Vander Ploeg and the team at the Canada West Foundation and Communities of Tomorrow approached me about writing a [...]
Technology Boosts Public Transit
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation In most large cities, public transit boasts a long history, being one of the most visible and vital services provided to citizens. The transit system in Calgary, for example, goes back to 1909 when the Calgary Municipal Railway was established with a dozen electric streetcars. [...]
Are We Organized for Progress?
By: Clare Kirkland, Director of Strategic Development, Regina Regional Opportunities Commission, and former Deputy Minister of Highways and Transportation, Saskatchewan Over three decades spent leading engineering and technical organizations, I am convinced that modern road science offers an enormous innovation dividend in reduced road costs and improved road quality. However, this dividend is not being [...]
Out and About
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Our work-a-day lives tend to follow predictable patterns, and it all starts with municipal infrastructure. The alarm goes off and the lights go on. We hit the switch on the coffee maker, push the handle on the toilet, turn the tap in the shower. Whether [...]
Building a Better Road
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Rural towns in the West are sleepy little affairs, and the small southern Alberta town in which I grew up is no different. There were, however, two occasions when the local hum-drum was broken, and believe it or not, both brouhahas involved infrastructure. The first [...]
“Biggest” vs. “Best” (Part II)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Last week I spent some time reviewing ReNew Canada’s special report on the “Top 100” infrastructure projects in the country, and then posted the top three contenders for the most innovative projects across 10 categories (click here to view). This week, it’s time to announce [...]
“Biggest” vs. “Best” (Part I)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation ReNew Canada bills itself as the country’s “Infrastructure Magazine.” That’s not braggadocio. No matter what aspect of infrastructure you’re involved in—finance, research, engineering, policy, construction, whatever—the magazine is a virtual “must-have.” The January-February issue has just hit the newstand, and it features a special supplement [...]
“Big-scale” Problem Meets “Small-scale” Solution (Part II)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Every now and then I’m asked—in public, mind you—for a little “crystal-balling.” What’s going to happen with this issue? Who’s going to win that campaign? What’ll happen here? How’s it going to shake out there? If there’s one Q&A or media query that I hate, [...]
“Big-scale” Problem Meets “Small-scale” Solution (Part I)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Ever since the Great Depression of the 1930s, a key goal of economic growth and development in the West has been the drive to secure a more diverse economic base. Successes on this front include the aerospace industry in Manitoba, the Canadian Light Source synchrotron [...]
