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"In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding and love."            Amit Ray

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Welcome to this idea bank using padlet. Please add new ideas or feel free to comment on existing ones.

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Welcome to this idea bank using padlet. Please add new ideas or feel free to comment on existing ones.

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This is a collection of approaches, ideas, and resources that cities and their economic development leaders can use to recover from major economic disruptions, disasters and uncertain circumstances like the pending aftermath of COVID-19.

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Image courtesy of Limbic Media

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Here's a publication full of economic recovery stories and examples from the National Association of Development Organizations

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Investment Co-ops are great tools to redirect wealth that would normally leak out of local economies (and into mutual funds and stocks) and back into local enterprises. Some of them, like the Vancouver Island Community Investment Co-op (shown) have set priorities set in areas such as local food, sustainable energy, and local Indigenous businesses.

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Province & State-level economic recovery taskforces

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Province & State-level economic recovery taskforces

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Many examples of this, but here is one that the Government of British Columbia launched in April 2020; along with information about the taskforce that the South Island Prosperity Partnership (Greater Victoria, BC) announced in April 2020, both in response to the COVID19 economic crisis.

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A nice overview of the fundamentals from the Brookings Institution

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Intro to Placemaking as a tool for Economic Development

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Intro to Placemaking as a tool for Economic Development

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An overview of the types of placemaking and how it relates to economic development.

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The Recovery and Resiliency Roadmap (Canada version)

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The Recovery and Resiliency Roadmap (Canada version)

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Economic developers in BC and Alberta collaborated on this toolkit, adapted from the USA version.

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(USA version) Leadership in times of Crisis

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(USA version) Leadership in times of Crisis

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The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) revised their disaster recovery toolkit in 2015.

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

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How resilient is your local economy? Check out this checklist adopted by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Association. They have other useful resources here too.

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Community Investment Co-op Startup Guide

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Community Investment Co-op Startup Guide

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This startup guide was authored for British Columbia context, but some useful resources here for anyone interested.

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There are many examples of community investment co-ops including this one focused on solar power projects.

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Tactical Urbanism as a Disaster Response 

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Tactical Urbanism as a Disaster Response 

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Approaches used after the Christchurch, NZ earthquake were so innovative, this student wrote a masters thesis about it. Much has been published on this. Like this blog on the politics of pop-ups or this blog showcasing some of the projects (including the one below). You can read their entire regional plan here.

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"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."    Abraham Lincoln

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"Every test successfully met is rewarded by some growth in intuitive knowledge, strengthening of character, or initiation into a higher consciousness."                Paul Brunton

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"In times of crisis, people reach for meaning. Meaning is strength. Our survival may depend on our seeking and finding it."                              Viktor Frankl

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The Urban Institute's report on inclusive recovery includes lessons learned and key indicators for tracking progress and racial inclusion in recovery.

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A collection of case studies on cities that have faced downturns, plant closures, and other crisis that had significant impact on their economies.

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(International) Urban Cities Facing the Crisis

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(International) Urban Cities Facing the Crisis

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This report sponsored by the European Union analyzed 10 European cities' responses to the global financial crisis in 2009.

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A circular economy is one that keeps resources within the economy in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end their life - more efficient & environmentally sound alternative to the traditional linear economy that produces waste. This report from the global C40 network captures many examples.

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This report contains ideas and interventions used by cities in Europe to turn-around declining cities and industrial centres. It also introduces a framework for recovery.

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How should cities respond to Coronavirus pandemic?

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How should cities respond to Coronavirus pandemic?

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This UK blog was adapted from a Centre for Cities podcast featuring Global Resilient Cities Network. It's a high-level discussion of the fundamentals needed to nurture resilient cities in the wake of a crisis.

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I like the definition of resilience from this report Economic Analysis of Resilience. It goes like:
"resilience can be defined as the ability of an economy, society, organisation or individual to recover effectively from an unexpected shock". Pretty clear definition. But as the authors discuss, key aspects to explore are: "what is meant by recovery?" and "how do we define effectively?"

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This study of the resiliency of  Norwegian's regions introduces this concept:
"Resilience literature identifies two possible ways of recovering from a shock or disturbance: by ‘bouncing back’ or by ‘bouncing forward’. Bouncing back implies returning to the pre-shock or normal position by reconstructing earlier parameters. Bouncing forward requires finding a new normal by replacing certain parameters with new ones.

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Why do some cities bounce back faster than others?

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Why do some cities bounce back faster than others?

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This study by Purdue's Daniel Aldrich explores why some 40 towns rebuilt quickly after Japan's 2011 earthquake, and why others didn't. HINT: it's all about social ties and social resilience!

Image: Taken May 23, 2017, the day after the terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK.

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Manchester Photo post Ariana Grande concert attack

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Arts and Culture have an essential role in times of crisis

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Arts and Culture have an essential role in times of crisis

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This article in the Globe and Mail explains why arts organizations need our support now in order to play an essential role in post-COVID-19 recovery.

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Canada's Non-Profit & Charitable Sectors are at huge risk due to COVID19. Here's why they matter:

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Canada's Non-Profit & Charitable Sectors are at huge risk due to COVID19. Here's why they matter:

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In this post from Scale Collaborative, they point out that Canada's NGOs are in for a $15.6 billion hit in the six months following COVID. Here are some actions that local governments can take to help.

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The International Downtown Association has a members-only idea-sharing platform on their COVID-19 resource page. There are some other useful links here as well.

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Check out this message of hope from the Seattle Downtown Association.

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Many cities are creating programs to help save their arts sector. Check out what the Downtown Seattle Association is doing.

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The Importance of Local Business to Economic Recovery

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The Importance of Local Business to Economic Recovery

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Supporting local businesses could be the fastest way to economic recovery because they keep more money circulating in the economy than chains (and way more than online options!). Learn about the local business multiplier.

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The Common Future org has a series of initiatives designed to teach city and foundation leaders how to shift capital back into systems that need it most.

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The Role of Leaders during COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Role of Leaders during COVID-19 Pandemic

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In this clip about finding the positives through these uncertain times, leadership expert and principal of Roy Group, Ian Chisholm, referenced this Gallop report that outlined the four things your teams and followers need from you in times of crisis.

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Image source here.

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Todd Litman just published this excellent report on COVID-19 urban forms and how they can better respond to health crisis and specific necessities (like social distancing).

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Esri, world leaders in GIS systems and mapping, have resources and samples to show how mapping can assist businesses with monitoring operations while easing back into operations post-crisis.

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A national organizational in Canada called For Our Kids is launching a campaign to encourage Canada to embrace climate action as a means of economic recovery--creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions at the same time.

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Using Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) approaches in disaster response 

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Using Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) approaches in disaster response 

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The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) published this 2017 report on BRE that includes an Appendix about disaster response and the role of business retention surveys and responses in the coordination of recovery. There's a section on business recovery centres as well.

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Regional Recovery Strategy (Christchurch, NZ)

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Regional Recovery Strategy (Christchurch, NZ)

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After an earthquake (or any major disaster hits!) cities and regions need centrally coordinated plans. How does Christchuch's plan apply to other types of crisis? Read it here. Their specific Economic Recovery Programme (part of the overall strategy) can be found here.

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Economic Recovery Programme (Christchurch, NZ)

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Economic Recovery Programme (Christchurch, NZ)

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After their earthquake, Christchurch created a coordinated recovery strategy. One the components of that macro plan was this specific economic recovery programme.

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Grand Forks Economic Disaster Recovery Program

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Grand Forks Economic Disaster Recovery Program

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Here's a report prepared by the BC Economic Development Association to aid Grand Forks recovery efforts.

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Canada's national economy tracker from Deloitte

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Canada's national economy tracker from Deloitte

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Deloitte created this live dashboard to track status and recovery in Canada across four themes: health,  alternate signals of recovery, financial, and economic. Statistics Canada also has a weekly updated COVID-19 economic dashboard that tracks a number of indicators like GDP and employment.

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OECD Tracking the Economic Impact of Containment Measures

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OECD Tracking the Economic Impact of Containment Measures

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This is obviously an ongoing issue, but OECD is already tracking the impact on G7 nations.

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Why Culture can save Cities after War or Disaster 

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Why Culture can save Cities after War or Disaster 

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In this CityLab article by Tanvi Misra, the city of Medellin, Columbia is used as a backdrop to explore theme of urban reinvention and resiliency. The author also refers to this release from the World Bank announcing a joint report with UNESCO on the same topic.

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Municipal / Gov't Procurement as a tool for economic recovery

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Municipal / Gov't Procurement as a tool for economic recovery

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This two-page summary provides the key points from this webinar all about the role of procurement in achieving social and economic outcomes post- COVID-19 (Vancouver Island focused).

To explore deeper, check out this guide book by Buy Social Canada (funded in part by the Gov't of Canada).

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Municipal Recovery Toolkit (Post-Flood Recovery)

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Municipal Recovery Toolkit (Post-Flood Recovery)

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The Government of Alberta put together this toolkit to support communities impacted by unforeseen flood events in recent years.

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Economic Dashboard (Greater Victoria, BC)

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Economic Dashboard (Greater Victoria, BC)

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In support of their Rising Economy Taskforce, the South Island Prosperity Partnership launch a monthly recovery dashboard to track key indicators as the region progresses through recovery.

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Mayors from 11 cities worldwide will serve on a new Taskforce set-up by the C40 cities network to discuss recovery from Covid-19.

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Resonance Consulting's Chris Fair wrote this inspiring piece about reimagining "the soul of the city" (that is: our locally-owned shops and experiential districts known more commonly as "Main Street"). There are some good ideas, practices and approaches in here.

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Canadian tech-co Townfolio created a series of dashboards for provinces across Canada. Here is the BC one.

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Small grants available around BC, including COVID-responsive projects: https://neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca/

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Living Wages as Component of Economic Recovery and Health 

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Living Wages as Component of Economic Recovery and Health 

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Healthy economic environments address this income/poverty determinant by ensuring “work for everyone capable of working, where workers are treated as assets and are paid a living wage, where there is equal economic opportunity for all, where those who can’t work are supported, and where money doesn’t buy political power or immunity from the law.” Implementation of a living wage, which reflects the actual cost of living in a given community, can also benefit the local economy through increased discretionary spending, as well as reduced staff turnover and increased productivity.

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The Issue is a series of articles on Healthy Community issues and topics, written by BC Healthy Communities Staff.

What is the issue?

Economic equality.

Why is it important?

Healthy Communities foster health by-among other things-making sure that the environments within them are supportive of health. Though we often think of physical environments such as Healthy Built Environments and Healthy Natural Environments, the environments within communities that impact our health can also be social, political, and especially economic.

When we think about what determines our health, we often fall back on behaviours such as eating fruits and vegetables, and maintaining an exercise routine. While these factors, as well as genetics, do play some role in our health, research indicates that much of our health is actually determined by social and structural factors , called determinants of health . One of the most prominent of these is income/poverty-in other words, our economic environment. Income level has been shown to affect health outcomes across the population to a much higher degree than health behaviours such as smoking or maintaining a certain body weight.

Healthy environments address this income/poverty determinant by ensuring "work for everyone capable of working, where workers are treated as assets and are paid a living wage, where there is equal economic opportunity for all, where those who can't work are supported, and where money doesn't buy political power or immunity from the law." Implementation of a living wage, which reflects the actual cost of living in a given community, can also benefit the local economy through increased discretionary spending, as well as reduced staff turnover and increased productivity.

As part of a healthy economic environment, support community health and well-being by offering safe and humane places for people to work, where expectations and compensation are reasonable and fair. Workers who are protected by safety precautions, anti-harassment and bullying policies, and fair wage legislation are healthy individuals who can actively participate in creating healthy economies and communities.

What does this look like through an equity lens?

When we examine issues through an equity lens, we consider: who benefits? who does not benefit, or is in fact harmed? Over the last 40 years, average hourly wages in Canada have not significantly grown when adjusted for inflation. However, what's hidden in this statistic is that the richest group of Canadians have enjoyed an increased share of total national income over this time, while the poorest and middle-income groups have lost ground . What's more, certain groups of Canadians disproportionately experience low income, including new Canadians, women and single parents, racialized folks including Indigenous people, and people living with disabilities. As mentioned above, the health impacts of low income can be severe-in Montréal, for example, there is an 11-year gap in life expectancy for men in the poorest neighbourhoods compared to the wealthiest neighbourhoods.

What does this mean for local governments?

The downstream effects of poverty, income inequality, and unsafe working conditions can present a strain on public services including policing, housing programs and social services. Using the five pillars of Healthy Communities, local governments can take action towards healthier economic environments in their community. Here are just a few ideas:

Community/Citizen Engagement: Listen to the "context experts" in your community-those with lived experience of being negatively impacted by the social determinants of health-and use their valuable input to create a solution. In developing their unique Downtown Eastside Community Economic Development Strategy, Vancouver consulted with a group including residents, businesses, organizations, networks, associations and community organizing initiatives from the area.

Multi-Sectoral Collaboration: Engage in cross-sector collaboration to support or acknowledge local businesses upholding good employment practices. The CRD offers workplace wellness programs for small-to-mid-sized businesses who would not otherwise have the capacity to implement these types of health benefit programs for their employees.

Political Commitment: Signal a commitment to reducing income inequality and poverty by implementing a living wage for local government staff. The communities of New Westminster, Huu-ay-aht, Central Saanich, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Quesnel and Vancouver are all Living Wage Employers.

Healthy Public Policy: Create or uphold policies that incentivize good employment and economic practices. Cumberland's Social Procurement Framework, for example, obliges purchasers to consider, among other things, whether the purchase can be leveraged to improve the economic well-being of Cumberland, including outreach to engage equity-seeking businesses.

Asset-Based Community Development: Leverage existing grant programs to highlight, support and celebrate businesses in your community who are leading by example in terms of wages and working conditions. Northern Development Initiative Trust, one of multiple regional economic trusts in B.C., offers a variety of business development supports, including LOVE Northern BC, a program that offers marketing support to help independent businesses strengthen their competitiveness and keep more dollars in the local economy.

Where can I go to learn more?

To hear more about how your community can support health through a strong, fair and equitable economy, get in touch with BC Healthy Communities, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

More about the social determinants of health:

More about income inequality and public health:

Johanna Henderson is BC Healthy Communities' Communications Manager.

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THE ISSUE: Economic Equality - BC Healthy Communities

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Healthy Communities foster health by creating environments that support health. Though we often think of physical environments such as Healthy Built Environments and Healthy Natural Environments, the environments within communities that impact our health can also be social, economic, and political.

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The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) added a new resource to their Restore Your Economy page specifically about reopening after the pandemic. Explore it here.

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The Canadian Urban Institute launched this webinar series that features conversations with city leaders across Canada about their responses and predictions for cities in the coming months. There are some teaser videos and blogs here as well.

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Check out this amazing story from Philadelphia that describes how local artists are inspiring hope AND informing the public with key safety information.

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Social Spacing Dataset for Municipalities

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Social Spacing Dataset for Municipalities

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This is an amazing set of examples of what cities are doing to adapt their spacial environments for pedestrians and active transportation modes in response to the pandemic.

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South Vancouver Island's "Sector Committee Reports"

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South Vancouver Island's "Sector Committee Reports"

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In April, the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) convened the Rising Economy Taskforce to lead the recovery efforts for Greater Victoria, BC, Canada. The first milestone was publishing the recommendations from 10 sector committees in late summer 2020.

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The City of Chicago released their Taskforce plan in July 2020. It's a good example of inclusive recovery efforts needed as a result of the pandemic.

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The City of Sydney released their recovery plan in June 2020. The recovery plan is good due to its organized structure and visuals.

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The city of Brisbane released their Recovery Plan in August 2020. This recovery plan mainly focused on citizens' survey responses and the city's according action.

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The City of New South Wales released their Recovery Plan in July 2020. This short recovery plan included several ongoing projects that will assist with economic development in the city.

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The City of Toronto released their Recovery Plan back in May 2020. This report included structure frameworks and specific trackworks.

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The City of Montreal released their recovery plan in June 2020. This report included specific impact before and during the pandemic within various sectors. However the  report is not supported by much visuals and diagrams.

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Many disasters and economic disruptions, including COVID19, impact women worse than men. This is why Rotman School of Business and the YWCA put this report together on feminist economic recovery in Canada.