These changes are necessary to help Hamilton become more sustainable, inclusive, and a livable City. So by rebuilding the downtown core, it attracts new tourists and benefits small businesses. Infilling housing helps home seekers by offering more choices and affordability, and keeping the price of infrastructure expansion lower. Investments in culture bring people together, expand the tourist Market, and increase local pride. Together, these ideas help the local economy, residents, the environment and Hamilton's reputation to flourish.

 Hamilton can continue to progress by expanding its bike lanes and pedestrian streets to encourage active Transportation as opposed to large numbers of single drivers on the road. Affordable housing must be prioritized through inclusionary zoning, and modular buildings must be considered to speed up development.  We should increase the “15-minute neighbourhoods”,  this would give citizens access to Goods more easily and more conveniently on a daily basis. Additionally, green infrastructure like Urban forests would assist the city in defending against climate risks and improving the natural scenery and beauty. Finally, we need to connect all the voices, especially the youth, indigenous, and minority voices, who have the potential to make planning Equitable and inclusive for everyone. These proposals would improve current projects and make Hamilton an even better City to come to.

Firstly, Hamilton has reimagined its 1970s high-concrete library and adjacent parking garage as a unified “Knowledge Commons + Market Hall,” led by local architect David Premi. Instead of demolition, the project opened the ground floor into a light-filled civic plaza where a year-round farmers’ market, digital fabrication labs and performance spaces interpenetrate. This “transformative reuse” addresses the city’s status as a food-desert in its lower-income east end while democratizing access to technology and training: since opening, market vendors report a 25 % increase in foot traffic, and over 3 000 residents have enrolled in free workshops on coding, woodworking and entrepreneurship. By knitting together social services, economic activity and creative practice under one roof, the Commons has doubled cross-neighbourhood attendance at public events and restored a sense of shared ownership in the city’s cultural life.

Secondly, Hamilton is reclaiming its streets for people. After decades of one-way, speed-optimized arterials that averaged 415 yearly vehicle-pedestrian/cyclist collisions², the city has reversed course: King Street East and James Street North have been converted back to two-way traffic, while pilot corridors like Herkimer Avenue now feature parking-protected cycle tracks. Traffic-engineering data show two-way conversions reduce average vehicle speeds by 20 % and cut T-bone collisions in half, while protected lanes have driven a 150 % surge in weekday cycling counts. Simultaneously, street-level retail vacancy on King Street East has fallen from 18 % to 9 % since 2020, proving that slower traffic and safer crossings foster commercial vitality and public life.

Thirdly, to counter housing unaffordability, where the average home-price-to-income ratio in Hamilton stands at 6.0× versus 2.5× nationally³, and to preserve its architectural character, City Hall has legalized laneway and coach-house units in two downtown wards. This “missing-middle” approach revives a housing form banned by 1957 zoning, offering rentals 20–30 % below market rate and enabling seniors, students and young professionals to age in place or launch independent households without high-rise towers. Early adopters report that these small-scale units relieve pressure on the rental market, support intergenerational family networks and maintain the human-scale streetscape that defines Hamilton’s heritage neighbourhoods.

Looking ahead, Hamilton should establish Community Land Trusts to secure permanently affordable housing and buffer residents from speculative markets, knitting them into neighbourhood governance; develop integrated green corridors linking the Niagara Escarpment’s trails to downtown parks for stormwater management, biodiversity and equitable recreation; and pilot demand-responsive “micro-transit” shuttles in low-density wards to bridge transit deserts and reduce car dependence. Collectively, these measures would deepen Hamilton’s “better-city ambition,” proving that medium-sized cities can be life-sized, nimble, inclusive and brimming with civic pride.

Sources:

Statistics Canada. “Low Income Lines by CMA.” Table 11-10-0087-01, Statistics Canada, 2021, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110086701. Accessed 16 July 2025.

City of Hamilton. Traffic Safety Annual Report, City of Hamilton, 2022, https://www.hamilton.ca/city-planning/transportation-planning/road-safety. Accessed 16 July 2025.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. “Housing Affordability Metrics.” CMHC, 2023, https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research. Accessed 16 July 2025.

Davis, John Emmeus, editor. The Community Land Trust Reader. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2010.

Douglas, Jane. “Adaptive Reuse of Brutalist Architecture for Social Innovation.” Journal of Urban Design, vol. 25, no. 4, 2020, pp. 15–32.

Another problem is that people want Hamilton to be more of a walkable city. Or, more precisely, a bikeable city. And as someone who bikes a lot, this really resonates with me. I've experienced the fear of when the bike land just ends, and you have to merge with road traffic. It's not fun. Many Hamiltonians feel the city isn't safe enough to bike, with many high-traffic roads, bike-car related accidents, and unsafe bike lanes. However, change is happening. Slowly but surely, more bike infrastructure is being added. In Meadowlands (where I bike most), they recently added a bike lane that makes me feel a lot safer while biking. Change is happening, for the better.

The final issue has to due with the escarpment. Due to the city being split in half by the escarpment, there are a lot of big roads that go up and down the escarpment, and this divides many neighborhoods and communities. One initiative being undertaken is for one day every year, an organization lights up the rail trail with candles at night. The rail trail crosses over many of these high-traffic roads, so they do this to try and bring the separated communities together. I bike on this trail, and I had no idea this was happening! I'm definitely going to find out when they're doing this, and bike there when they are. This is so cool.

Since that era, Hamilton has remained diligently working to rejuvenate the downtown core, to restore its previously prosperous city. A group of local architects, specifically David Premi, renovated an existing community space into a fully redesigned Farmers Market and Central Public Library. This project contributed to the revitalization and modernization of the city. In addition, this urban renewal movement invoked a sense of unity and community amongst Hamiltonians. 

Hamilton is transforming its streets to prioritize cyclists and pedestrians, implementing various bike lanes and signage. These were to be located along King Street East and James Street North. The alterations will reduce the number of collisions, as Hamilton reported experiencing 415 annual pedestrian/cyclist collisions involving motorized vehicles. As well, these changes are designed to reduce the city's ecological footprint.

The redevelopment proposal of Hamilton’s harbourfront aimed to provide an urban environment located on Lake Ontario. Currently, this designated area serves as a hub for outdoor leisure and cultural events. I have had the cherished opportunity to experience this transformation, witnessing non-profit organizations perform at the harbourfront daily. These activities unite the community and strengthen the cultural diversity of the city. 

Hamilton is planning to expand urban farming initiatives to improve food security in underprivileged areas. The organization, McQuesten Urban Farm, utilized unused urban spaces to produce food. These initiatives provide healthy, nutrient-dense, locally sourced produce to low-income families. 

I believe Hamilton is making significant advancements toward revitalizing the city. To further accelerate this progress, I would establish a Care Package program for the Homeless. This organization would be publicly and municipally funded. This would provide essential hygiene items, resources for support services, and information on designated shelter areas. On November 4, 2024, the City of Hamilton reported 1,216 individuals experiencing homelessness on that date. This initiative would benefit the well-being of the homeless, infrastructure (hospitals, care facilities), and enhance the city's economic development.

Secondly, they have been working to enhance cycling and pedestrian safety. The way Hamilton's streets were built was for cars to be moving as fast as possible, which made it safe for those who are walking or cycling near them. Taking this into consideration, Hamilton has been trying to increase the protection in bike lanes and make walking or cycling safer for everyone. This allows for fewer accidents to occur, which helps in Hamilton's economy, but it also gives more options for transportation, which is eco-friendly. This is better for Hamilton's environment and is safer for everyone.

Thirdly, Hamilton has been working to build more affordable housing through an idea called laneway homes. These are homes that will be located behind alleys, which offer a cheaper housing option for individuals who can't afford a regular home. This is huge for not only Hamilton but also for Canada to keep increasing its residents, which then aids in building the economy.

These changes are necessary to help Hamilton become more sustainable due to it being hit by a catastrophe that includes a lack of jobs, rising house prices, etc. The city must work to rebuild itself and keep the identity they hope to see in the future.

One suggestion that I would say should be added to the Hamilton changes is to use the abandoned industrial land more. Instead of Hamilton waiting for companies and individuals to buy that land, they could instead use that space for other means, like community places. These places will bring people together and make Hamilton a hotspot for hangouts.

The first way that Hamilton is making changes is through David Premi's efforts. He is revitalizing two important public spaces in Hamilton: the local library and farmers market. He has reinvented the space to hold concerts and be multifunctional.

Secondly, in 1952, Hamilton's main streets had all been changed into one-way streets, which caused more traffic. Over the last few years, there was an annual average of 415 car collisions involving a pedestrian or cyclist. Hamilton is transforming by implementing better bike lanes. This prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists. These alterations will reduce the number of future car disasters.

Lastly, Adam Watson made a movement that aimed to help food insecurity amongst underpriviliged areas. This helps people who live further from grocery stores.

Looking ahead, I believe another way to revitalize this city is to offer more parks which will give it's citizens a place to relax and enjoy nature.

These changes are necessary for creating a livable city that is ready for what comes in the future. This improves the quality of life for residents, attracts various economic opportunities, which will make Hamilton a cultural and sustainable leader. Further, Hamilton could also expand its bike lanes and sidewalks onto the main roads to encourage active transportation. Also, affordable housing through inclusionary zoning and modular development would help meet the growing demand for housing. Finally, involving the youth, Indigenous peoples, and other cultural groups in city planning would ensure Hamilton grows in an inclusive way.

One thing I would suggest to enhance Hamilton is building a larger variety of housing options. Hamilton and much of the GTA is in a housing crisis because the demand for affordable homes greatly exceeds the supply, leading to insanely high property prices. By offering different housing options, particularly smaller or shared properties such as duplexes, smaller families will be able to buy a home which suits their needs, and Hamilton can completely utilize residential spaces.

One of the biggest pushes for change in Hamilton has taken place around making the city more accessible for non-cars. Hamilton is a city, a place that thrives on being accessible to the people who live inside of it, yet, inversely, Hamilton is a city built for cars and trucks, with its roads and streets being extremely unsafe and undeveloped for pedestrians and cyclists. Although there is no large-scale consolidated effort to fix Hamilton's streets, efforts are being made to increase the safety and walkability of the city. Hamiltonians are the people who would benefit from this most, and likely, so would the city. As pedestrians can move around the city more freely, road traffic and efficiency improve, as people living in the downtown don't feel forced to use motorized vehicles. Making a walkable city would be amazing for nurturing the city's vast urban centers like shopping malls, while making more room for stores and community centers to grow the municipality's identity and community contentment! The fact of the matter is, Hamilton is a city for cars, which, quite frankly, is poor urban planning that hurts the saftey, wallets, and livlihoods of all Hamiltonians. By working towards creating a city with better streets, complete with proper bike infrastructure and safe sidewalks, Hamilton's road safety and health will significantly improve.

Another substantial issue that is frequently discussed when talking about Hamilton is the rampant poverty and homelessness. There have been major pushes, specically by the communities in Hamilton themselves, to make housing more affordable and to decrease food insecurity, both of which being factors that are leading causes in homelessness in Hamilton. Laneway housing and urban farms are two of the approaches communities have taken to make healthy food and affordable housing more available. These sort of projects, and the wider push for combating homelessness, are important for bringing up the city's population density, and through that, strengthening the workforce and lives of entrepreneurs. Some communities in Hamilton face massive amounts of Child Homelessness, the likes of which destabilize the futures of hundreds of children, on top of making a city with fewer supported youth. Reducing homelessness is important for the health of a city and its population, and it's because of this that Hamilton and its communities must take initiative to strengthen the city from within.

Perhaps as one of Hamilton's more interesting developments, the city is growing to embrace its industrial and post-industrial sides. Hamilton is an industrial city, one with a rich background and beautiful architecture, yet, as the city transitions from its rust to its new steels, there have been developments to fuse modern, improved architecture with the historical and culturally significant buildings of the city. From the waterfront to the downtown, Hamilton is full of potential. Potential for not just improvement, but for greatness, the real stock to become not just good architecture, but a home and a culturally significant city. Hamilton's steel industry has shrunk over the years, and as the city is coming to recognize, their new steel is in art and music, and interestingly enough, the city's new developments are trying to conform around that. As the municipal government works alongside all sorts of developers, they actively seek out ways to bring out the excellence in Hamilton's history, and pair it with the modern demands of the city. These types of developments are critical for Hamilton to stay afloat as a city. Hamilton is among many post-industrial cities that faced relative obsolescence as their industries shrank, yet like its compatriots, Hamilton is redefining itself through art and culture, so much so that the city isn't just healing for its current residants, but is growing for the future. In other words, these push for an integration of Hamilton's modern steel with its historical and iconic architecture is the path forward for the city to grow, and more importantly, flourish.

Hamilton is such a beautiful city, with so much space to grow and change in so many ways, so long as its communities can grasp it. From becoming walkable, to tackling homelessness, to simply developing into a proud and great city, Hamilton may face friction, yet the push of its community is what is driving it into the future. Hamilton isn't just Steel Town anymore, it's the hammer, and yet more than that, it's a home of art and music, and culture. Let it be known that its legacy isn't a city of rust, but a town that rose like a phoenix, and turned into gold.

Secondly, another really important thing that has happened to Hamilton is that they are helping to change the use of the tiny house villages in fighting the issue of homelessness and housing. Also, instead of being dependent on the homeless shelters, the city is still checking out with homes that are cost-effective and that have privacy and give the people some sense of ownership to the people with no homes. Also, when I was watching the video, it also showed how these small places are not only more human, but it is also more practical than it is traditional ones. Additionally, as the housing prices are rising and the rental options are becoming very unaffordable for many people, just like the ones on the margins, this thing is very necessary to defeat the whole housing crisis. It also does severely benefit the ones experiencing homelessness directly, while it is also helping the city by reducing a thing called encampments and the whole strain on the emergency services. Lastly, this represents a very compassionate and a well though solution that is connected and tied with caring for the community.

Now going onto the last paragraph, Hamilton is a city that is going more towards changing its urban design to be more supportive to walking, cycling, and the use of public transit for all. Initially, when you are moving away from a city that has so many cars and a layout like this to a city that is more humanly scaleed it will make Hamilton a city that is more safer, greener, and way more connected between all the different neighborhoods there are. Additionally, this will also include adding bike lanes that are much more protected, making sidewalks wider, and most importantly just overall improving the access to transit like more variety. Adding on, these specific changes are very important for our environmental sustainability, also reducing all of the unnecessary congestion of vehicles and making transportation very equitable for everyone like the people not able to buy cars. This will also give a great benefit to not only the individuals but it will also be benficial to the health of the city, which is great! Another thing that will help Hamilton keep getting better is it should think abotu different strategies like community land trusts so it can maintain affordable housing, more greener spaces to defeat the urban heat, and budgeting to let the people of Hamilton to have a voice in how money is spent in the city.

First, the city is adding more bike lanes and walkable streets so that people can move around safely without needing a car, which helps reduce traffic and air pollution, while also providing a healthier lifestyle.

Second, Hamilton is focusing on refurbishing old buildings, Abandoned factories and empty spaces to be transformed into affordable housing, art studios, and local businesses. This will help bring life back into older areas but also supports upcoming artists, entrepreneurs, and people looking for affordable places to live. Third, the city is trying to improve public spaces such as parks, gathering areas, and markets. These spaces give people a place to come together with their community, relax, and enjoy nature, which helps make Hamilton feel like a welcoming and inviting place. These changes are needed because more people are moving to Hamilton as housing in places like Toronto becomes too expensive. The city needs to grow in a smart and inclusive way. These changes help young families, artists, small business owners, and also to benefit the environment. One suggestion I would add is to expand and improve public transit so people can get around more easily without cars. I also think Hamilton should plant more trees and create green spaces in low-income areas to improve air quality and mental health for people in need.

Works Cited:

The Life-Sized City – Hamilton. Directed by Mikael Colville-Andersen, season 3, episode filmed in Hamilton, Ontario. TVO, 2020.
https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/the-life-sized-city-hamilton

My suggestions for future improvements would be to convert more streets to two way traffic, as many streets in the downtown area are very congested. I would also suggest that they expand the area to have more affordable housing and homes that are bigger than the ones in most of downtown.

Second, Hamilton is embracing urban agriculture and local food production. By turning underused land into gardens and community farms, residents gain access to fresh produce while also building stronger community connections.

Last but not least, the city is working to protect heritage buildings and promote unique architecture instead of replacing them with generic high-rises. This helps preserve Hamilton’s identity, attracts tourism and boosts civic pride.

These changes are necessary because Hamilton has long been overshadowed by Toronto and struggled with urban decay in certain areas. By investing in vibrant, inclusive spaces, the city is offering affordable opportunities and a better quality of life, especially for young people and newcomers.

One suggestion I’d add is to invest more in accessible, green public transit. Expanding electric bus routes or developing light rail lines could reduce traffic and carbon emissions while connecting communities more efficiently.

To build on these efforts, the city could add more protected bike lanes and bike-sharing programs to encourage eco-friendly travel. Urban farming and rooftop gardens could also help reduce food insecurity and promote local sustainability.