Local Motion

Decisions about the things that matter most on a daily basis – our roads and schools and houses – happen at the city level. So, how do we influence these decisions? What motivates ordinary citizens to take action and improve their community? How do neighbours organize together? Does City Hall facilitate engagement, or stand in the way? Local Motion explores how we, as citizens, can make a positive change in our city.

Shifting from the 'what' of the previous uTOpia books to 'how,' Local Motion presents an in-depth analysis of civic engagement in Canada's largest city. Essays by fourteen in-the-trenches journalists explain what makes one city, Toronto, tick and stall. They explore electoral reform, civic organizations, zoning, the 'creative city,' budgeting and guerrilla activism. They profile people and groups who've made things happen. They give practical advice on navigating bureaucracy and getting the media's attention. Taken together, these in-depth essays and profiles paint a citizen-focused portrait of a city in transition, offering up myriad examples of how the people who live there help to make their city a better, more humane one.