The State of Unicity – 25 Years Later,
Conference Proceedings (October 3-4, 1997)
Nancy Klos, editor
Occasional Paper 35 |
1998 | 144 + xii pp. | ISBN 1-896023-00-2
In 1972, a unique form of municipal government known as Unicity came into existence in the Greater Winnipeg area. This innovative experiment in local government reform officially established the City of Winnipeg as one unified city which incorporated the former municipalities of Winnipeg, St. James-Assiniboia, St. Boniface, Transcona, St. Vital, West Kildonan, East Kildonan, Tuxedo, Old Kildonan, North Kildonan, Fort Garry and Charleswood, and replaced the two-tier metropolitan system established in 1960. Unicity captured the attention of cities and city reformers across Canada and North America for its unique combination of goals as well as for its key features. Twenty-five years later, how has the Unicity experiment turned out - and where are we going as the future presents even greater challenges?
To mark the 25th anniversary of Winnipeg’s unified civic government, the Institute of Urban Studies organized "The State of Unicity - 25 Years Later Conference," held at the University of Winnipeg, October 3 - 4, 1997. The 25th anniversary of Unicity presented a unique opportunity to revisit this important event in post-war Canadian urban reform and, more importantly, to examine the present state of local government in Winnipeg and other municipalities, and the future of urban governance. The event was funded by The Winnipeg Foundation, the City of Winnipeg, and the University of Winnipeg Department of Political Science.
This volume contains the papers presented by the panellists, keynote and luncheon speakers over the two days of the conference. Local and national experts and practitioners in urban affairs and government discussed Unicity - 25 Years Later, Municipal Democracy and Citizen Participation, Amalgamation in the 1990s, and Urban Governance for the 21st century. While the debate over the success or failure of unification of Greater Winnipeg continues, it is evident that a vision for the next twenty-five years cannot exclude the citizens of Winnipeg, neighbourhood initiative, and the growing urban Aboriginal community.
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