London, Ontario A Brief History 1793 -Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe selects town site. London to be provincial capital. 1826 – London is founded.

London, Ontario

A Brief History

•1793 -Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe selects town site.

•London to be provincial capital.

•1826 – London is founded.

•Administrative seat of region due to geographic centrality.

•London’s origin lies in practical political considerations

•1840 – Incorporated as a town

•Establishing economic control over hinterland.

•1853 – First steam locomotive arrives First economic boom.

•1855 - London becomes a city.

•1861 – U.S. Civil War Second economic boom.

•Growth results from local economic dominance and increased distant trade.

A Brief History

Blackfriars Bridge, 1880

Blackfriars Bridge, 2008

A Brief History

A Brief History

A Brief History

•1793 -Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe selects town site.

•London to be provincial capital.

•1826 – London is founded.

•Administrative seat of region due to geographic centrality.

•London’s origin lies in practical political considerations

•1840 – Incorporated as a town

•Establishing economic control over hinterland.

•1853 – First steam locomotive arrives First economic boom.

•1855 - London becomes a city.

•1861 – U.S. Civil War Second economic boom.

•Growth results from local economic dominance and increased distant trade.

A Brief History

• 19th Century: London Grows More Diverse

• Financial services and education expands

• Early – Mid 20th Century: Manufacturing and Processing sector develops

• London enters 21st C with a diverse economy.

A Brief History

A Brief History

A Brief History

• 19th Century: London Grows More Diverse

• Financial services and education expands

• Early – Mid 20th Century: Manufacturing and Processing sector develops

• London enters 21st C with a diverse economy.

A Brief History

London Today

• Regional hub centered between Detroit and Toronto

• Population: 352, 395• CMA population: 492, 000• Tenth largest Canadian urban center

• Labour force: 268, 100• Manufacturing: 29, 100• Automotive: 15, 800• Life Sciences: 18, 000• IT: 5, 000

• Full-time students: 45, 000•18

A Shift in Focus• Steady decline in the manufacturing sector

• A 30.2% drop in the London Economic Region since 2006

• Investment in research institutions by corporations leading to diversification

• Example - 3M Clinic – partnership between 3M Canada, UWO, London Health Sciences

• A transition in emphasis from the goods-producing sector to the services-providing sector

Employment Patterns

Employment Patterns

Reworking the City

• Creative City Taskforce – 2004

• City of London Strategic Plan – 2011

• “…our economy is the engine of our community”

• Creative Network of Canada’s Creative City Summit – 2011

A Vibrant Mid-Size City

Corporate Landmarks

Practical Considerations

• A Canadian, English-speaking city

• Official documents and publications

• Non-official documents

• The ‘chattering classes’

• Media

• Familiar political system

• Understanding origins, development of programs and policy decisions

Academic Interests

• Diversity – Immigration

• Urban Theory – Mid-sized regions

• Suburban Human Capital

Diversity - Immigration

• Importance of diversity in a Creative Economy

• London experiencing a decline in number of immigrant arrivals since 2001

• Overall numbers feeble compared to the Big 3

• How will this effect the trajectory of London’s development and pursuit of becoming a creative city?

• What policy directions and projects will London undertake to facilitate successful immigration?

Urban Theory – Mid Sized Regions

• Widening disparity in the Canadian Urban System – Bourne, 2004

• Smaller cities experiencing population and economic decline

• Heterogeneity vs. homogeneity of cities

• Loss of the 3 Ts?

• How will London pursue the dream of attaining a Creative Economy?

Suburban Human Capital

• London trying to emulate principles found in Toronto’s Culture Plan (2003), heavily influenced by Creative City principles

• Scaling down strategies of larger economies – a good idea for smaller regions?

• Differences in the relationship between human capital and cities of differing sizes, densities

• Can superimposing big-city strategies on to faltering smaller regions be a feasible long-term plan?

YOUR City Selection Process

A little bit about how you chose your city – did you choose based on popularity? Size? Familiarity?

What is your city’s current economic condition? Do you think it will be easier to study a declining region or a rapidly growing one?

Does your city exhibit characteristics of a Creative City? What do you think is missing from your city?