Aspiring Ottawa: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Need for Honest Conversations

Ottawa aspires to be one of the best mid-sized cities in North America. We are home to a growing population, a thriving economy and have…

November 28, 2023

Op-ed: Is selling ‘air rights’ to public land such as Lansdowne Park the best we can do?

In 2007 Ottawa City Council voted for a public design competition for Lansdowne Park. Initially, under the leadership of former Mayor Larry O’Brien, local developers…

October 30, 2023

Dreessen: City of Ottawa must be more creative about public spaces

To build attractive, people-friendly venues, we must start with something basic and unsexy: fixing the municipal procurement process. Public places such as libraries, parks, community…

April 27, 2023

How can Ottawa decrease its tolerance for crap?

Ottawa, as a city, relies on the federal government and National Capital Commission to do the heavy lifting when it comes to our buildings, parks,…

April 12, 2023

Put roads on a diet

Ottawa has a road problem. Decades of underinvestment in affordable transit, combined with continued expansion of car-dependent suburban communities and a housing affordability crisis, has…

December 20, 2022

Can 24 Sussex Drive be saved?

Did you know the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, 24 Sussex Drive, has been left vacant for nearly a decade? When Right…

April 14, 2022