This talk surveys the fiscal impacts of rising police salaries for Ontario's municipalities, then goes on to present research about best practices for controlling costs.

Conventional wisdom and the literature in urban planning suggest that high density built form is preferable to low density because it is more environmentally sustainable and results in lower hard infrastructure costs. This presentation entertains the other side of the argument: that high density built form can increase soft infrastructure costs.

In 1970, the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco had almost identical levels of income per resident. In 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area was almost one-third richer than Los Angeles. This in-depth study draws on economics, sociology, political science and geography to shed new light on the deep causes of economic development and challenges conventional notions about development in urban regions around the world.

At this event, Martim Smolka speaks about the theory and practice of land value capture as it has been implemented in Latin America, and David Amborski discusses its use in Canada.

On the tenth anniversary of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, panelists Enid Slack, Richard M. Bird, and Zack Taylor look at the past, present, and future of these issues and give their progress reports: what, if anything, have cities learned?

This presentation focuses on the regional dimensions of water delivery in Mumbai and looks at the role of institutions and the impact of local laws, agencies, and governance on how water is shared between rural and urban areas.

IMFG Visiting Scholar Murtaza Haider explores the impact of the Land Transfer Tax (LTT) on housing sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Previous research has shown that housing sales declined after the implementation of the LTT but Dr. Haider’s research concludes that the negative impact on housing sales was not statistically significant.

Catherine Barbé, the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Société du Grand Paris, shares some of her experience and strategies with the implementation of the Grand Paris project, and insights and lessons on further integrating the Paris metropolitan region.

A strong university helps build a strong city, and vice versa. Universities impart innovative dynamism and resilience to the economies of urban regions. They are stabilizing forces on urban economies, and on the local neighbourhoods they inhabit. And they connect their host regions to the world. What role should the University of Toronto play in our region’s future?

The presentation compares the findings on the governance and finance of 18 metropolitan areas in federal systems around the world and identifies some of the issues that will need to be resolved if these areas are to thrive in the future.