This presentation describes the structural history of school boards, boards of health, and hydro commissions in Ontario. The goal is to understand how and why these institutions have changed over the long term, focusing on how ideas, organized interests, and political opportunities can explain the long-term patterns, timing, and pace of institutional change.

Millennials are changing the face of cities. Educated, diverse and tech-savvy, this highly urbanized generation of ‘teens to thirty-somethings’ is expressing a new set of values about how they want to live, work, and play. Yet, their influx into North America’s cities is also surfacing difficult questions about housing affordability, access to employment, gentrification, and race. As urban demographics and civic values shift, what will the implications be for North America’s cities?

Discussions about urban governance often overlook the role of city residents, concentrating instead on developers, politicians and municipalities. This presentation focuses on the case of a neighbourhood civic movement in Toronto and its residents’ strategies to influence local governance and development.