Urban renewal is a means for municipalities to maximize built assets/infrastructure, increase tax productivity and strengthen a city’s fiscal standing. To this end I support the concept of downtown renewal in Guelph. Not to be lost in this however, are the growing concerns over the recent tone and direction of our downtown revitalization aspirations. While the vision has merit, the social/economic tradeoffs in terms of increased taxation, affordability, capital project deferral and gentrification need to be better understood. Continue reading