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What is an Inclusive City?
An inclusive city is one that offers opportunities and
the supports needed for individuals to develop their full potential as
well as to actively participate to their fullest extent in all aspects
of community life; such as decision-making, education, culture and recreation,
transportation, and employment, etc. Individuals are not only physically
included but also socially accepted in a community.
The following are some characteristics of an inclusive
city:1
- Integrative and cooperative. A community in which
all individuals are brought together and where people and organizations
work together
- Interactive. Individuals have access to public
spaces, and organizations and groups have opportunities to interact
- Invested. Public and private sectors commit resources
for the social and economic health and well-being of a community.
- Diverse. Diverse people and cultures and incorporated
and welcomed into the structures, processes and functions of the community.
- Equitable. All residents have the means to live
in decent conditions and have the opportunity to participate in the
community.
- Accessible and sensitive. Individuals have access
to available and culturally sensitive supports and services for their
social, health, and developmental needs.
- Participatory. An inclusive city is one that
encourages and supports the involvement of its members in the planning
and decision-making that affect community conditions and development.
- Safe. Individual and broad community safety is
ensured.
The following are characteristics of an exclusive city:1
- Lack of social networks and failings social support
systems. A city that promotes service cutbacks, unavailable or inadequate
levels of service, as well as inappropriate services for the population's
particular needs.
- Deprivation of basic living conditions. Individuals
live on inadequate incomes or income support programs, and live in unsafe
and poor quality housing. There is a lack of adequate supportive housing
for seniors and people living with disabilities.
- Barriers to developmental opportunities. A city
that offers little employment skill training for uneducated and unskilled
workers, and a lack of recognition of knowledge, skill and experience
that many immigrants bring to Canada.
- Prejudicial societal and cultural attitudes.
Individuals perceived as "different" live with the stigma
of poverty and of certain conditions such as disability, single parenthood,
age, and sexual orientation, etc.
- Harmful public policy, unresponsive bureaucracies
and power. Closed political process and decision-making, and the
political powerlessness of disadvantaged groups.
1Laidlaw Foundation, Building
inclusive communities: A social infrastructure strategy for Canadian municipalities,
Final report on Cross-Canada Community Soundings, January 2003, pg.12
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Fast Facts
Recent demographic changes in Ottawa point to an increase
in the number of individuals within demographic groups which have historically
faced marginalization or barriers in the housing market as well as barriers
to equal participation in various aspects of community life, including
community planning. Some of these population changes include1:
- The aging of the population. Seniors constitute
the fastest growing population group in Ottawa (up 16% since 1996).
There is a growing demand for supports for aging in place.
- The number of people with a disability. Local
community agencies estimate that 85% of Ottawa's population experiences
some form of disability at some stage in their lives. In 1997-1998,
74,350 people with disabilities resided in the Ottawa region. A large
majority of people with disabilities in Ottawa face substantial barriers
in participation in community life.
- The increasing diversity of the population. Immigrant
residents represent 20% of the Ottawa population. The immigrant population
in Ottawa is increasing at twice the pace of the City's total population
(14% versus 7.3%). Many immigrants face barriers to adequate housing
and employment and experience poverty and inequity2.
- The trend to smaller households. One-person households
are the fastest growing household type in Ottawa (13%). Over 75% of
new households in the 2001 census were either one or two person households.
Almost one third (29%) of one person-households are senior households.
This points to a need for new strategies to ensure people living alone
are not isolated, to encourage social connections between small households
in neighbourhoods, and to encourage the development of appropriate housing
options in all neighbourhoods for small households.
- The continuing economic gap and the persistence of
poverty. According to the 2001 census, 15% of Ottawa's population
in private households was "low income". These residents face
a number of barriers to participation in community life, particularly
with respect to finding affordable housing.
1 Social Planning Council
of Ottawa, Our
Homes, Our Neighbourhoods: Building an Inclusive City, Report on the
Community Forum, Ottawa, SPC, Sept. 20 2003. pg. 5
2 Building the Ottawa Mosaic,
the Ottawa Mosaic Conference Report, Ottawa, SPC, April 25 2002.
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Research on Social Inclusion
Here are some sites and documents relating to Social Inclusion
Ottawa Based Research
Social Planning Council of Ottawa
National
Canadian Council on Social Development
The Pre-conditions
for a constructive social inclusive research Conditions
Children and youth
Social Inclusion Research in Canada: Children and Youth
Government of Canada
Others sites of interest
Community of Practice (CoP)
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Policies that Promote Social Inclusion
Policies, based on shared values and principles and a respect
of diversity, promote social inclusion by attempting to reduce economic,
social and cultural inequities within the population (racism, age or gender
discrimination, economic disparities, etc.) all while seeking to recognize
and support the contributions of all community members to the economic,
social and cultural life of a society.
Here are a suggested few:
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Connecting With Others
Other inclusion initiatives:
Social Planning Network of Ontario, through the Social
and Economic Inclusion Initiative called Closing
the Distance
Ontario
Healthy Communities Coalition
Laidlaw Foundation. Working
Paper Series on Social Inclusion
Canada's Community
Inclusion Initiative
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Effective Measures
The Social Planning Council was pleased this year
to become the host organization for People with Disabilities: A community
Coalition. The Coalition is beginning a major project to monitor progress
on accessibility and inclusion in Ottawa, as a follow-up to its' significant
involvement in the development and passage of Ottawa's Accessibility Plan.
Funding for the work of the Coalition has been received from the Ministry
of Citizenship and the Community Foundation of Ottawa. The year-long project
is set to begin this summer. For further information, please contact Dianne
Urquhart from the Social Planning Council.
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