Welcome to the Medicine Hat Community Action Lab
Public Event #1 (February 7, 2023)
Session #1: Strong Towns Core Principles
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1.1. Principles of a Strong Town
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1.2. Excerpt from Strong Towns
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1.3. Complex versus Complicated and Spooky Wisdom (11:10)
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1.4. Taco John's of Brainerd
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1.5. Growth versus Productivity (13:55)
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1.6. Optional Deep Dive
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1.7. Discussion Items
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Course: Strong Towns 101
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Reading: Bottom Up Revolution
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Assignment: Three Topics to Discuss
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Activity: Humbly Observe
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Action Team Session March 2, 2023 (88:08)
Session #2: The Bottom-Up Approach
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2.1. Chaotic But Smart
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2.2. Excerpt from Strong Towns
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2.3. One Example: Bottom-Up Street Design (59:44)
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2.4. Activity: Action Team Break Out Session
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Struggle 1: Mustard Seed
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Struggle 2: Dangerous School Crosswalk
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Struggle 3: Lack of Vibrancy in Downtown
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Struggle 4: Unwelcoming Pedestrian Tunnel
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Why Bad Street Design is Both Costly and Deadly
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Action Team Session March 16, 2023 (91:09)
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Additional Resources & Optional Readings
Leadership Team Briefing (March 27, 2023)
Session #3: An Economic Plan for Your Community
Session #4: The Growth Ponzi Scheme
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4.1. Introduction: The Growth Ponzi Scheme (1:44)
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4.2. Growth or Stability
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4.3. Exploring the Transactions of the Growth Ponzi Scheme (8:33)
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4.4. Bonus: This Ponzi Scheme Might END Suburban Prosperity (10:22)
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4.5. How Do We Respond?
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4.6. Optional Deep Dive
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4.7. Discussion
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4.8. Assignment: Data Collection (4:36)
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Action Team Session April 13, 2023 (117:35)
Session #5: The Real Reason Cities Have Annual Budget Shortfalls
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5.1. Introduction
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5.2. A Lesson from Winnipeg
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5.3. What is a Rational Response?
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5.4. What does "stop" really mean?
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5.5. Spotlight on Medicine Hat
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5.6. Can Medicine Hat build a better mousetrap? (10:10)
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5.7. Optional Deep Dive
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5.8 Discussion
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5.9. Assignment: Data Collection (2:17)
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Action Team Session April 27, 2023 (108:48)
Session #6: What It Means to Know Something is True
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6.1. Introduction
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6.2. The Limits of Knowledge (4:20)
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6.3. An Infinite Game
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6.4. How to Make Decisions When We Can't Predict the Future (2:21)
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6.5. Spotlight on Medicine Hat
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6.6. Optional Deep Dive
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6.7. Discussion
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6.8 Action Team Assignment (1:33)
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Action Team Session May 11, 2023
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Action Team Session May 25, 2023 (87:31)
Leadership Team Briefing (May 25, 2023)
Session #7: Measuring Success
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7.1. Introduction
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7.2. What is a Good Project
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7.3. Measuring Winning
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7.4. Spotlight: Medicine Hat
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7.5. Discussion
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Action Team Study: Healthy Development Patterns
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Action Team Study: Value Per Acre
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Assignment (Action Team)
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Action Team Session June 8, 2023 (109:59)
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Action Team Session: June 22, 2023 (89:22)
Event #2 (June 13-14, 2023)
Session #8: Who is Leading Growth?
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8.0. Introduction
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8.1. Growth Patterns (3:07)
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8.2. Who leads growth?
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8.3. Citizen developers and incremental growth (3:18)
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8.4. Spotlight Medicine Hat: Citizen Development
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8.5. Deep Dive
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8.6. Discussion
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8.7. Action Team Study: How Do We Improve Productivity of a Development?
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Action Team Session: July 6, 2023 (121:14)
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Action Team Session: July 20, 2023 (102:58)
Action Team Studies & Activities
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Action Team Activity: Overview
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Action Team Activity: Development Communication
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Action Team Activity: Downtown's Radically Different Approach to Washrooms
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Action Team Activity: Micro Grant or Major Struggle
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Action Team Activity: What's My Liability?
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Action Team Session: August 3, 2023 (88:59)
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Action Team Review: Budget Misalignment
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Action Team Session: August 17, 2023 (90:25)
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Action Team Session: August 31, 2023 (270:08)
Leadership Team Briefing 3: July 24, 2023
Tough Conversations: What does development look like in a Strong Town?
Tough Conversations: Should Cities Run a Profit?
Session #9: Citizen as Developer
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9.0. Introduction
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9.1. What Does Citizen as Developer Mean? (4:19)
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9.2. The Regulatory Approach (5:24)
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9.3. Nurturing Citizen Investment (7:08)
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9.4. Citizen Development and Housing (1:49)
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9.5. Example: Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Windsor, ON
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9.6. Discussion
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9.7. Deep Dive
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Action Team Session: September 28, 2023 (118:53)
Helpful Resources: Accessory Dwelling Units
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Additional Resource: Accessory Dwelling Units
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Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Windsor, ON
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How to Navigate the Obstacles of Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit
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Accessory Dwelling Units: A Flexible, Free-Market Housing Solution
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Medicine Hat Secondary Suites
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Big Win for ADUs: FHA To Count Rental Income for Mortgages
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The Controversy over Accessory Dwelling Units (14:07)
Leadership Team Briefing 4: September 25, 2023
Helpful Resource: Pre-Approved Building Plans
Session #10: Municipal Government as the Highest Form of Collaboration
Local Lessons: Medicine Hat Success Stories
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To Address Public Washroom Shortage, This City Took an Incremental Approach
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This City Is Not Waiting for a Crash To Happen Before Creating a Safer Street
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How Should Canada’s Cities Use the Housing Accelerator Fund?
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One Meeting and $3,000 Dollars Created More Value for This City Than a $300,000 Project
Reviewing Medicine Hat Success Stories
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Traffic Calming Projects
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Downtown Bathroom Facilities
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Towne Square
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Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Grant
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Mustard Seed Marketing Campaign
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Land Use Bylaw (LUB) Amendments and LUB Refresh
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City-wide Open House
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Upcoming Project: Facilities for the Future
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Additional Successes: 2022/2023
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Action Team Session: October 12, 2023 (91:30)
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Action Team Session: October 26, 2023 (119:27)
Next Smallest Steps
Session #11: Building and Leveraging Confidence
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11.0. Introduction
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11.1. Using One-Time Money Well
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11.2. Focus on Investments That Bring a Return
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11.3.a. Nurture Citizen Development
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11.3.b. Nurturing Citizen Development: The Next Smallest Steps
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11.4.a. Encourage Infill Development with Pre-approved Building Plans
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11.4.b. Creating a Pre-approved Building Program: The Next Smallest Steps
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11.5. Discussion
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11.6. Deep Dive
Session #12: Transparent Local Accounting
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12.0. Introduction
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12.1. #DoTheMath
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12.2. The Challenge Presented by Modern Accounting Practices (9:17)
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12.3. Assets and Liabilities (7:13)
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12.4. Case Study: Liabilities in Lake County
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12.5. Flying Blind
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12.6. Case Study: Flying Blind in Norman, Oklahoma
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12.6.b. Case Study: Industrial Park in Medicine Hat, Alberta
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12.7. What Can We Do? (6:23)
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12.8. Action Team Activity: Updating the Business Model
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12.9. Deep Dive
Event #3 (November 28-29, 2023)
Neighborhood Evolution Webinar
Taking Action
Housing Accelerator Fund
Pre-Approved Building Plans Webinar with Matthew Petty
Roundtable Sessions
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Action Team Contacts
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Roundtable 1: February 1, 2024 (95:29)
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Roundtable 2: March 7, 2024 (88:48)
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Roundtable 3: April 9, 2024 (96:34)
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Roundtable 4: May 8, 2024 (87:38)
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Roundtable 5: June 5, 2024 (94:41)
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Roundtable 6: July 10, 2024 (92:39)
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Roundtable 7: August 8, 2024 (97:45)
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Roundtable 8: September 3, 2024 (376:36)
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Roundtable 9: October 9, 2024 (68:08)
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Roundtable 10: November 6, 2024 (92:00)
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Roundtable 11: December 11, 2024 (87:33)
Visualizing Growth
