Editor's Notes, Ideas That Matter



The Quarterly About Us Current Discourse People Subscribe Cities Home	The Quarterly Volume 1, Number 1 Editor's Notes During Jane Jacobs: Ideas That Matter in October 1997, hundreds of the world's most prominent thinkers, writers and community leaders gathered in Toronto to exchange ideas and create knowledge. Jane Jacobs' work in the areas of cities, economies and values was explored and extended by academics, activists, religious leaders, economists, artists, philosophers, students and business people for five vibrant days. In addition, over 150 community organizations - from the Art Gallery of Ontario to the urban-rappers known as the Raging Grannies - mounted special related activities. It was an engaging celebration! You are holding the first issue of Ideas That Matter^TM, a quarterly that will include not only excerpts from presentations and talks prepared for the Jane Jacobs '97 event, but also new relevant items that cross our path. In this inaugural issue (which is being sent to all attendees as well as everyone else who expressed interest in the event) we are reprinting a copy of Mary Houghton's keynote address Credit Matters which describes innovative approaches to financing community development. We also recount a recent conversation Jane Jacobs had with the first recipients of the Jane Jacobs Prize: social entrepreneur Mary Lou Morgan and storyteller Dan Yashinsky. Still to come: Ken Greenberg on cities, Sally Goerner on the new science, John Abbott on education, Janine Benyus on biomimicry and more. (N.B. To tardy Jane Jacobs '97 presenters who have not yet sent in their manuscripts: there is still time. Do it now.) We are also keen to include other written and visual material such as works-in-progress for which you're seeking feedback, presentations you've given elsewhere, papers already published, or book recommendations; check the Submission Information below if you have something you would like to contribute. With your help we can make Ideas That Matter^TM a lively and engaging publication. Like all good digests we have a website www.ideasthatmatter.com, where we will post past issues, contact information, events, comings and goings, and your views - we hope you will find it worthy of a "bookmark". Finally, we need to finance the production and distribution of this publication and establish a base of support to ensure the contents are interesting and useful. We hope you share our commitment to the principle of self-organization and our belief that the community that was initially created around the ideas of Jane Jacobs is an important source of dialogue, exchange and new learnings - and worthy of your involvement. For a modest annual amount you can be assured of receiving the next issues of Ideas that Matter^TM. We're confident you won't be disappointed. Mary W. Rowe email: editor@ideasthatmatter.com Ideas That Matter Volume 1, Number 1 Spring 1999 Editor: Mary W. Rowe Jane Jacobs 1997 Advisory Committee: Max Allen, Joe Berridge, Alan Broadbent, Dan Burns, Amrita Daniere, Bryan Davies, Jack Diamond, Nadine Nowlan, John Sewell, Lindsay Sharp, Larry Sherman, Alan Sullivan, Julie White, Eb Zeidler Sponsors of Jane Jacobs: Ideas that Matter: Ace Bakery Allen's Restaurant on the Danforth Art Gallery of Ontario Avana Capital Corporation The Bank of Montreal Book City The Brewers Association of Ontario The Canadian Urban Institute City of Toronto (Community Services Department) Colliers MacAulay Nicolls Compusearch Design Vision Inc. Harbourfront Huron Public School Jewish Community Centre Kensington Lofts The Laidlaw Foundation Molson Breweries The Neptis Foundation Random House of Canada The Royal Bank The Royal Ontario Museum Royal St. George School Ryerson Polytechnic University St. James Cathedral St. Lawrence Recreation Centre The Toronto Dominion Bank The Toronto Society of Architects The Toronto Star The Trillium Foundation University of Toronto Walter Davis Associates Woodgreen Community Centre Organizations which initiated activities in conjunction with Jane Jacobs '97: Ideas that Matter: 401 Richmond Ltd. AGO Film series Alex Wilson Community Project All-A-Board Youth Ventures Inc. Annex Business Improvement Association Annex Singers Art Gallery of Ontario Art Starts Beach Arts Centre Bill James Cabbagetown Preservation Association Canadian Artists' Representation Organization (CARO) Central Eglinton Community Centre Choir on Bikes CHP Heritage Centre Christie-Ossington Neighbourhood Centre City of Toronto Healthy City Office City of Toronto Equal Opportunity Program City of Toronto Fire Department City of Toronto, Public Health Clay & Paper Theatre Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Community Bike Network Community Food Advisors Composer William Beauvais and Echo Choir David Sereda and the Stray Dog Collective Dundas St. Public School Earl Bales Community Centre Equal Opportunity Program Feet on the Street Food Access Network Food Policy Council FoodShare Metro Toronto Four Villages Community Health Centre Grassroots Albany Greater Riverdale Economic Action Together (GREAT) Growing Up Healthy Downtown Heritage Toronto Hike Ontario Humberwood Community Centre King Bay Chaplaincy Lakeshore Village Neighbourhood Association Learning Enrichment Foundation Leslieville Business Association Mackenzie House Massey College Mayor's Task Force on Drugs Metro Action Committee on Public Violence Against Women and Children Metro Community Housing Authority Muhtadi North Toronto Community Centre North Toronto Green Community North York City Hall Ontario Black History Society Ontario College of Art & Design Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses OPSEU Orpheus Choir of Toronto Oxfam Canada Parkwatch Safety Committee People Achieving Responsible Effective Networks Together (PARENT) Recycling Council of Ontario Royal Ontario Museum Skills for Change St. Andrew's Church St. Joseph's Health Centre St. Lawrence Community Centre Sussex-Ulster Neighbourhood Association Symbiosis Collective Task Force to Bring Back the Don The Canadian Council of Christians and Jews The Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto The CD-ROM Store The Multi-Racial Network for Environmental Justice The Museum for Textiles The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) Ontario Association of Landscape Architects Ontario Association of Architects The Photographic Historical Society of Canada The Raging Grannies The Word On the Street Theatre Passe Muraille Tim Morawetz Toronto Arts Council Toronto Artsweek Toronto Field Naturalists Toronto Intergenerational Partnerships Toronto Island Community Transportation Options University of Toronto Department of Athletics and Recreation Urban Alliance on Race Relations Waterfront Regeneration Trust Watershed Infrastructure Ecology Program Women's Network on Health & the Environment York Community Services YMCA Contributors this issue: Max Allen, Jane Jacobs, Mary Houghton, Mary Lou Morgan, Dan Yashinsky. Copyright: All articles © the author(s). Permission to reproduce should be requested through the publisher. Submission Information: We want to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit their opinions in letters to the editor. Published letters may be edited for style or length. In addition, we welcome articles, and would prefer to receive them in an electronic format. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Future Issues will include Ken Greenberg on cities Sally Goerner on the new science John Abbott on education Janine Benyus on biomimicry and more...