PT 1 and PT 2 Being Good Neighbours

Dear Listeners,

What does it really mean to be a good neighbour in a changing city?

In this episode, Christina and I move through a series of seemingly different civic issues that ultimately come back to the same question: how do we live well alongside one another?

The conversation begins with a recent bylaw appeal involving a house found to exceed permitted height and width requirements, and the consequences that follow when development does not comply with established rules.

From there, the discussion turns to the closure of Prairie Harm Reduction, calls for provincial leaders to see conditions firsthand, and the need for municipal, provincial and federal governments to work together when addressing homelessness, addictions and community safety.

The conversation then moves into smoking regulations, the Riversdale BID, public space and a discussion around tent communities. These issues raise difficult questions about compassion, responsibility, public health, safety and what happens when competing uses of shared spaces collide.

In the second half, Christina and Lenore broaden the discussion to neighbourhood conversations, and a discussion why branding local concerns as NIMBY, not in my back yard, may not be helping to bring about good neighbourhoods. 

When several houses on the same block go up for sale...when infill changes the scale or character of a street...when public spaces become de facto shelter...or when regulations affect one group differently than another...what happens next matters.

At its heart, this episode is about moving beyond either/or thinking.

Not development versus neighbourhoods.
Not housed versus unhoused.
Not enforcement versus compassion.
Not individual rights versus collective responsibility.

It is about becoming good neighbours...and building a city where decisions are judged not only by what we intended, but by what they actually produce.

Have a listen. Support local media.

Civically Speaking,

Lenore and Christina

Civically Speaking- Saskatoon Saskatchewan's #1 show about civic issues.