Mobilizing a sustainable community development strategy, a planning approach for North Main Street, Winnipeg

Abstract

The premise of this thesis is that the key elements of many theoretical foundations or revitalization "philosophies" challenge conventional planning processes by emphasizing bottom-up mobilization, consensus building, and "authentic" public participation, and community empowerment. In light of the need for inner-city initiatives, the heart of Winnipeg's North Main Street community, situated between City Hall and the CPR Main Line, has long been in desperate need of government funding, commitment, and a holistic community vision. Amidst the combination of physical decline and deeply rooted socioeconomic problems of unemployment, poverty, crime, racism, substances abuse, and inadequate housing, North Main Street has come to symbolize a daunting inner-city crisis in Winnipeg. It is only recently under the scaled down tri-level Winnipeg Development Agreement (WDA) that some level of government support has been secured for the formulation and implementation of a North Main community strategy. It is the intent ofthis thesis to explore the theoretical elements of community mobilization and determine the degree to which they are applicable to the Main Street context. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)