Local and Urban Politics

E08 - Media and Community Engagement in Municipal Politics

Date: Jun 3 | Time: 08:45am to 10:15am | Location:

The Dissemination of Municipal Political Information in Some Medium-sized Cities in Quebec: Sandra Breux (Institut National de Recherche Scientifique)
Abstract: In municipal electoral studies, little research is being conducted on cities with around 50,000 inhabitants, often located on the outskirts of large urban centres, even though voter turnout in these municipalities tends to be lower than the provincial average. Moreover, while some studies seek to examine the impact of information on municipal electoral participation, very few question the nature of the political information distributed. Based on a survey of the nature of political information disseminated between January 1, 2017 and August 31, 2019 in local sources newspapers - one of the primary sources of information for voters - in four municipalities located on the outskirts of Montreal (Blainville, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Mirabel, Saint-Hyacinthe) as well as interviews conducted with journalists and with the communications officers and a selection of elected officials from these municipalities, we identify: 1) the main themes that emerge; 2) the nature of the relationship between municipalities and journalists; 3) the consequences of the first two points on the information environment of these municipalities and their possible impacts on voter turnout and the choices made by citizens during elections in such cities.

The Effectiveness of Community Engagement in Municipal Governance: A Case Study of Community Groups in Windsor: John Sutcliffe (University of Windsor), Sarah Cipkar (University of Windsor)
Abstract: Academic studies of neighbourhood and community groups’ capacity to influence municipal government decisions reach differing conclusions (Spicer 2016). Some studies, moreover, question whether such influence is desirable given the likelihood that the most active groups are those representing wealthy neighbourhoods. This paper examines these issues using four United Way-funded neighbourhood renewal groups in Windsor as case studies. This funding was established in 2015-2020 with a focus on the renewal of several neighbourhoods through the core of Windsor. The paper first provides an analysis of the various community groups’ composition – who participates – and the extent to which it is representative of the communities they seek to represent. Second the paper examines the groups’ capacity by assessing their resources relative to other advocacy groups in the city. Third, by focusing on the groups’ main objectives, the paper maps their engagement with municipal government and their capacity to influence municipal government policy making. Using interviews with group participants, the paper examines the methods the groups use to further their engagement and advance their interests. Finally, the paper assesses the effectiveness of these methods using an analysis of council policies and expenditures; interviews with municipal councillors; and a content analysis to examine the extent to which the groups’ main policy priorities were discussed or referenced in municipal council meetings over a two-year period.

Planning Politics in the Suburbs: Comparing Resident Engagement in Suburban Municipalities to Urban Resident Engagement: Aaron Moore (University of Winnipeg)
Abstract: The majority of research devoted to the study of the politics of urban development focuses on how it unfolds in highly urbanized, central cities. Decades of evidence suggest that in urban centres, highly engaged residents usually form the basis for opposition to development interests, resulting in contested planning politics. In contrast, there are very few investigations into the politics of urban development in suburban municipalities. The few studies that do focus on urban development in suburbs tend to look at the role municipal structure or larger socio-economic trends play in shaping patterns of growth, not how politics unfolds at the local level. This papers addresses this gap in the literature by comparing the behavior and engagement of residents in two suburban municipalities, Brampton and Surrey, to counterparts in their respective central cities—Toronto and Vancouver. The paper draws on databases for each city comprising all official plan and zoning by-law amendment applications that made their way to council from 2012 through 2016. I find that residents in Toronto—living within the boundary of the Toronto-East York Community Council—and Vancouver are more likely to engage in the planning process than residents in Brampton and Surrey. However, this higher level of engagement arises due to a greater proportion of development proposals encroaching on existing communities. Where development proposals encroach on existing suburban neighbourhoods, suburban residents are as likely to mobilize against development as their urban counterparts.

Local Blackout in Effect? Major Daily News Coverage of Three Municipal Elections In Calgary, Alberta: Daniel Cohn (York University)
Abstract: Voters in municipal elections face a major barrier to making informed choices due to difficulties in obtaining information. Media coverage is allegedly getting worse as daily newspapers retrenchment and close across Canada. Although exclusively online sources have emerged that cover local politics, most lack the resources to do actual reporting and focus on commentary. Consequently, newspapers still play an important if imperfect role in informing municipal voters. This paper provides a content analysis of coverage provided by Calgary’s daily newspapers of the city’s 2010, 2013 and 2017 elections. At the start of 2017 Postmedia, owner of both the Herald and Sun, implemented a restructuring, merging the two newsrooms and laying off several journalists. This paper tests three hypothesis about the impact of this restructuring on the coverage that the newspapers provide of municipal elections. One: When compared to 2010 and 2013, in 2017 a greater proportion of the stories will be about the mayoralty contest or the election in general, as opposed to the contests for city council. Two: In 2017, a greater proportion of the stories will be opinion columns as opposed to news stories. Three: In 2017 a lower proportion of the stories will be written by local politics “beat reporters”. The net effect, if these three hypothesis are shown to be true, is that not only has the merger further reduced the already low information that Calgary voters have access to regarding municipal elections, but the quality of that information will also have been reduced.