1 March 2009
Downtown Needs a Big Idea to Grow: Professor Robinson
Sudbury Ontario - Participants at the Downtown Sudbury
annual general meeting were treated to a big idea Friday morning, a huge what if question.
What if the downtown was free to develop the rail lands that divide the downtown area, reducing its current value? asked Laurentian
University economics professor David Robinson. He is part of a community group called Imagine which is seeking a bold way of reversing
decline in the downtown area by seeking to remove most of the railway yards, yet leaving the rail line itself.
"What if the city applied its world renowned re-greening expertise to the urban landscape?" he asked.
Robinson said what is happening in the world is that bigger cities are getting bigger at the expense of smaller cities under 100,000
in population. Greater Sudbury, with a population of 160,000, is at the tipping point of either declining, or, growing into a much
bigger city than at present.
For Greater Sudbury to become truly greater it has to grow, he noted. Those are where trends are taking cities, he emphasized.
"But what does it take to move the city to the next level? We need many more people in the downtown. We need 20,000 more people
in the downtown not 500 as is being discussed now through small scale developments. We need a vibrant downtown."
Otherwise, the downtown will continue to turn itself into a suburban style area with many parking lots to service a few struggling
businesses, said Robinson. "We all know the downtown is struggling. Just look at the empty spaces where buildings once rose. They
are parking lots now."
He said that Sudbury born world renowned thinker, Bruce Mau, had told the Imagine group that the only way to transform the city was
"by thinking bigger, globally, with a signature project big enough to attract world attention."
Robinson said the biggest unused asset the city has is the rail lands. "It is getting in the way of the development of the
downtown. People make value. The rail lands are stifling that. The two do not mix," he said.
"If we take out the freight and the yards but leave the tracks, we will recover a right of way right to the lake. A huge flat
area in the city, its true basin, will be made available for development. That will have a tremendous impact on the value and use of
all surrounding lands," said Robinson.
Who could spearhead the proposal? Robinson said only the Downtown Sudbury group, an association of property owners, had the political
clout to run with the idea. "You have the clout, the vested interest in making it happen. My group, Imagine, has the ideas. Bruce
Mau has the inspiration. We need you to run with this to the political class," he stated.
During a question period Robinson was asked if any preliminary discussions had been made with the railway company. Robinson replied
that the owners know the property has a low value as a railway asset. "But there needs to be more people involved to push this.
We need political will. We also need some design here, to draw a picture of what it could look like," he said.
Where would the money come from? Robinson said despite the recession, there is money out there in the world looking for a world class
project. "The Koreans have money. So do others. Make it attractive enough and they may be interested. But you have to follow what
Bruce Mau said. Think big. Think globally. This asset, the railways lands, is the best unused asset of its kind in Northern Ontario.
Just imagine what could be done with it."
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