Reading the reports on this year’s proposed city of Toronto budget is kind of frustrating. But I’m not frustrated by the budget itself, rather the slew of city councillors who feel the need to criticize the plan without offering any suggestions or alternative solutions. However the whole situation did get me thinking about how design can play a role in helping improve city services and hopefully put an end to this brand of unhelpful critique.
While I am no financial expert, the budget seems fairy justified in the current economic climate. Nonetheless, plenty of councillors disagree, criticizing the increase in taxes and fees. Councillor Karen Stintz of Eglinton Lawrence was quoted as saying, “The frustration is bubbling, because since I’ve been a councillor, the budget has grown by $1.7-billion and the residents in the city cannot point to a material improvement in their life for that money…” This statement got me thinking about the visible changes in the city. I think councilor Stintz is a little off base with her comment, but I also think she represents a large portion of citizens who want to see progress.
While not every city service will affect an individual citizen, some do. When an individual interacts with a service they want to know that it is meeting their needs, since they are in effect funding it. When funding for a service is increased, it is only natural to expect an improvement. In reality, this isn’t always the case because a majority of the funds are typically allocated to invisible costs like staff salaries or maintenance. This is where design comes in.
People not only want the city progress, they expect it too. But how is this possible with dwindling budgets and a tough economy? I believe design is part of the answer. Thinking about this issue gave me the idea for a city of Toronto design team. This team wouldn’t be redesigning street furniture or creating a new tourism campaign, but instead be focused on the experience design of the city’s services. I would imagine this team would tackle issues in every sector of the municipal government, shifting their focus from public transit to waste collection. The purpose of this group would be to look at the issues and generate iterative changes from the users’ perspective. Not only would this help to improve the experience of these services, it would also help demonstrate to city’s commitment to progress.
Perhaps I have had too much of the design thinking kool-aid, but I think that government is one of the most prime candidates to benefit from the practice. England has already had success with this type of thinking, but even they aren’t fully leveraging it. The Canadian government is in a prime position to step up and support design thinking, showing its capabilities and setting a model for other governments. We have to start slow though, and the city is the perfect place to do it.
Photo by wvs
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