To Change A City's Looks, Change How City Hall Works

As in many cities, Toronto's bureaucracy is arranged by function, so a mayoral push to beautify the city will inevitably encounter the paralyzing effect of too many departments and organizations in charge of the portions making up the single public space.A local architect/planner "proposes the creation of a new department responsible for the public realm. It would take the lead on related issues as they go through the bureaucratic process, much as the health or planning departments do now when appropriate."

"What this means is that to change the way the city looks you have to change the way city hall works. That's why Mayor David Miller's laudable desire to beautify Toronto is doomed to failure unless we come up with a different system of running the place."