This site is powered by
course builder. Create your online course today.
Start now
Create your course
with
Autoplay
Autocomplete
Previous Lesson
Complete and Continue
Medicine Hat Community Action Lab
Welcome to the Medicine Hat Community Action Lab
Introduction and Welcome (0:22)
Who is Strong Towns? (1:14)
What is the Community Action Lab? (2:04)
Why Medicine Hat?
What to Expect on this Site (2:46)
How to Get Involved with Community Action Lab (2:35)
How to Get Involved - Local Conversation (0:48)
Schedule and Resources
Public Event #1 (February 7, 2023)
Public Presentation
Community Conversation
Session #1: Strong Towns Core Principles
1.1. Principles of a Strong Town
1.2. Excerpt from Strong Towns
1.3. Complex versus Complicated and Spooky Wisdom (11:10)
1.4. Taco John's of Brainerd
1.5. Growth versus Productivity (13:55)
1.6. Optional Deep Dive
Discussion Items
Session #2: The Bottom-Up Approach
2.1. Chaotic But Smart
2.2. Excerpt from Strong Towns: Rational Responses
2.3. One Example: Bottom-Up Street Design (59:44)
2.4. Optional Deep Dive
2.5. Discussion
Leadership Team Briefing (March 27, 2023)
Briefing 1: March 27 (57:07)
Session #4: The Growth Ponzi Scheme
4.1. Introduction: The Growth Ponzi Scheme
4.2. Growth or Stability
4.3. Exploring the Transactions of the Growth Ponzi Scheme (8:33)
4.4. Bonus: This Ponzi Scheme Might END Suburban Prosperity (10:22)
4.5. How Do We Respond?
4.6. Introduction to Visualizing Growth (1:08)
4.7. Visualizing Growth in Medicine Hat
4.8. Optional Deep Dive
4.9. Discussion
Session #5: The Real Reason Cities Have Annual Budget Shortfalls
5.2. A Lesson from Winnipeg
5.3. What is a Rational Response?
5.4. What does "stop" really mean?
5.6. Can Medicine Hat build a better mousetrap? (10:10)
5.7. Optional Deep Dive
5.8. Discussion
Session 6: What It Means to Know Something is True
6.1. Introduction
6.2. The Limits of Knowledge (4:20)
6.3. An Infinite Game
6.4. How to Make Decisions When We Can't Predict the Future (2:21)
6.6. Optional Deep Dive
6.7. Discussion
Leadership Team Briefing (May 25, 2023)
Briefing 2: May 25th (51:42)
Session #7: Measuring Success
7.1. Introduction
7.2. What is a Good Project
7.3. Measuring Winning
7.5. Discussion
Curbside Chat (June 14, 2023)
Curbside Chat (80:59)
Leadership Team Briefing (July 24, 2023)
Briefing 3: July 24th (42:11)
Session #8: Who is Leading Growth?
8.0. Introduction
8.1. Growth Patterns
8.2. Who leads growth?
8.3. Citizen Developers and Incremental Growth (3:18)
8.4. Spotlight Medicine Hat: Citizen Development
8.5. Deep Dive
8.6. Discussion
Tough Conversations: What does development look like in a Strong Town?
Podcast: Citizen Versus Developer? No! It's Citizen as Developer
Tough Conversations: Should Cities Run a Profit?
Podcast: Four Communities Are Becoming Examples of Change
Session #9: Citizen as Developer
9.0. Introduction
9.1. What Does Citizen as Developer Mean? (4:19)
9.2. The Regulatory Approach (5:24)
9.3. Nurturing Citizen Investment (7:08)
9.4. Citizen Development and Housing (1:49)
9.5. Example: Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Windsor, ON
9.6. Discussion
9.7. Deep Dive
Helpful Resources: Accessory Dwelling Units
Additional Resource: Accessory Dwelling Units
Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Windsor, ON
How to Navigate the Obstacles of Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit
Accessory Dwelling Units: A Flexible, Free-Market Housing Solution
Medicine Hat Secondary Suites
The Controversy over Accessory Dwelling Units (14:07)
Leadership Team Briefing 4: September 25, 2023
Leadership Team Briefing: September 25th (43:54)
Local Lessons: Medicine Hat Success Stories
We Don't Have Enough Public Restrooms
This City Is Not Waiting for a Crash To Happen Before Creating a Safer Street
How Should Canada’s Cities Use the Housing Accelerator Fund?
One Meeting and $3,000 Dollars Created More Value for This City Than a $300,000 Project
Helpful Resource: Pre-Approved Building Plans
Pre-approved Building Plans
Deep Dive
Session #10: Municipal Government as the Highest Form of Collaboration
10.0. Introduction
10.1. Vertical Flows (4:08)
10.2. Horizontal Flows (5:39)
10.3. Discussion
10.4. Deep Dive
Session #11: Building and Leveraging Confidence
11.0. Introduction
11.1. Using One-Time Money Well
11.2. Focus on Investments That Bring a Return
11.3.a. Nurture Citizen Development
11.3.b. Nurturing Citizen Development: The Next Smallest Steps
11.4.a. Encourage Infill Development with Pre-approved Building Plans
11.4.b. Creating a Pre-approved Building Program: The Next Smallest Steps
11.5. Discussion
11.6. Deep Dive
Event #3 (November 28-29, 2023)
City Staff Facilitated Workshop
Public Presentation: Building a Stronger Medicine Hat (Escaping the Housing Trap) (101:37)
Confessions of a Recovering Engineer
Mobilizing Your Community To Become A Strong Town (78:58)
Neighborhood Evolution Webinar
Neighborhood Evolution
Webinar: Ecosystems with Monte & Bernice (97:56)
Resources
Taking Action
What's Next? (2:49)
Take Your Next Smallest Step (2:43)
Pre-Approved Building Plans Webinar with Matthew Petty
Pre-Approved Building Plans Webinar
Webinar Presentation: How Pre-Approved Building Plans Can Unlock Housing Potential in Your Community (77:14)
Additional Information & Resources
4.6. Introduction to Visualizing Growth
Lesson content locked
If you're already enrolled,
you'll need to login
.
Enroll in Course to Unlock