Jennifer Keesmaat picks T.O. City Resolve winner

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

One Torontonian has won a chance to sip coffee and talk livable cities with Jennifer Keesmaat, chief planner for the City of Toronto.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) launched the #CityResolve campaign on Twitter last week to spark conversations on how to make the Toronto region more livable and community-oriented.

More than 200 individuals tweeted their civic goals from supporting local beekeepers and riding on every streetcar line, to spending $10 a week on locally sourced food.

But rising above the pack to win the one-on-one was @SarahMarchionda who tweeted: “My #CityResolve is to meet one Torontonian each day, 365 new people, ask them what they love about our city, and then document it.”

“I am impressed by the quality of the civic resolutions that this campaign surfaced,” said Keesmaat. “2015 looks to be a great year for urbanists and city builders. The people of Toronto are taking action to make their city more livable.”

Rob Spanier, chair of ULI Toronto, added his enthusiasm for the campaign’s popularity.

“I can’t think of a better way to champion the cause of promoting healthier communities than having individuals find their way to make our cities collectively better in 2015,” he added.

The ULI says the winning tweet reflected a “theme of commitments to get more socially connected to the local community,” involving Business Improvement Districts (BIAs), charities, community organizations and individual citizens.