Four pillars

I'd like to introduce the four pillars of my platform:

1. A breath of fresh air
2. A wisdom buffet
3. A city that shares
4. In a new-mind way

Over the next few posts I'll be discussing each of these, and I'll start, now, with "a breath of fresh air."

There's nothing more important than the next breath you take. A sane city that takes care of its citizens ensures that the air quality, to the best of its ability, is good. That's about as basic as we can get. I want to live in a city that guarantees me the right to breathe fresh air.

1. All carbon vehicles (oil, gas, diesel, etc) should be replaced with environmentally friendly, benign, hopefully locally built vehicles.

2. We could be green, literally, everywhere. Urban foresting, agriculture, reducing our waste, these are all no-brainers. The means by which we do this: an enlightened and empowered citizenry. Why not have access to natural growing things, the ballet, and the hockey game? Urban agriculture, square foot gardening, these are not new ideas, they have been around since cities have existed. All we need to do is apply them.

3. Energy generation. The sooner we get rid of fossil burning and atomic energy, the happier the whole planet's going to be. Our part in that, is as quickly as we can, to harness the wind, the sun, the water, and the thermal energy. Huge amounts of this technology already exist, and more technology is being developed every day. Toronto has an educated population and I see no reason why we couldn't be a world centre for the development of new technologies that are going to help us all.

4. As a senior citizen, I value my mobility. I find that with the most comfortable shoes, I still have to deal with concrete, asphalt, etc. There are alternatives for soft underfooting that already exist. Does it make sense to make sidewalks as hard as roads built for cars? Every child knows it's more fun to walk on something soft; let's encourage walking in a way that's good for our knees and our health.

I'm inspired by the new Dongtan development in Shanghai, with its community recycling and combined heat and power, and by initiatives in already built cities, such as Copenhagen's world's largest offshore windmill park, and Vancouver's 100-year plan for green living. If Toronto is our home, let's treat it like that. We should take pride in our home.

When I leave office in 2020, I want to be able to look back and say "here's what we accomplished." There are no carbon-burning vehicles in the city of Toronto! Green cabs, electric buses, world-class subways, carbon-neutral transportation of goods. I'm standing in line for the theatre and there's a peach tree overhead, local food is being produced everywhere, vertical gardens, integrated with urban spaces. We generate 90% of our energy and have also cut our waste by 90%. The sidewalks are being steadily replaced by softwalks and we are seeing more and more pedestrians, more street life, and safer neighbourhoods for that reason.