Campbell Riverite Calum McCutcheon was tired of just talking about some of the issues he’s experienced in the city and decided to do something about it.
What he did was start a Facebook group called Strong Towns Campbell River. Strong Towns is a U.S.-based non-profit that is looking at new ways for cities to develop that do not follow what they call the “post-war pattern of development, the suburban experiment.”
The group’s goal is to advocate for cities to be safe, livable and inviting. One of the ways they do that is invite people who live in communities across North America to start local conversations and begin advocating for change.
“Strong Towns is is about how North American cities are bankrupt and they don’t really know it yet. They built too much infrastructure that they can’t afford to pay with the tax base that this infrastructure serves,” McCutcheon said. “And so we continue to delay the inevitable by building more of this unprofitable growth which brings in short-term cash flow. But then in the long term, we have to keep building to sustain it and eventually it all runs out. The side effect of this sort of sterile nature of development is that the sprawling suburbs are car dependent.”
Now, McCutcheon isn’t a planner or developer. However, he does think that he and others like him have a valuable perspective about living in the city and can advocate for smaller incremental changes that will guide development in their communities. These are things like noting where it is easy to live in the city, compared to areas where it is difficult. Some examples include noting where there are no sidewalks, or where traffic seems to be more efficient.
“The main idea behind strong towns is making small local changes to potential more traditional natural prosperous style of development,” he said. “From a Campbell River perspective, it will sort of be observing where people are struggling to use the city as it is … My ideal Campbell River is one where I can have a house anywhere inside of the main city and still walk and cycle to get some basic groceries. I’m not talking about having a Walmart every 15 minutes, but just simply a small corner store within 10 minutes of everyone.”
The idea is not to turn every road way into a bike lane and ban cars from downtown. McCutcheon actually recently got his driver’s licence.
“I love driving and I am very into cars. I won’t shut up about it to my wife. But then at the same time having moved from the UK to to Campbell River, I’m really acutely aware into what I’m missing how I can’t just walk to go see my friends and how I can’t just walk to the pub or to the shop,” he said. “If I hadn’t passed my driver’s test before I came here. I wouldn’t be able to get around. I wouldn’t be able to function as a member of society. It’s crazy.”
“It’s not so much about stopping those things such as allowing other things,” he said.
The group wouldn’t be the first Strong Towns group on the Island either. Nanaimo has a group that has been up and running for a while, from which McCutcheon has been getting advice to start up the local chapter here. The Facebook group has 15 people (including Campbell River city councillor Ben Lanyon), but has been only up for about a week. McCutcheon has also set up a Discord server and hopes to start local meetings soon.
“The main important thing is that we get, you know, real local people involved and just showing up to meetings,” he said. “We just need a couple more passionate people to sign up that we can really make a difference.”
The group is non partisan, and is looking for people of all ages to join. McCutcheon would also like to get in touch with other similar groups. Strong Towns Campbell River is on Facebook, Discord and those interested in more conversation can contact McCutcheon at strongtownscr@gmail.com.