The previous hundred years have been the richest century humanity has ever known.
In that time, the population of Ottawa tripled as it grew from a lumber town into an amalgamated megacity.
But the world is changing, and mayoral candidate Clive Doucet wants to make sure Ottawa is prepared to meet the challenges coming in the next century.
Doucet said the next century will be distinguished by dwindling oil reserves and near-stagnant population growth.
“What is going to make successful cities is how they cope with the problems of less oil, less resource and less population,” he said Thursday at an event to open his campaign office on Wellington Street in Hintonburg.
“I want to start the process of retro-fitting Ottawa to prepare it for a world where gasoline and diesel fuel is really expensive.”
To do that, the city needs to quickly build surface light rail to every corner of the city, he said, so people can still get around the city when gas prices start to spike. The city also needs be much greener and more walkable, said Doucet.
