Are you passionate about urban living and making your community a better place for everyone? Then the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club might be for you!
I had the opportunity to speak with Derrick Simpson, the founder of the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club, as well as attend one of their meetings last month. I highly recommend attending if you enjoy spending time with passionate and informed people. Derrick does a great job of making sure everyone has a turn to speak and poses great discussion questions to get the conversation going.
The Ottawa Urbanism Book Club meets once a month at the Sunnyside branch of the Ottawa Public Library. The next book club meeting will take place on Monday, Aug. 25, and the book selected for discussion is Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars: Public Transit in the Age of Google, Uber and Elon Musk by James Wilt. Copies will be available at Perfect Books.
Photo from The Charity Report.
Apt613: What inspired you to start the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club?
Derrick Simpson: I thought it was a great way to connect people in the community, get to know your neighbours, and it’s a great place to discuss how to make Ottawa more sustainable and more affordable. I run the club through Strong Towns Ottawa, which is a local community group.
Apt613: What is your background in urban planning?
DS: It’s very much a hobby. I volunteer with the Centretown Community Association, I like to bike and take public transit, and Ottawa is not a great place for that sometimes. It can be very hard to get around, and I wanted a productive way to get together, to discuss ideas on how to improve these issues. And we can learn from books that have great solutions.
Apt613: Can you tell me more about Strong Towns Ottawa?
DS: Strong Towns Ottawa has been around for about two years, and it’s composed of people who want to see a more transparent and financially responsible city. We do a lot to push the city to be better in ways that don’t cost a lot of money. For example, right now we’re pushing to create dedicated 24/7 bus lanes on Bank Street. We met with some local business owners to discuss this project, and we are running ads at the Mayfair Theatre to promote this campaign in the community.
Apt613: What do you hope is the impact of the book club on the community?
DS: Our number one goal is to bring people together to share ideas on improving the city of Ottawa. We’ve already had a decent impact, we generally get 25 to 30 people at every meeting, and we have had city councillors to attend meetings. People use the book club as a springboard to get involved in other causes. We always encourage people to join their community association, to talk with their friends and neighbours about the ideas that we’re sharing. It’s definitely not a closed group, everyone is welcome, and we try to make it as inclusive as possible.
Apt613: Is there anything else readers should know?
DS: People can vote on the book selection ahead of the meetings. We do read some heavy topics, and conventionally a lot of people consider this boring stuff, so we do emphasis that reading is optional. If you live in Ottawa, we believe you are already expert enough to join the book club. We don’t just discuss the book; we discuss ideas on how to improve Ottawa.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
For more information on the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club, visit their website.
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