Ward 6 Coun. Jasmin Parker discusses ideal city planning

Article content

As Saskatoon’s new city councillors are getting settled in at city hall, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix sat down with each of them to get an idea of what they hope to see in the city …

Article content

Article content

Ward 6 Coun. Jasmin Parker says she was overwhelmed but excited during her first weeks as a city councillor.

“There’s a lot to dig into, there’s a lot of learning,” she said.

Helpful support has been available for the six new councillors jumping into the fold, and the wealth of knowledge within the councillors’ office has been dished out to them little by little to make it easier to digest, she said.

Article content

One of the first hurdles was to adjust the city’s budget.

“I don’t think there’s anybody really prepared for that,” Parker said, adding that this wasn’t the first budget she’s seen, however. She calls herself a bit of a nerd.

She was surprised by the weight of the responsibility she felt when making decisions about the budget, she said.

“It looks easier than it is.”

She described the process as a balancing act between having a long-term vision for the city and sticking to reasonable expectations about what people can afford to pay.

For the recent budget adjustment, all of the new councillors were working with the previous council’s strategy and budget, she noted.

Parker has experience on the Nutana neighbourhood community association, and learned about environmental science, urban planning, political studies and economics during her time at the University of Saskatchewan.

“I really started to look at things with a bit of a more critical lens,” she recalled. “Not only ‘Hey, this is broken,’ but also ‘Hey, I don’t think this works the greatest, and I think there are better ways to do it.’ ”

Article content

Article content

That education pushed her to become more engaged and ask more questions, she said, adding that she supported and admired some of the previous councillors and wanted to help fill the gap left by their departures.

“If you don’t see the representation that you want, I had the opportunity to be the representation I wanted.”

Parker said good city planning is a motivator for her. The different layers of a city’s development are visible in a neighbourhood like Nutana, which has existed for more than 120 years — and the pinch points within those neighbourhoods are also known, she said.

“It always needs to continue to evolve.”

The new rapid transit-style Link bus system will affect her ward, she noted.

“Anything that lends itself to building this city in a better way is really important to me.”

Environmental and financial sustainability are important to her, she said. Increasing the density of existing neighbourhoods allows the city to grow its tax base without adding infrastructure and the expenses that go with it.

“If we’re going to build density, we need to put the things in that maintain people’s quality of life.”

Article content

Saskatoon is facing a housing crisis alongside growing homelessness, and the scale of the work necessary to address those problems is huge, Parker said.

City council needs to listen to the experts within the city administration, but also the non-profit groups working on the front lines, she added.

“What kind of ecosystem are we building to make sure that when somebody experiences homelessness, that if you enter into temporary housing, that it is actually temporary and that we have a continuum that you can travel along and get the services you need?”

Homelessness covers a spectrum of situations, and the needs of the people involved can vary widely, she noted.

“I think we need to acknowledge that in a better way.”

The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Article content