by Derek Drummond, BArch'62

Our North American cities are in trouble and they need your help. Over the past 25 years there has been a marked deterioration in the quality of urban life for most citizens -- a deterioration directly related to the personal choices people have been making. In order to restore to our cities and neighbourhoods the quality of life and civilized behaviour we once enjoyed, we must rediscover the art of citizenship. It will not be easy.

In my working life -- if I can use that expression to describe the life of a professor -- communication has been revolutionized. The availability of television, videos and the Internet has enabled the major sources of entertainment to move into the privacy of the home.

Face-to-face communication has been replaced by use of the Internet, e-mail, fax and cell phones. These sophisticated devices have slowly but surely led to an increase in people's ability to lead an insular, often anti-social, existence. This has contributed to devaluation, in the minds of many citizens, of the importance of their community and of their neighbourhood relationships. In turn, this has been a major contributor to the deterioration of the quality of life in the city's public spaces, so much so that many citizens try to avoid them if at all possible.

More recently, we have witnessed a proliferation of residential, commercial and retail building projects that disengage themselves from the public realm by creating exclusive and protected environments. Developers today are marketing security and a lifestyle that is free from undesirables. They are making available at an alarming rate walled or gated communities and upscale downtown shopping centres with their own security forces that ensure a non-threatening environment.

You may be astonished to learn that in North America the total number of private guards now exceeds the number of police officers. The number of homeowner associations that control everything including the colour and style of the houses  -- not to mention the homeowners -- has increased from 500 in 1962 to well over 150,000 today. If this Balkanizing of our urban environment  -- the institutionalization of the gang concept of "turf" -- is allowed to continue, the eventual outcome will be a total breakdown in civilized behaviour.

Already we are seeing evidence of a disturbing amount of anti-social behaviour. Take, for example, what is happening on our streets and highways -- road rage. Increasingly, drivers are treating their automobiles as urban assault vehicles -- a movable extension of the private fortress they call home, lowering their windows only briefly to communicate, usually in the form of an obscene gesture.

In extreme cases, they shoot at other motorists. Soon we will see signs on the highway warning: "Beware of erratic driving on this highway -- the driver might be reloading."

Somehow your generation must take an active role in putting a stop to this anti-social behaviour. You must act to rekindle the art of citizenship, to break down barriers and to reinstate the concept of caring communities.

One relatively easy way to do so is to promote the increased use of the public realm for informal social interaction -- to encourage civilized, friendly behaviour in our streets, squares, parks and community buildings. This is not easy for North Americans; it just doesn't come naturally to us. To ask a stranger for the time is a crisis for many. The simple request seems to have to be preceded by copious apologies and followed by profuse thanks. We need help -- a third party or an unusual event to break down these social barriers.

Take a situation where you approach someone of the opposite sex as you walk along the sidewalk. You would like to engage him or her in conversation. Under normal circumstances, it would be considered rude and aggressive behaviour. If, however, the person is walking a dog, it's perfectly acceptable to stop the dog and engage it in conversation -- then work your way up the leash.

Unusual events also provide us the crutch we need to overcome social inhibitions. Last January, most of us in this hall experienced the ice storm and witnessed first hand the behaviour-altering effects it had on neighbours and the entire community. The question for you, of course, is how do you create ice storms or similar situations that will encourage these friendly and important encounters. First you must be convinced, and convince others, of the benefits of these informal social interactions taking place in a series of lively, stimulating and democratic public places.

The benefits are many, but the essential ones are that they develop a spirit of tolerance for others and serve as an antidote for loneli-ness -- the curse that affects so many citizens, particularly the elderly, many of whom are today virtual prisoners in their own homes.

By rejecting society's relentless pursuit of privacy and non-threatening, exclusive environments and promoting instead the art of civilized behaviour, you can make an important contribution to the quality of life in your chosen community.

Don't accept the status quo. It's not acceptable, and without change the future of our cities is bleak. Your generation can bring about change and a renewed interest in the art of citizenship. Speak out, pat those dogs, cast your pebble on still waters, make ripples, make waves. Make a difference.

This text is excerpted from Vice-Principal (Development and Alumni Relations) Derek Drummond's address at June convocation.