In a weekly series, How to Fix Toronto, the Star seeks simple, affordable solutions to the problems faced by Torontonians and the city as a whole.The problem: City services and communications, not to mention the workings of city council, are impenetrable for many Toronto residents.Dave Meslin tells a story about a woman named Melissa, who came to city hall to speak in favour of a simple community proposal. He and his neighbours wanted the city to allow painted road murals on their local streets. So, they gathered some speakers to make their case.But on the day of the committee meeting, Melissa didn’t show up. When Meslin, a longtime community activist, texted her to find out what was up, she told him she’d had trouble finding the second-floor committee room.“And when she did find the right door, it was closed,” Meslin writes in his new book Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up. More from this series:TTC vehicles get caught in gridlock too often. Transit planners want to change thatCould garages in Toronto be converted into rental housing? California has the answerToronto has flirted with giving residents a say in city policy. In Barcelona, they’ve gone all-inLike the best designed apps on your phone or your favourite store that you spend too much time in, Meslin argues that a “healthy democracy must be accessible, comfortable, understandable and convenient.”Something as simple as a welcome sign at the door would have made a difference for Melissa and countless others, Meslin writes.He concludes: “Our democratic institutions can feel inviting, alienating, even invisible, depending on how they’re designed.”Not one for complaining, Meslin proposed a solution: a dedicated, independent “user experience” team at city hall that looks at everything from public meetings to voting and have a “substantial and stable budget” free from council interference.User experience, or UX ...
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