The Challenge of Creating City Vibrancy and Economic Growth in Changing Times

The new Director of the City's Community Services talks about how arts, culture, and business all add up to a strong economy and more. New Westminster is growing, the demographics are changing, and City Government is having to adapt to the requirements of these shifts. There has been an influx of millenials to the city and they reflect a wider diversity than not so long ago. Keeping up with these changes, along with all the new challenges in our post pandemic recovery, and contemporary issues including rising inflation, the housing squeeze, and a shifting economy has required a clear-eyed and diligent approach by City Hall. Thus the creation of a new department, Community Services, headed up by new director, Blair Fryer, who has been with the city for almost a couple of decades. Community Services has one of its main goals to find ways through policy and other means to increase the population's sense of belonging here and to lean hard on economic development. Those two goals are synergistic and involve a plethora of plans, policies, programs and more. As you might imagine, the scope of the activity in the department is large. And the new Director, Blair Fryer provides an overview of it all. The breadth of topics is large, as Community Services department covers Arts, Culture and related areas – all having to do with creating a vibrant city where people want to live – and the whole business side – creating policies and programs necessary to attract and retain business. Don't forget to give this video a THUMBS UP and SUBSCRIBE to our channel! Follow us on Twitter and have a conversation with us: https://twitter.com/NewWestdottv