Deputy premier George Smitherman helps clean up garbage on July 14 as part of a new volunteer effort during the Toronto strike.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
George Smitherman vowed to create hyper-local neighbourhood councils to give input on development if he's elected mayor Oct. 25.
The mayoral candidate also promised tax abatements for new businesses moving into areas slated for revitalization
Standing outside the now-abandoned Kodak plant in the city's north-west Wednesday morning, Mr. Smitherman said that the city doesn't do enough to align urban planning and economic development with transit planning.
"This is a struggling spot of town. But transit is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change that."
To that end, Mr. Smitherman vowed to create "nuclei" of economic and urban development in areas of the city he'd target in his previously announced transit plan. The hubs include Jane and Finch, Eglinton and Weston and Dundas and Sherway.