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Unfortunately, for all the past talk, we’ve rarely seen much of the action needed to turn plans and possibilities into real development.

Sometimes, the problem has been the failure of developers to follow through on their plans — whether those have taken the form of mooted developments which never get off the ground, or projects started but left uncompleted.

Other times, it’s the city which has left its own commitments to gather dust.

Of particular note, the most recent news updates from the “revitalization” of the Taylor Field neighbourhood and Dewdney Avenue railyard now date from over a year ago. And there appears to be growing reason for concern that the city will abandon the later phases of its revitalization plan now that the promise of housing and neighbourhood development has served its purpose of excusing the cost of a new stadium.

Finally, there have been times where no amount of planning or incentivization has led to the type of development needed to strengthen Regina’s core.

On that front, Councillor Andrew Stevens has raised pointed questions about the condition of Broad Street in particular. There, seemingly prime locations for development have been left vacant or abandoned — and the recent trend looks to be headed in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately, the question of how to push for urban development seems to have been answered based on an extremely narrow set of assumptions. The Underutilized Land Study effectively presumes that the only available development model is one which provides incentives to the private sector — so while it identifies some sites suitable for development, it leaves unanswered the question of who might actually get the job done. And the city likewise seems to have generally accepted the view that its only role is to cater to private developers.