The Canadian Urban Institute is a not-for-profit organization based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is mandated to pursue both national and international urban issues. The institute operates in several fields related to urban planning and is involved with specific issues such as affordable housing, the competitiveness of city regions, smart growth, energy and water solutions,age-friendly communities and brownfield reclamation.

The institute was established in 1990, led by veteran Toronto city councillor Richard Gilbert

Richard Gilbert

Richard George Gilbert is an English cricketer. Gilbert is a right-handed batsman who bowls left-arm medium-fast. He was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire....

. Former Toronto mayor and federal cabinet minister, the Honourable David Crombie served as its president and chief executive officer from 2001 to 2007. Crombie was followed in the position by former Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

 mayor Glen Murray. Murray stood down following his election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 in 2010 and was succeeded by former Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 mayor Fred Eisenberger

Fred Eisenberger

Fred Eisenberger is a Canadian politician. He is a former mayor of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, having been elected to the position on November 13, 2006. The margin of victory over incumbent Larry Di Ianni was a mere 452 votes in one of the closest races in Hamilton's history...

, who formally took office on February 7, 2011.

The institute has an active international program that works in partnership with cities and regions around the world to improve planning, urban management, service delivery, environmental management and local economic development. CUI has been active in a range of countries including Philippines, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and countries within Central and Eastern Europe such as Ukraine, Poland and Latvia. The CUI is helping to advance regional economic development in Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

., local economic development in the Philippines, local government reform in Jamaica, and improved urban management in Ethiopia.