The Neighbourhood Improvement Program, 1973-1983: A National Review of an Intergovernmental Initiative

Leslie McGrath was a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

In the 1970s, the Neighbourhood Improvement Program (NIP) was instituted as a means of asserting a federal presence in urban affairs. This was a tri-level program which relied on financial support from provincial and municipal governments. Although the program achieved some positive results it was discontinued, and the federal role embodied in the original has not since been replicated in successor programs.

This paper assesses the record of NIP, the impact of the discontinuation of federal funding for neighbourhood improvement programs, and discusses plans for a neighbourhood improvement program similar to NIP which would promote older neighbourhood revitalization through tri-governmental cost sharing.