An evaluation of Oshawa's success as a city

Understanding what makes a city successful will allow city planners to be intentional with their policy making, development, and overall goals. This research examined Nicholas Brooke’s key components of successful cities to develop a framework for measuring success. Success factors that are supported by research include industrial, social and cultural diversity, skilled workforce, mobility, quality of life, culture of innovation, business-friendly, good governance, and a distinctive brand. Evaluation is an important part of learning, growth and future success. The City of Oshawa was evaluated on the basis of these eight factors. This paper has discovered that the City of Oshawa has a weakness in its distinctive branding, business-friendliness, and diversity. It is doing well in terms of having a skilled workforce, mobility, quality of life, and governance and it is excelling in its culture of innovation. Knowing these strengths and weaknesses gives planners and city staff the opportunity to work towards improvement of the struggling factors and leverage their strengths in order to make improvements. Key words: City of Oshawa; success; economic growth; evaluation