Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that comes from holding two conflicting beliefs, values or attitudes. It is part of a social psychology theory that tries to explain a disconnect between a person’s behaviours and their beliefs.

When you know that cigarettes cause cancer, but decide to start smoking anyway, this is an example of cognitive dissonance. It isn’t hypocrisy. That would be telling other people not to smoke while you are puffing away. Hypocrisy is often easier to point out and resolve.  Recognizing cognitive dissonance can often mean being confronted with one’s decision making process and understanding the underlying reasons for dissonance.

Ottawa, like many cities, experiences cognitive dissonance. We need to rethink what we are doing, and how, if we are serious about being the most livable mid-sized city in North America. After all, that is the point of our new Official Plan.

ELGIN STREET

To see how this is playing out in Ottawa, one needs to look no further than Elgin Street, where several years of reconstruction work (following extensive design work and public consultations, which Jordan Moffat skillfully analyzes and critiques here) has wrapped up. Much of the public input was ignored or rejected.

Several years earlier, the City rebuilt Main Street and installed separated bike lanes to support a walkable, bikeable 15-minute community. But despite the positive feedback, this precedent was largely ignored on Elgin Street – with entirely foreseeable results.

In June, a cyclist was severely injured on Elgin, in the exact manner predicted. Anecdotal feedback from cyclists has been that the super-sharrows are a miserable experience, and that the street is not a pleasant place to commute by bike, nor by car.

At the same time, the City is celebrating the completion of the work as an example of its commitment to excellence and investment in cycling infrastructure. This is cognitive dissonance: the city-as-government states it has done well but the city-as-people states the experience is poor.

Keep reading this blog on the Architects DCA website