If I ruled the Commonwealth ...

A week in Canada for Christmas (something I haven’t done for 20 years or so) has made an interesting change from an uninterrupted run of holidays in the cosy surrounds of St Moritz. For starters, it hasn’t been much of a holiday as every day in the run-up to December 24 was packed with meetings. I had visions that I’d be shuffling around Mom’s apartment listening to CBC and reading The New Yorker, but instead I was venturing out into up-and-coming neighbourhoods to sample coffee bars, check out furniture shops and look for spices for my grandmother’s special Estonian Christmas bread.

Toronto scores highly on many a quality of life ranking, but it doesn’t do so well on Monocle’s annual list released in June. A combination of poor urban planning (there are some dark forces at work that continue to allow the ugliest, most uninspired apartment blocks to go up with no regard for their surroundings), a city centre that doesn’t quite hold together and a nasty urban sprawl that’s failed to create proper communities all hold Toronto back from the pack.

It’s hard to put a stop to runaway development overnight and sack the legions of people who’ve allowed it to happen – but it’s perhaps not so difficult to rewrite what’s become the North American (Australian, British et al) dream.

On Christmas Day the Queen had a prime opportunity to deliver a unique message to her various Commonwealth realms and to go beyond the usual reflections that make it such a charming bit of broadcasting. Given that it’s only New Year’s Eve (and no doubt Her Majesty has a little pull with all the Commonwealth broadcasters), she could still have some of her palace elves set up the lights and get the camera rolling again to launch a special New Year’s Day Manifesto. As the Queen’s press secretaries might be taking some much-needed time off – I’ve seen a few in action and they do seem very overworked – I’ve taken the liberty of jotting down an outline. (Please note: this is best to read to one’s self while putting on the best possible take of Her Majesty’s accent.)

“If 2011 was a year of challenges for many of us, 2012 should be a year of taking stock and setting new priorities. If I stand on tippy toes on the top of my residence in central London and peer east, I can see them scrambling to put the finishing touches on the various sites that will play host to the summer Olympics.

“I’m hoping that the Games will do much to regenerate a part of London that’s long been neglected but I’m not convinced that putting a shopping mall at the centre of things was such a good thing. My son Charles may have some odd ideas about urban planning, and would like to see us all live in twee urban or rural villages, but he does have a point.

“When I look beyond the shores of the United Kingdom, I see similar problems in other corners of my realms. Wills and Kate told me they were dismayed by what they saw in Canada, and I was saddened by what has been allowed to happen to vast tracts of Australia. From Halifax to Vancouver, Portsmouth to Aberdeen, Brisbane to Fremantle, we’ve lost touch of what it means to be good citizens and effective governors.

“The riots that raged across England and Vancouver last year revealed a stunning erosion of social capital, with people happy to destroy their streets, loot local businesses and assault their neighbours.

“That these things could happen in some of the world’s most respected economies reveals that something has gone seriously wrong. Many are being brought to justice and I will peer down with my most angry look at offenders in court – but the issue many have missed is that we no longer know the basics of building sound neighbourhoods.

“For many the dream has become a poorly constructed, overpriced house in a lonely suburb. Schooling, culture and commerce are expected to thrive in hermetically sealed boxes with no architectural ambition. And millions of you are medicated because you’re depressed by your surroundings, the lack of infrastructure and the lack of human contact.

“We must ask ourselves if the likes of Facebook would exist if we weren’t so alone and disconnected from our surroundings. Were the Occupy protests really about economic protest and attempting to right wrongs? Or were they harmless, spontaneous gatherings because people are lonely and were in need of a bit of excitement in their cities?

“In 2012 we need to rethink our environments and bring them down to human scale. We need to create neighbourhoods that surprise and excite and offer opportunities for owners of small businesses and, most importantly, we need to remember that we are social creatures and delight in high density. I wish you a happy and healthy 2012.”

Tyler Brûlé is editor-in-chief of Monocle magazine

tyler.brule@ft.com

More columns at www.ft.com/brule