The Planning City

1.0 Executive Summary

Cities are complicated places with challenges that require efficient, effective and equitable solutions. As this survey of Canadian and international urban planning practice shows, this is easier said than done. Many of these challenges are caused by population growth, economic development, and the externalities generated by urban sprawl. Planners face many impediments that make the ideal of sustainability difficult to realize. These challenges include lack of resources, political change and instability, lack of information and research, and the tendency to address urban problems in isolation when a comprehensive, integrated approach is required. However, there are many good news stories about urban planning practice, and many of these are told in this report.

The concept of sustainability and sustainable development is well understood. Planners in Canada and overseas understand the principles and objectives of sustainable development. They are aware of the three themes or “pillars” of sustainability – economy, society, and environment – and the need to balance and integrate these related themes when making urban planning decisions. It is also important to recognize the important role of governance as an element that connects, and is represented in, the three pillars.

Sustainability challenges are interconnected; so are the solutions. In almost every case, an intervention in one area of sustainability has multiple and positive impacts in the others.

We can identify many examples of innovative and integrated urban planning policy and practice in Canadian and international settings, such as life cycle assessment, intensification, development charges, affordable housing, public transit, homelessness, public safety, watershed planning, natural heritage planning and brownfield re-development to mention a few.

These innovations generally strive for:

Integration

Integrated planning . Sustainability issues cannot be dealt with in isolation. They require multi-pronged approaches based on an understanding of the complex and dynamic inter-relationships between social, economic and ecological systems.

Collaboration

Partnerships and alliances. Both the search for sustainability and the need to adapt to public sector reform have led to many multi-stakeholder initiatives. A common strategy is to facilitate the participation of non-governmental and private sector organizations, often in partnership with public sector organizations.
Participation. Underlying many innovations have been continued efforts to encourage and facilitate the participation of various groups in society, in all stages of the planning process, through a variety of techniques.
Consultation and outreach. Numerous initiatives have made use of consultative processes that target specific groups or in other ways make greater efforts to reach out to marginalized or vulnerable communities.

Empowerment Through Knowledge

Use of new technology. New technologies, particularly the Internet, have been used as a tool for outreach, education, receiving community feedback, monitoring and evaluation, and researching urban trends. Technology has also been an important component of tracking and managing data through database software, GIS, and automated permitting systems.
Research. Research continues to be an important component of planning for urban sustainability. Many innovative research techniques find ways of better understanding the unique needs and qualities of communities, ecosystems and economies in transition.

<< previous | next >>