Land-Use Integration
On the path to net-zero communities
June 25, 2017
When some colleagues and I set out to better understand the path to net-zero communities, we quickly understood we were missing something – a clear definition of what net-zero meant. It wasn’t for a lack of definitions – quite the reverse. There were definitions for building and communities. While some definitions focused on carbon, others focused on energy. Sometimes it...
Growth Plan 2017: accelerating the energy transition
May 19, 2017
This Ontario’s recently released four updated land use plans. They will help accelerate the transition to low carbon communities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The four reports include the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan. Coordination ensured the plans worked together. Alignment with the Ontario...
Growth Plan: You're So Bad
January 3, 2017
The province is reviewing the Growth Plan for our region – the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This planned 10-year review is triggering a round of opposition that is ironically reminiscent of the debate that led to the Growth Plan in the first place. I was recently mystified by a comment suggesting the Growth Plan was making local governments greedy. The writer believed they were...
Planners' energy role discussed: OPPI
October 10, 2016
Local planners have a crucial role to play in our energy future. So it was wonderful to have a good turn out for our 2016 Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) panel: The Role of Planners in Community Energy Planning. There are certainly practical reasons for planners to have attended our session. Governments are encouraging land use planners to integrate local energy and...
Places to Grow - 10 years later
September 28, 2015
I was interviewed last week for a documentary on the 10th anniversary of provincial Places to Grow legislation. Many communities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe had been expressing their aspiration to grow in a more compact and sustainable way but it wasn’t until Places to Grow and the Growth Strategy came into effect they were given the planning tools to...