Planning Pool

This session took place on October 1.

Uri Avin of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Iain Dobson of the Real Estate Search Corporation discussed edge cities and how they can be transformed into urban places. Avin described Tysons Corner, Virginia, a prototypical “edge city” and the 12th largest business district in the United States. Although Tysons Corner, located just outside of Washington, D.C. in the Dulles Airport corridor, is generally considered to be an economic success, the city suffers from an increasingly dysfunctional environmen. Dobson contrasted Tysons Corner with Mississauga, Ontario, a similar city in terms of square footage, population, jobs, and other statistics, but stagnating nonetheless.

Edge cities are typically suburban commercial, retail, and residential developments built in areas that contained no development 30 years ago. They are usually outside a larger urban area and tend to be close to highways and airports. … Continue Reading

This afternoon in Niagara there are a variety of mobile workshops and concurrent sessions. I’m at a “Building the Regional City” panel featuring Vancouver’s Ann McAfee, as well as Kathryn Friedman, Deputy Director of University of Buffalo’s Regional Institute, and Francis Gentoral, Regional Manager for the Canadian Urban Institute in Southeast Asia. This panel is focusing on regional cities that cross municipal, state/provincial, and even international boundaries.

McAfee compares Vancouver and Melbourne as examples of liveable cities but has different governance structures. The Vancouver has 22 municipalities. Metro Melbourne has a larger regional population and 32 municipalities, but an older built environment and a smaller downtown population. Melbourne’s limiting factor is water.

Unlike Vancouver, Melbourne has no metro government and the state presents regional plans without public engagement. But, both regions have similar goals, namely to diversify the economy, nurture local business, … Continue Reading

Today’s second panel focuses on land, water, and energy systems. The first speaker, Honorary Consul Lars Henriksson, describes how Sweden has managed to increase its GDP while reducing carbon emissions. Sweden is consistently rated highly on sustainability indices, with most recently Stockholm receiving the 2010 European Green Capital award. One of the reasons Sweden has been so successful is because of integrated resource management by regulatory and financial incentives as well as technological support. Some examples are taxing landfills and banning recycleables and biomass from landfills to encourage reuse and incineration for district heating. Sweden also discourages car use by imposing congestion fees and providing attractive multimodal transportation. In 2004, Sweden built Hammerby Sjostad as part of an Olympics bid just outside of Stockholm. The community of 25,000 people achieved 75 percent energy improvements by changing building practices alone. Most … Continue Reading

The first plenary session this morning is focusing on economic development. The panel contrasts two very different communities- Hamilton, Ontario, whose main challenge is poverty and more conventional economic development, and Clyde River, Nunavut, which is suffering from climate change.

The first speaker, Mark Chamberlain, is an entrepreneur in Hamilton. Chamberlain argues that like good, competitive businesses, communities have to put people first. Many of our economic problems have root causes that we do not fully understand or address, like poverty. Poverty, or socioeconomic status, is the largest indicator of health, wellness, future earnings, and use of the healthcare and criminal justice systems. Hamilton is heading towards a community where collaboration and innovation address root causes of social ills as a form of economic development. One way Hamilton is going about this is the creation of social enterprises. Social enterprises … Continue Reading

Over the next few days, Vanessa and I will be liveblogging from the CIP/OPPI Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario. With currenty 900 delegates registered and over 1000 expected from the private sector, the public sector and academia throughout Canada and abroad, the 3-day conference should be very interesting!

The theme of the conference is “Building a Better World,” which is appropriate for the current economic situation and for the location of the conference. As the Mayor of Niagara Falls noted in opening remarks, the recession offers an opportunity for changes. Also, Niagara Falls is a model of change. A former manufacturing center, Niagara Falls transformed itself into a tourism destination focusing on the falls, casinos, golf courses and vinyards, a place that offers attractions year-round.

Today, the conference is opening with keynote speaker Sheila Watt-Cloutier. A Nobel Prize nominee, Watts-Cloutier helped launch … Continue Reading

The Canadian Institute of Planners / OPPI is hosting its annual conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario, from September 30 to October 3. The conference, entitled “Building a Better World,” will focus on the environment, the economy, culture, and society with the purpose of debating and challenging ourselves and our profession. For more information, please see: http://www.niagarafalls2009.ca/english/index.htm.