Regional Planning Challenges

NRU
April 15, 2015
By Monica Silberberg

The Urban Land Institute hosted a gathering of senior planners from Greater Toronto Area and beyond at its inaugural gala event, April 7 at the Arcadian Court. The event brought together 22 chief planners to discuss the major challenges facing the region.

Ontario Growth Secretariat ADM Larry Clay moderated the panel discussion. Planners from Markham, Brampton, Toronto and Richmond Hill spoke about the need for more public funding for necessary infrastructure while those from Burlington, Niagara and Uxbridge raised issues about land rationalization and constrained development potential. The final panellist to speak was Richmond Hill’s Ana Bassios who advocated for affordable housing and better public regional transit. She earned a thunderous applause from the audience when she proclaimed, “Enough of the planning-Just do something!”

The evening concluded with remarks from Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who emphasized the need for better regional planning policy. She noted that the evening’s discussion failed to include commentary on protecting green space and natural heritage systems. She left the crowd with an important message: while planning for growth we must remember to protect those lands and features where growth ought not to go.