Vol. 1 No. 5
June 2002
NEWSLETTER
LE BULLETIN
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PLANNERS PEN
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Open Spaces, Green Places ....
Who Needs Them?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
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EDITORIAL
Open space. How much?
REACHING OUT
Forrest in Thailand
THE PREZ SEZ
API 2002 .. here's the way it is
FROM CIP COUNCIL
The profession improves ...
FROM API COUNCIL
Work that's noteworthy and
various recent discussions
STUDENTS & SCHOOLS
Undergrads, Dal et al
CIP CONFERENCE, 2003
Y'all come to Nova Scotia!
API FALL CONFERENCE 2002
Y'all come to New Brunswick!
API BRANCH HAPPENINGS
Some branches report ...
THIS ISSUE'S CENTRAL PAGES
Exploring open and green
Odds & ends
MEMBERSHIP PROGRESS
Reports & Discussion
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EDITORIAL
Where are we going with all this open space?
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"Most Canadians," says Allan Fotheringham in the May 20/02 issue of Maclean's, "still luxuriate in the innocent belief that Canada ... is still a Middle Power." After which, he goes on to emphasize that it is not, and he further points out that Mexico's population is more than three times Canada's and that the harsh reality at United Nations shows densely populated places like Nigeria and Indonesia (Indonesia now being the fourth largest population among this planet's countries) definitely have greater clout than we. We are an "underpopulated land spread across too much territory."
Many of us in Atlantic Canada can relate to the underpopulated land notion that the Foth explores. In air trips from one city to another, as we look down over our vast green wilderness areas we realize how thinly we populate our home and native land. Prince Edward Island (the "million-acre" farm and home of the fictional Ann-with-an-E) being the most densely settled of the Atlantic provinces still has only about 64 persons per square mile to boast about. If the Island generously and simultaneously admitted 1.5 million visitors each summer and distributed them evenly that density would increase by ten-fold, and Islanders just might be inclined to protect their open space more rigorously.
And just what is the point in all of this, you may by now be asking yourself? Well, we contend that it is merely a lead-in to a discussion of the planner's perennial quest for wisdom on matters of open space designation ... In the words of a scribbler more ancient even than Fotheringham, "to be or not to be...?"
Planners in humankind's earlier history did not have landowners' rights and freedoms issues to contend with in their grand schemes for the building of city and country estates. If public open space was seen by the Crown (or its historical dictatorial equivalent) to be right and fitting, then it became part of the built environment. In the ensuing years, with the growth of highly democratic societies a number of factors have come into play. We have such things to consider as the "natural" rights of landowners to dispose of (or use ... or develop ...) their lands as they see fit, the needs of neighbourhoods, the legacy for future generations, esthetic satisfaction, the need for recreation facilities of all kinds, the promotion of healthy communities ... and finally, the immediate and ongoing cost factor.
As planners we are naturally tuned in to such considerations. We have seen land control changes. We have been instrumental in bringing about such changes. Landowners' rights of use and development vested by common law have been gradually eclipsed by the doctrine of the "public good."
Many of the early planning concerns were carried to Canada following the recognition of rampant mid-20th Century growth in the south-western United States. Richard Dober, AIP, recognized it especially in Santa Clara County and he helped others to see it as well. He bluntly described it as "... the grimness anticipated in the worst dreams of academicians and philosophers of environment. The ugliness and inefficiency will be seen for decades, the economic consequences will become increasingly destructive, and a designed future will seem increasingly less conceivable."
Dober said that the Santa Clara events and a national fondness for outdoor recreation were part of a mid-50's "resurgence of concern for public beauty" that continued for almost 20 years. But despite a sincere resolution there was little real accomplishment. At the same time, though, basic research in urban esthetics was happening. Harvard's Graduate School of Design started in 1956. Kevin Lynch and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began to publish. The term "urban design" came into use referring to the physical form of the built environment.
Environmental concern and the need for environmental design came to the public attention in North America through people like Rachel Carson, Edward Higbee, Christopher Tunnard and Jane Jacobs. In due course a positive vision emerged as the "City Beautiful Movement" and urban beautification.
Large newspapers got into the act, too. Their interest helped to spark the local and national conscience and to show the difference between wrong and right in architecture and community development.
It's been an interesting progression this past half-century. Some of us have experienced all of it -- some of our younger colleagues merely know it as history. Does this mean we're all knowledgeable now and brimming with expertise on the question of open space?
Don't we wish!
In this newsletter issue we are pleased to present reports and items of planning activities in our region. We highlight discussions and debate from API Council and actions coming out of CIP headquarters. Finally, our newsletter gives web-site and membership committee information and presents messages from our academic members. We sincerely thank all who contributed to this issue of Planners Pen.
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Cities and Planners --
Reaching Out
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For our first item, Ken Forrest MCIP, Senior Planner at the City of Fredericton, has generously offered to share with us the story of his recent experience in international relations. Here is Ken's story:
City of Fredericton Provides Planning Expertise in Thailand
The City of Fredericton has entered into a multi-year partnership to provide expertise in community planning and other municipal services to the Municipality of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. The Municipal Partnerships Program is designed to create long-term relationships between Canadian communities and municipalities in developing countries to improve the delivery of municipal services. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, with the financial assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency, has matched Fredericton with Ubon Ratchathani, a provincial capital and university town of about 105,000 people in Northeastern Thailand.
Thailand is a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing country in steamy South Asia. The economic well-being of the country's people has improved markedly in the last two decades and despite the collapse of some Asian economies in the late 1990's, progress is continuing, though at a much slower rate. The improvement in economic conditions has positively impacted the social well-being of the people as well. Economic development has led to significant improvements in Thailand's municipal infrastructure and services.
Though conditions in urban areas are improving, Thai municipal governments face significant challenges. The focus of the Municipal Partnerships Program is to build the capacity of Thai cities to address the issues they face. Decentralization of responsibilities to the municipalities is also a major issue in Thailand and land use planning is one of the functions that is going to be handed down to the municipal level.
Ubon Ratchathani shares many similarities with Fredericton. Ubon is a provincial capital and is located on the banks of the Mun River, a beautiful waterway that defines the city. The City is the major government, transportation, and service centre for Northeastern Thailand with more than 1.6 million people residing in the province.
The Province of Ubon Ratchathani is located in the Northeast of Thailand, a region of the country which, like Atlantic Canada, is comparatively disadvantaged from an economic perspective. As in Atlantic Canada, the presence of a major university in Ubon is seen as a major catalyst to improve the well-being of the region's people.
After the reciprocal exchange of political delegations between the two cities, Fredericton and Ubon Ratchathani signed a co-operation agreement in January, 2001. The agreement identified planning, information technology, and university-community relations as the major areas of focus for the initial technical missions.
Staff from Fredericton's Development Services Department have taken a lead role in working with Ubon to improve their capacity to deal with planning issues and also to strengthen the relationship between the municipality and the local university.
In June of 2001, Fredericton hosted a technical delegation of 4 people from Ubon Municipality and Ubon Ratchathani University. Planning staff organized sessions focusing on corporate strategic planning, land use planning, zoning, and public participation. Fredericton has committed to assisting Ubon in preparing a corporate strategic plan as one of the first deliverables from the partnership.
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In January 2002, three staff from the City of Fredericton including this correspondent, travelled to Ubon Ratchathani for a three week technical mission. Aside from being immersed in wonderful Thai cuisine and Thai "winter" weather (it was only 30 to 35 degrees Celcius each day), the planning component of the mission focused on furthering the strategic planning process and identifying future areas of cooperation. Strategic planning is a concept that had not previously been utilized by municipal staff in Ubon.
We arrived in Thailand and found ourselves to be amazed with the progress that had been achieved since their June visit. For the first time in the community's history, visioning processes were undertaken with members of the municipal council, staff, interest groups, and the public. A SWOT analysis was also completed with all of these groups and the community has agreed on a vision statement. A plaque detailing the municipality's vision was prominently located at the entrance of the City Hall in both Thai and English.
Ubon is now focusing the process on a series of corporate priorities so that
action items can be identified. Fredericton planning staff continue to provide support on an on-going basis. One of the primary achievements of the January mission was to assist the co-ordinators of the strategic planning process in Ubon to move to this next phase.
At the end of the January 2002 mission, a new Co-operation Proposal was signed between Fredericton and Ubon Ratchathani. Planning will continue to be one of the main areas of co-operation. Fredericton city planners are continuing to work with Ubon in the completion of its strategic plan but now will also be working with their Thai colleagues to prepare an environmental management plan for Ubon Ratchathani and also to implement community development strategies.
Ubon has placed priority on the preparation of an environmental management plan to help them integrate the various municipal functions that relate to environment including land use planning, infrastructure, urban beautification, flood control, solid water management, and water and sewer services. Community development strategies are intended to assist with capacity building in land use planning in anticipation of the devolution of this responsibility to the municipalities.
Fredericton planners and community services staff will be working with staff from Ubon to prepare a pilot strategy dealing with land use planning, infrastructure, economic development, and recreation issues in one of the slum areas of the municipality.
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The Municipal Partnerships Program allows Canadian municipal employees including planners to contribute in a small way to improving the quality of life in a city in the developing world. The program also will provide Fredericton planners with on-going opportunities to share knowledge with fellow professionals in Thailand. The exchange of information, however is far from one-sided. An international experience opens your eyes to other ways of doing things and stimulates a more critical evaluation of Canadian planning practice.
In the next edition of the Pen, I will share some observations on Thai urban life. I think there is much for us to learn.
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Ken Forrest, MCIP
Senior Planner
City of Fredericton
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THE PREZ SEZ:
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Alex Forbes of the City of Fredericton is now well into his first term as API President. He sends the following message to all API members:
from President Alex Forbes . . .
I would like to highlight some initiatives that Council is currently working on to improve the level of service to the membership. Specifically, CIP is offering our affiliate the opportunity to participate in obtaining professional liability insurance for $40.00 per member. In order to obtain this insurance at this preferred rate, API must agree collectively to have this additional cost applied to our current fees.
This low rate is made possible by spreading the risk of liability over the entire CIP membership. This insurance plan is intended to serve as the "difference in coverage" if there is any shortfall in coverage provided by your employer. This broader coverage ensures that if a situation occurs where corporate interests take priority over the employee, the employee (possibly you) are covered within the limits of the policy.
I urge all members to check out the details on the CIP website and become familiar with what is being offered. Everyone will have an opportunity to vote on this proposal at our AGM in Moncton in October.
This year's API conference will be held in Moncton on October 3-5. The jointly hosted conference by Downtown New Brunswick and Mount Allison University entitled "Downtown and Around Town" focuses on how smart growth initiatives can strengthen our downtowns as well as rationalize how other areas of our urban and rural communities should develop and grow. The organization of the conference is well under way and all indications are that it will be well attended. I would like to extend my appreciation to the conference organizers who have worked hard to ensure this year's conference is a resounding success.
At the last Council meeting in March, there was considerable discussion with regard to providing more professional development opportunities to the members at either the annual API conference or Branch meetings in each of the respective provinces. CIP is willing to train some of our members to host these workshops and we will be taking advantage of this opportunity in the future.
The School of Planning at Dalhousie University has submitted a proposal to their administration to develop a new undergraduate program that will focus on Community Design. Students can pursue a Bachelor of Community Design or a Major in Urban Studies or Environmental Planning. The proposed new program will replace the former undergraduate planning program offered by NSCAD. If this proposal is accepted, Dalhousie will be initiating this new program in September of 2003. Although the new program will not be accredited by CIP, this does not preclude the program from being accredited in the future. API Council is working with the school to ensure that the students graduating from both the undergraduate and graduate programs can respond to the growing needs of employers who are looking for planners.
In closing, Council is continually trying to look for new ways to communicate with the membership and the general public. The two primary means of communication available to us are the API Web Site and the Planners Pen. Mark Poirier is to be commended for his efforts in maintaining the API Web Site and the Community Zero Site.
The discussion that took place last fall between members on the future of API provided a great opportunity for Council to see what the membership is feeling about the direction of the Institute. Moreover, it is great to have the Planners Pen back for another year. This publication provides a great opportunity for us to get up to speed with what is happening in our backyard.
I would urge any and all members to participate by helping our editor Dennis Friesen with topics and material that profile our profession as being proactive and responding to the needs of the Atlantic Canadians.
I hope to see everyone at the API Conference in Moncton in October.
Alex Forbes, API president
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Alex is originally from PEI and is a 1991 TUNS graduate. He was Secretary and NB rep on Council in the mid-90's.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... Past President Stan Clinton continues in his role as API representative on National Council. This means that he represents all of us when he sits with the rest of the CIP Councillors at their boardroom table, and he hasn't been idle.
Earlier in the year he issued the following bulletin as CIP's Chair of the Standing Committee on Professional Development:
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April 2002: Continuing Professional Development
Feedback from members suggests that there is a strong desire to participate in a program of continuing professional development, and that this is a service, which should be provided or facilitated by the Institute ....
The action plan anticipates the development of a curriculum, an assessment of existing course material which may be appropriate for inclusion within that curriculum, facilitating the development of programs appropriate for the curriculum which are not currently available, and an investigation of the means of delivery appropriate to the diverse needs of both small and large markets It is also proposed to consider implementation of a credit program for recognition of those completing the curriculum
I ask that you donate a small portion of your time to respond to a number of questions. On the CIP website, you will find two Continuing Professional Development Charts which list by the type of institution offering and by the type of course offered, those courses which have been identified as currently available and having the potential for inclusion within the CIP program. These charts can be viewed at:
http //www cip-icu ca/English/cpd opp pdf . I ask that those of you who have any knowledge of these courses to provide views on their appropriateness and for those of you who are aware of other material which has not been identified, to make the committee aware of its name and that of the institution offering it.
We would also like to receive your views on what other aspects of professional development, not included in the above noted charts, are of interest to you. These will be the areas where CIP may need to encourage institutions to develop programs or even contact for their development. This aspect of your response is particularly important, as it will give a more specific indication of the needs of membership.
Please take the time to make your views known and please forward them to CIP National Office in Ottawa (mccarthykk@cip-icu ca) for my attention as soon as possible.
Stanley N. Clinton
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LOOKING AHEAD IN API:
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--- we know we risk being accused of overkill as we repeat our earlier plea for planners everywhere in the Atlantic region to keep an eye out for works of excellence. We had asked you to put forward projects that deserve recognition. We didn't raise a great response, so (once again) here's what we ask you to do:
Special Recognition of Planning Projects
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API Council recently invited members to send recommendations or nominations for SPECIAL RECOGNITION of PLANNING PROJECTS that might be considered as works of excellence. We are planners spread throughout four Atlantic provinces, and a lot of good work is produced in our region every year. But aside from our annual conferences, we don't get many opportunities to share our projects with one another.
In our last issue of Planners Pen we challenged API's planners to think about planning projects that are going on each day in the Atlantic Region. We suggested that planners, in general, are committed to high standards in carrying out their tasks, and that works of excellence are being produced all the time. We asked API members to submit nominations for consideration by Council ... nominations of planning projects worthy of honourable mention, and possibly an award for excellence from the Atlantic Planners Institute.
Have you considered submitting a nomination? We urge you to do it now! Student submissions welcome.
Last fall's issue of Planners Pen focussed on profiling works of excellence in the Atlantic Provinces. On behalf of API Council, we again urge timely submissions of projects that would be of interest to practicing planners in the region. These will serve in a broader sense to nominate works for Atlantic Planners Institute recognition and awards.
Nomination of a project is easy... Here are the simple steps you need to take:
1. Take a few minutes to prepare a summary description of the project which you feel worthy of honourable mention .
2. List the persons who did the work, and include a brief summary of their respective contributions to the project. Don't forget names and addresses. Include also the names of any institution, corporation, group or sponsor involved.
3.Give the site or location of the project and describe any local or regional enhancements that may have resulted from the project.
4. Forward your submissions to API Council for further consideration in terms of eligibility for awards. Submissions may be by e-mail to:
Ken Forrest <ken.forrest@city.fredericton.nb.ca>
or
Dennis Friesen <dfriesen@isn.net>
Here is the excerpt from the Council meeting that launched this effort:
"The API initiative to recognize works of excellence was discussed. There needs to be an awards committee to implement this program. The branches suggested the following nominees for the Committee:
Elaine Mitchell - NF
Kingsley Lewis - PE
Gavin Hubley - NB
Maurice Lloyd - NS
The purpose of the works of excellence program is to publicize some of the work being done by members in professional and academic practice. The Pen will be used to publicize these projects to the larger membership and the Awards Committee will also select a best project to be recognized at API Conference."
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API and CIP WEB SITES
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If, after being coaxed and cajoled, you haven't yet begun your own exploration of planning websites, API Council suggests you start with its site at
http://www.atlanticplanners.org/
and then move on to CIP's at
http://www.cip-icu.ca/
Steven Brasier, CAE, Executive Director / Directeur général, Canadian Institute of Planners / Institut Canadien des urbanistes
801 - 116 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G3
Te l.:(613) 237-7526 / Fax:(613) 237-7045
Why not log on and see for yourself?
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API COUNCIL 2002
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The current API Council consists of:
API President Alex Forbes
City of Fredericton
Phone (506) 460-2080
alex.forbes@city.fredericton.nb.ca
Stan Clinton Past President and National Council Representative
sclinton@mail.gov.nf.ca
Donna Davis NS Representative
davisd@region.halifax.ns.ca
Karen Roberts NF Representative
kroberts@jacqueswhitford.com
Ken Forrest NB Representative
ken.forrest@city.fredericton.nb.ca
John Dalton PEI Representative
jdalton@city.charlottetown.pe.ca
Mike Logan Dalhousie Student Representative
loganm@is2.dal.ca.
Sarah Anderson, NSCAD Student Representative
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Hey, it's the 21st Century! Lest we forget those who forged this noble institute --- here's a smidgin of API history for you.
API Membership List, 1968
•Allston, J. T. •Bishop, Stanley W. •Bolton, T. P. •Cheng, Lincoln •Dumaresq. J. Phillip •Foerstel, Hans •Hughes, Arthur •Jackson, Ronald •Jellinek, T. J. •Khor, Ean Lay •Lang, Reg. •Lloyd, Maurice E. •Lubka, Lewis •Mason, Donald •Ogden, William •Oliver, Jon V. •Priest, A. E. •Schwilgin, F. A. •Silverman, Allan •Snook, Walter A. G. •Thomson, W. B. •Titford, William B. •Verge, Harold F. •Zides, Murray •Guerette, Gilles •Ozon, R. •Rankin, I. A.
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CIP COUNCIL 2002
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CIP Council has prepared a submission to the Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues. For your information, we include the following summary of the research effort:
PLANNERS INSTITUTE SUPPORTS TASK FORCE CALL FOR NATIONAL URBAN STRATEGY
Canada's national professional institute and certifying body for professional planners has expressed strong support for the recommendations put forward by the Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues in its report, Canada's Urban Strategy - A Vision for the 21st Century, released today.
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) presented two papers to the Task Force in March 2002, both of which were strongly oriented toward the need for a clearer vision and strategy, and greater coordination between all levels of government in dealing with urban issues.
"Our research indicates that there is clearly an important role for the Government of Canada to play in urban issues," says CIP President Dave Palubeski, MCIP. "In response to that, CIP has encouraged the federal government to become re-engaged in urban issues and to establish a new federal Cabinet position dedicated to this vital area, which bears upon our country's economic competitive and quality of life."
CIP's research paper, entitled " Towards a Canadian Urban Strategy - Framework for Government of Canada Involvement in Urban Affairs", identifies the need for:
•a clear national urban vision and strategy,
•adequate resources to accompany municipalities' growing responsibilities,
•meaningful inter-governmental consultations,
•an enhanced knowledge base on strategic urban issues, and
•strategic investment in economic development, infrastructure, social services, transportation, communications, housing, and environmental protection.
Following its presentation to the Task Force, CIP was asked to elaborate on its perspectives regarding a national urban vision and strategy. CIP's paper, entitled "Framework for an Urban Strategy for Canada" sketches out key aspects of a proposed National Urban Vision and Strategy, along with several guiding principles, including:
•solutions must originate in Canada's urban centred regions;
•responsibilities/resources belong with the level of government or stakeholders best able to deliver solutions;
•interventions must address critical needs first;
•investments must be strategic, cost-shared, and must create spin-offs;
•performance criteria must be developed and met.
"CIP congratulates the Task Force on the scope of its findings and its insightful recommendations," said Mr. Palubeski. "We are extremely pleased to see that key elements of our submission clearly had a bearing on the Task Force recommendations." He added that CIP's 5,000 planning practitioner and academic members across Canada represent an invaluable resource for all levels of government.
" Our members have the research skills, professional experience, understanding of the public and private milieu, as well as the training and inter-disciplinary perspective necessary to understand and solve urban issues and solutions," he said. " Our Institute is well-placed and ready to contribute to the creation of the national urban vision and strategy and the design and delivery of policies, programs and projects on urban issues."
The Canadian Institute of Planners has existed since 1919 and has a national membership of more than 5,000, with Affiliate associations representing planners in each of Canada's provinces and territories. Working with its Affiliates, CIP sets national standards for training, certification, best practices, accredits and recognizes university planning degree programs, and provides a range of other membership benefits and services.
For more information, contact:
Kimberly McCarthy-Kearney
Program Coordinator, Communications
Canadian Institute of Planners
116 Albert Street, Suite 801
Ottawa ON K1P 5G3
Phone: (613) 295-3463 / 1-800-207-2138
Fax: (613) 237-7045
E-mail: <mccarthykk@cip-icu.ca>
CIP's input into this project was coordinated by Mark Seasons, PhD, MCIP RPP. He is CIP's Past President & serves as Chair of CIP's Policy Subcommittee
School of Planning, University of Waterloo
E-mail: mseasons@fes.uwaterloo.ca Phone: 519.888.4567 x5922
Fax: 519.725.2827
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STUDENT AWARDS API
This is a reminder that nominations for the API student awards are still open. Nominations can be forwarded to API Secretary Ken Forrest by email, ken.forrest@city.fredericton.nb.ca
or at the address
Ken Forrest, MCIP
Senior Planner
City of Fredericton, Development Services Department
b. (506) 460-2110 f. (506) 460-2126
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NOTE!! The next meeting of API Council will be held in conjunction with the 2002 API Conference in Moncton in October.
A.P.I. Counci l Meeting, Halifax, NS - March 2, 2002 Highlights
At the meeting were:
Alex Forbes, President
Stan Clinton, Past President
Ken Forrest, NB Rep.
Donna Davis, NS Rep.
Karen Roberts, NF Rep.
John Dalton, PE Rep.
Sarah Anderson, NSCAD Student Rep.
Mike Logan, Dalhousie Student Rep.
The meeting was called to order by Alex Forbes at 9:10 am.
API Treasury Report
Karen Roberts tabled the proposed budget for 2002. Revenues exceeded expenditures for the year and additional membership fees for 2001 had recently been forwarded to API to further improve the positive variance. Karen noted that administration expenses were under budget and spending on communications was over budget.
Council then reviewed the 2002 budget. It was agreed that revenues from membership fees should be adjusted upward to $20,000. A conference profit from the 2002 API budget should also be budgeted. Council agreed that given that only two Council meetings are planned for 2002 and given the locations of the meetings, the administration budget can be reduced.
Membership Rolls
Karen also reported that she had undertaken a review of the API membership rolls. She indicated that membership seems to be stable although there was a small decline in membership when the NS Government decided to stop paying dues for their employees.
Student travel
A request for $700 had been received from students for conference travel as per API's policy. A cheque was be issued for these expenses.
National Council
Stan Clinton reported that he attended his first CIP Council meeting last fall in Ottawa. CIP has changed its committee structure and there are now two ex-officio members of Council, a fellow and a member of ACUPP (planning professors). Stan has been appointed the chairman of the professional development committee of CIP.
Liability insurance
CIP Council has been busy dealing with the professional liability insurance plan.
Special admissions
Amendments to the special admissions provisions have been prepared by CIP to allow people to become full members of CIP with 15 years of experience provided that the potential member is approached by CIP. API has not supported these amendments.
Urban Issues Task Force
CIP Council is making a submission to the Urban Issues Task Force of the federal government.
CIP has also been working to improve its relationship OUQ. The current proposal involves bringing Quebec members into the CIP fold but OUQ would retain the CIP portion of the fees and carry out CIP's work in Quebec.
Scholarships
There was a suggestion that scholarship dollars for the Dal planning students were less than adequate. Council discussed this issue and indicated that there are pools of scholarship money at the university level that have to be accessed more effectively. Council also expressed the view that the school should have a person to help students access available sources of funding.
CONFERENCES
2001 API Conference - St. John's
The final report from the 2001 API Conference has been tabled and sent to Council. The conference was profitable and was a success.
2003 CIP Conference - Halifax
Donna Davis reported that planning for the 2003 CIP Conference is on schedule. Jill Grant will be the chair of the program committee. A logo for the conference has been developed and a group will be attending the 2002 Conference in Vancouver to market the conference. Donna indicated that the theme of the conference is "Building Communities" and a call for papers is being prepared. The conference will be held at the World Trade and Convention Centre from July 6th to 9th, 2003 and the conference hotels will be the Delta Halifax and Delta Barrington.
The conference committee is looking into opportunities for professional development prior to the conference. They are also arranging tourism information to encourage attendees to combine conference attendance with their vacations. A total of 10 mobile workshops are planned and a virtual mobile is also planned. A series of walking and harbour tours will also be offered. The conference committee continues to meet monthly and the committee is budgeting for attendance of about 350.
2002 API Conference - New Brunswick
Ken Forrest reported that planning for the 2002 API Conference is well underway. Further details of the planning were discussed including the theme, which is proposed to relate to "Smart Growth." The conference will be held in Moncton from October 4th to 6th and advance notice of the conference will be sent to members shortly.
$2,500 in seed money was designated for the 2002 API Conference organizing committee (NB Branch) subject to API's conference policy.
Education Committee
Stan Clinton noted that an annual review of the Dalhousie planning programs must be undertaken. It was suggested that the review could be coordinated to take place in conjunction with meetings on the fate of the undergraduate program.
Awards Committee
Council needs to encourage more nominations for the works of excellence program. Nominations from the school are also required for the student awards.
Message to be put on website to encourage nominations for the works of excellence program and ensure the school provides nominations for the student awards.
Planners Pen
Council discussed the earlier OPPI Journal initiative. It was agreed that there is not a consensus among the membership to provide this additional service. It was suggested that optional subscriptions could be offered by OPPI to interested members. Council decided to produce two issues of the Planners Pen for 2002.
National Liability Insurance
The CIP proposal to introduce national insurance for members is referred to the branches for information and the membership is polled.
Planning school
The possibility of API donating money to the Dalhousie Building Fund was discussed. There is not a lot of support for this initiative from three of the branches. Council decided not to consider a donation at this time.
API surplus funds
Council discussed creating a sub-committee to determine how API's surplus funds should be used. Embellishing the scholarship fund was identified as an option. Karen Roberts and Stan Clinton will review options.
Professional development
Stan Clinton indicated that CIP has committed to delivering additional professional development. The forms that these new initiatives will take have yet to be determined. CIP is in the process of developing a curriculum. Stan Clinton circulated the OPPI professional development program to provide an example of current efforts. CIP wants to understand what is already out there among the affiliates. OPPI is the leader in this effort at the present time. The possibility of bringing OPPI instructors to Atlantic Canada to deliver courses was discussed. The challenge is for API to deliver a professional development opportunity in 2002. Ken Forrest indicated that he would bring this to the 2002 API Conference organizing committee to see if they are willing to stage a course. API's Education sub-committee will also discuss this issue with Dalhousie faculty to see if possibilities exist.
Dalhousie Planning Module
Council approved a $750 donation to Dalhousie to sponsor the 2002 module.
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API CONFERENCE AND AGM 2002
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This year's API conference will be held in Moncton on October 3-5. The jointly hosted conference by Downtown New Brunswick and Mount Allison University entitled "Downtown and Around Town" focuses on how smart growth initiatives can strengthen our downtowns as well as rationalize how other areas of our urban and rural communities should develop and grow. The organization of the conference is well under way and all indications are that it will be well attended.
CIP Conference 2003
GRAND OPPORTUNITY!
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the Atlantic Planners Institute invite you to begin making plans so that you can attend the 2003 national conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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Official Posting
Subject: Halifax to Host CIP 2003 Conference
Description: The Nova Scotia Association of Professional Planners Executive has agreed to host the CIP Conference in 2003.
The idea was brought up by the CIP President-Elect at the API Council meeting on Feb. 26th, 1999. CIP Council accepted the proposal at their Feb. 27-28 meeting. The reason that the year was available was that CIP pulled out of a joint conference with APA in Chicago.
Date First Posted on the Web: 3/19/99
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CENTRAL FEATURE PAGES
Dedication of Recreation Lands and Open Spaces:
What do municipalities think?
What do planners think?
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OLD IDEAS AND NEW ....
In these pages we feature some items of interest as background pertinent to the subject of open space and recreation. In addition, we present some of the most recent ideas and responses within our API circle, where professionals discuss the pros and cons of open space designations, holding and developing public lands for recreation, and related issues.
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CENTURY OF CRISES: DECADE OF CONCERN
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The contemporary concern with esthetics is well reflected in more than one effort; for example, the laws enacted by the California Legislature (July 1963), which designated 4/900 miles of State highway routes "State Scenic Highways." In a rare contemporary pronouncement on aesthetic matters by a public body, the Legislature declared that the program was a vital part of the all-encompassing effort which the State must make to protect and enhance California's beauty, amenity, and quality of life.
While preservationists and design groups supported the legislation for aesthetic reasons, the bill and the subsequent appropriations to carry out the measure were rationalized on economic grounds, as if beauty of itself were an inconsequential matter. The official publication of the California Department of Public Works thus noted that the quality of the living and working environment is playing a significant role in industrial plant location and in long-range investment decisions.
Whether declared in the name of art or regional economy, the California Scenic Highway Plan is a substantial effort in environmental design. The highways will lace together all sections of the State, facilitating day trips from dense urban cities to distant ...
Richard P. Dober AIP, Environmental Design, 1969
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LEISURE ~~~~
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With increased government cutbacks, providing recreational facilities, programs, and services was an expense easily dispensed with.
Leisure is an essential part of life. Recreation and parks are foundations for leisure, for active lifestyles and for quality of life that make Canadian communities vibrant, unique and attractive. Leisure and Recreation are fundamental human needs, essential to every Canadians psychological, social, physical, and spiritual well-being and happiness. The recreation and parks field is evolving to more fully respond to the nations social, economic and environmental priorities (Canadian Parks & Recreation Association, National Vision, 1995).Historically, recreation has played an important role in society because it contributed to the resolution of social issues. Those who work in recreation and parks have always known this but, over the last several decades, recreation has become a symbol of "the good life" and was seen as a frill or soft service. In the 70s and '80s, many practitioners became preoccupied with bottom lines and marketing products. They lost sight of the fact that recreation is a means to a bigger end.
As economic conditions began to change, these perceived "soft services" began to lose the support of public funding. Understanding the consequence of this move, the "benefits movement" began in both the U.S. and Canada during the 1980s. In Canada, the benefits movement has focused on a need to remind people of the important role that recreation plays in our communities, personal lives, the economy, and the environment.
In 1992, the Canadian Parks & Recreation Association published The Benefits of Parks and Recreation: A Catalogue. It documents four categories of benefits: (1) personal benefits that help individuals achieve their full potential; (2) social benefits that promote healthy families, neighbourhoods, and communities of interest; (3) economic benefits critical to financial well-being; and (4) environmental benefits that lead to the protection of our common ecology. The Catalogue has been widely used in Canada and the U.S. to articulate the importance of these benefits, as well as to remind recreation practitioners of the basic principles and benefits that had always driven the field.
In August 1997, a second catalogue was published by the Canadian Parks & Recreation Association. The Benefits Catalogue summarizes why recreation, sports, fitness, arts, culture, and parks are essential to personal, social, economic, and environmental well-being. From the best research available, it documents the outcomes delivered. It was organized into the following eight key messages in which the term "recreation" is used as a broad concept relating to physical recreation, sports, fitness, social recreation, arts, culture, and therapeutic recreation:
• Recreation and active living are essential to personal health which is a key determinant of health status.
• Recreation is a key to balanced human development that helps Canadians reach their potential.
• Recreation and parks are essential to quality of life.
• Recreation reduces self-destructive and anti-social behaviour.
• Recreation and parks build strong families and healthy communities.
• Recreation reduces health care, social service, and police/justice costs. Pay now or pay more later!
• Recreation and parks are significant economic generators in the community!
• Parks, open spaces, and natural areas are essential to ecological survival.
Kate Sparrow
Plan Canada January 1998
Cities in Canada according to Maclean's
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... Three decades ago, by almost any indicator, Canadian cities 'worked', they were clean, safe, profitable centres where housing was affordable and mass transit easy. Since then, Ottawa and the provinces have tackled their deficits by cutting spending and downloading, to cities, responsibilities for everything from local ports to transit.
But those new duties did not come with more money. Canadian cities must rely on property taxes for 54 per cent of their revenues: such taxes do not automatically rise ...
problems are appearing with dismal regularity. "Municipal politicians have all been singing in harmony," says federation president Jack Layton, a Toronto councillor. "Now the collection plate has to pass."
But more than money is needed. Four decades after Toronto-based urban visionary Jane Jacobs decried the dangers of sprawling suburbs and inhospitable downtowns in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, experts are united behind the message that it takes skillful planning to ensure healthy and wealthy cities in a globalizing world. International firms are seeking clean, safe locales with skilled workers, efficient transportation and cultural and recreational amenities. The best cities in the world are our cities' rivals. "And we have been on a slow march to decline ......"
... sprawling outer suburbs ... gradually become cities themselves with retail and business centres. Although the trend is less pronounced in Canada than in the U.S., it presents a challenge: how do we keep a city from spilling endlessly across the countryside, replicating itself? For starters, the downtown core should be nurtured as an inviting place to work and live. It should foster diversity. Carnegie Mellon University professor Richard Florida has found a high degree of correlation between the concentration of gay couples in a city and a region's success in attracting high-tech businesses and workers. It turns out that the presence of those couples reflects the region's openness--and those firms and workers value a city that offers cultural and lifestyle diversity.
Equally, downtowns should boast vibrant gathering spots, cultural attractions and sporting events that suburbs cannot match. Everyone should take a lesson from Quebec City's dynamic mayor, Jean-Paul L'Allier. When he took office in 1989, developers were proposing to build a shopping mall, to compete with suburban shopping malls, in the heart of the historic Lower Town. Instead, the mayor capitalized on the ramshackle but evocative buildings that were there. The city shared the cost of restoring the landmark Dominion Corset factory. It created an enchanting central garden. It poured funds into wider sidewalks and more greenery. It polished old facades.
In an inspired move, L'Allier even shifted his urban planners and economic development officers Into Lower Town, figuring they would find solutions when they worked amid the problem. Today, the area has thriving businesses and residents in all income categories. And it attracts other locals and tourists like a magnet. L'Allier calculates that the area's higher tax payments are providing an eight per cent return on the city's $75 million program. "By investing in beautiful things, you can achieve something," he says ...
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Mary Janigan, writing for Maclean's
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Other cities are deploying equally artful tactics. Vancouver has fostered the construction of high-density residential development around its waterfront. But it has ensured that those clumps of high-risesare people-friendly neighbourhoods. On the former Expo 86 lands, which sec the standard for development in 1990s, Hong Kong developer Li Ka-Shing provided parks, a community centre, a contribution toward social housing, a child care centre, playgrounds and two elementary school sites as a condition of the building permit. The bottom 30 feet of each buildings height is occupied by alluring storefronts or townhouses to lend warm human scale to the area. The roofs sport greenery. The developer still reaped a profit because of the high numbers of units.
Parking spaces are deliberately scarce. People walk to many downtown destinations, if only to escape congestion. So there has been a reduction in car use. "Eventually sprawl hits the wall," says Vancouver councillor Gordon Price. "Then you have got a real competitive advantage because there is a far more stimulating environment downtown."
... "Then if you encourage vitality, people start to say, 'I not only want to work there: I want to play there.'"
Easier said than done. It is not enough to nourish the downtown; cities must also limit sprawl. And that requires a plan that cities stick to--no matter how alluring a developer's proposal. "We need to recycle downtown land that was once used for old railyards or industrial sites," argues former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt, executive member of Ottawa's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. "And we need to re-invent our suburbs so that they are more compact, less expensive to service and less unfriendly to live in."
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Maclean's, June 3, 2002. SAVING OUR CITIES
"Eighty percent of us live in them. Here's how to fix what's broken."
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Adam Chowaniec founded Tundra Semiconductor Corp. in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata in 1995. Why there? In this miniature replica of California's fabled high-tech Silicon Valley, there is a cluster of supportive networks and similar firms. His company works closely with local universities. Suppliers, venture capital firms and research councils are nearby. Skilled employees accept jobs in the city because, if things dont work out, they can march across the street and find a new place to work. "A cluster," says Chowaniec, "is all about critical mass."
Clusters are formidable creatures that we are only starring to map. They require the presence of everything from research uni- versities to visionary networking organizations. Toronto Board of Trade president Elyse Allan not only talks about taxes but about culture and affordable housing. "Such elements are important to business," she says. "And they are important to the creation of a competitive and vibrant city."
Clusters may be the ideal that many cities aspire to create, yet the most pressing need is simply for a plan. "Clusters are great if you can produce them but not every city is going to succeed," says University of Toronto political scientist David Wolfe, a clusters expert. "We still need to encourage every city to develop strategies to upgrade the innovativeness of its local economy."
At the very least, governments should not inhibit such activity. Between 1996 and 2001, three out of four Atlantic provinces lost population (Prince Edward Island was the exception). Brian Lee Crowley, president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, blames Ottawa's regional development policies, which essentially paid people to stay in place in rural areas instead of moving to cities where the jobs were. Belatedly, that urban migration is now happening--although many people are simply moving out of the region. The population of St. John's, Nfld. dropped 0.7 per cent; Saint John, N.B., slipped 2.4 per cent. The regions brightest spot, Halifax, went up 4.7 per cent-- above the national average of four per cent. "Those natural movements of people to cities are now starting to reassert themselves," says Crowley. "And that is the absolute foundation stone of prosperity."
The challenges for cities and their governments are enormous.
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The days are long gone when city governments just handled sewers. It was to make that point, to illustrate the huge gap between their duties and their resources, that the federation's 1,000 members launched their campaign. Rural communities and big cities agreed to stick together. They marshaled facts, including data on what the Americans and Europeans were doing. They assembled kits. They found allies among environmental, housing, transit and business groups. They talked. And it is working.
Now what? In a recent report for the Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc., political scientist Neil Bradford surveyed the extensive literature on cities -- and then talked about all that we still don't know. Provinces are struggling to figure out the best design for municipal governments; experts don't know enough about clusters or urban poverty; everyone must figure out how to foster diversity. "There are," he says, "key gaps in our knowledge."
But we also have to make governments make cities work. Loleen Berdahl, acting president of the Canada West Foundation, points out that Ottawa has a rural secretariat that takes account of rural perspectives when programs are crafted.
The same approach must be applied to urban Issues. "We need the political will to start thinking creatively," she says. And how can we do that? "Cities must rise up," says the federations Layton. "We cannot afford to sit back any longer." The standard of living of all Canadians -- wherever they live -- is on the line.
Have Canadian cities fallen behind others in quality of life?
... A Southam Clipping ...
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South of the border open space challenges are being met in a variety of ways. Recently publicized on the web, here is one of them ...
CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR LAND RECYCLING
The California Center for Land Recycling (CCLR), a statewide nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, CA, is seeking an Associate Director Programs and Administration. CCLR is focused on creating sustainable communities by encouraging and facilitating land recycling to revitalize urban areas, discourage urban sprawl, and conserve greenspace. The focus is on sites that are idle, abandoned, underutilized, or contaminated (or perceived to be contaminated), known as "brownfields." Redeveloping urban brownfields improves living conditions for city dwellers that are at a disadvantage because of economic and racial segregation. Redeveloping rural and suburban brownfields helps to create new housing, new jobs and a stronger tax base. It is with these goals in mind that CCLR objectively explores and advocates collaborative partnerships among private sector, public sector, and nonprofit organizations.
CCLR provides a range of financial assistance, training, technical assistance and consulting programs for municipalities, redevelopment agencies and community based organizations working to achieve revitalization and sustainability in their communities.
CCLR <johnstonco@earthlink.net>
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It's ultimately going to be their world, so instilling our children with a love of our environment should be one of our most important goals.
TD Friends of the Environment Foundation
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A short story of a different sort. Corporate Canada reaches out to the youth of our country ...
Young at heart
The Friends of the Environment Foundation believes that The Young Naturalists of British Columbia have an excellent approach to environmental education, and provides support for their programs. These boys and girls explore their communities, discover the wonders of nature and work with other environmental groups to develop individual and group initiatives to protect the environment
The Young Naturalists also hold explorer days to leam from experienced naturalists and gain hands-on experience in such areas as insect studies, bird identification and forest floor observations In partnering with local environmental groups to educate and inspire future generations, this group's efforts are fully aligned with the foundation's goal of investing in the future of Canadian communities ...
Up on the roof
In our urban centres, rooftop gardens can do a world of good. In Montreal, a project funded by the Friends of the Environment Foundation is examining ways to improve the air quality, increase natural habitat and reduce run-off into the sewer system
The rooftop garden at the YMCA -Notre Dame de Grace will help the participants gain valuable knowledge about the potential for this type of urban enhancement and the propagation of native plant species. Mcgill University's Department of Agriculture will use the garden to develop innovative growing techniques, such as organic mediums and organic fertilizers.
... and here, some claims, again from south of the border, to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative," as the old song goes ...
The Environment Continues to Improve
The Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco-based public policy think tank, has published its Index of Leading Environmental Indicators 2002 and the results are surprising. Authors Steven Hayward and Julie Majeres show that environmental quality has been improving since the first Earth Day 32 years ago, despite the public perception that it is getting worse.
"Environmental scare-mongering harms environmental policy because it detracts from constructive, science-based policy," said the authors. "With all of the information that's available online, citizens don't have to take anyone's word for it, they can check it out for themselves."
The study uses government data to examine long-term air and water quality trends, toxic chemicals and land use, as well as biodiversity issues. The authors take an in-depth look at the evolution of the environmental debate and provide extensive web-based resources. This report finds that, despite popular perception, environmental quality is improving dramatically in the United States. While the report is guaranteed to stir up controversy, the writers concur with one widely held view: the most meaningful environmental initiatives are taking place at the local level. The report utilizes government data to assess long-term air and water quality trends, toxic chemical prevalence and the loss of open space and species.
And now, for something really positive .... These are the the observations of Mary Bishop, MCIP, in exerpts from her recent paper in Plan Canada about communities in bloom and the tidy towns of her province ...
.... Tidy Towns: Newfoundland and Labrador
During the summer of 2000, I had the privilege of being a volunteer judge for the Newfoundland and Labrador Tidy Towns competition. Since its inception in 1997, this competition has experienced a steady increase in participation. Almost a third of the towns in the province participated last year in six categories based on population size.
As judges, we evaluated thirteen communities with populations between 1,000 and 2,500, on the basis of eight criteria:
• Community involvement
• Landscaping
• Environmental effort
• Heritage conservation
• Turf /grassed areas
• Urban forestry development
• Floral arrangements
• Overall tidiness effort
Joining me as co-judge was fellow planning consultant and avid sea kayaker Arvo MacMillan. Our trip took us to all areas of the province. We were accompanied by sunny skies, warm temperatures, and just enough time between towns to take to the water for a relaxing paddle.
We explored aspects of communities that would remain hidden to a visitor just passing through. We met the people involved in trying to improve their communities, and we spoke with them about their plans and dreams. Each community had unique features and characteristics, from creative lawn art, impeccably piled winter wood and distinctive fence designs, to harbour-front developments, fishing premises and well-preserved heritage buildings. As a planner, I had an opportunity to experience the essential social and economic fabric of these small communities, and to meet people who care about their future.
The experience was both humbling and invigorating We were met in each town by councillors and/or their beautification committees, who provided us with information about their town, activities and plans. We were then treated to a tour, which was always unpredictable, visiting backyard gardens with spectacular floral arrangements, environmental initiatives, public landscaped areas, recreational facilities, community museums, and, in many cases, the municipal landfill site. We discussed the situation of communities, from their tax base, demographics and employment figures, to their aspirations and economic development initiatives. We talked about efforts to improve environmental protection, the use of pesticides, and sources of local bedding plants. In just about every location we visited the local nursery and discussed the impact of the municipal beautification program on their business. And business was blooming!
We visited town halls and commercial centres, wharves, beach areas, local parks, and hiking trails. We discussed heritage preservation efforts and quizzed museum guides about their town's history. Most importantly, we talked about how the community was involved in the beautification effort. People were involved in:
• Tidy Town committees,
• "Adopt-A-Spot" groups,
• gardening clubs responsible for community gardens,
• promotional newsletters,
• business sponsorships of beautification events/projects,
• community clean-ups and volunteer appreciation events,
• youth group projects (mural painting, trail development, tree planting),
• local beautification competitions for residential and commercial properties, and
• heritage groups and museum projects
Then there were the individuals who simply took it upon themselves to keep the streets free of litter or made special efforts to improve their own premises.
We had opportunities to discuss planning issues such as the improvement of commercial centres, signage, unsightly properties, infrastructure, and waste management.
The task of completing evaluation reports and selecting a winner provided a chance to make recommendations which could be acted upon within the context of the municipality, its financial and human resources, and unique circumstances. As planners, we were able to give useful advice to the participants. I also found myself thinking harder about what made a particular town tick - what features contributed to its quality of life, and how the collective efforts of citizens can make real changes and foster a community's sense of pride. I returned to my own town with a much more critical eye and, I must admit, a resolve to improve my own garden.
The awards ceremony, held in conjunction with the annual convention of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities, had the highest attendance of any event at the meeting. The excitement in the room was amazing as the winners were announced and pictures of each town quickly flashed on the screen. But the telling moment came when the award-winners gathered to have their photos taken, only to find that a number of the recipients could not be located. They had already left the room to phone the folks back home with the good news.
Mary Bishop concludes:
Community beautification competitions are an excellent means of getting people to think about how their community looks, and to understand the connection between how a community looks and how it feels. Inevitably, this translates into thinking about planning.
As planners, we are often caught up in specific aspects of our work writing planning policies, analyzing data, or processing development applications. My experience as a judge in the Tidy Town competition allowed me to examine a variety of communities while reflecting on my own role as a planner in the community development process.
The goals and objectives of community beautification competitions are very much in line with those of the planning profession, encouraging citizen involvement, civic pride, improved quality of life, environmental and heritage protection, and social and economic development. Members of the planning profession should become active partners in these provincial and national programs. As a fellow planner, I encourage you to offer your skills to your own community beautification committee. You won't regret the experience!
Mary Bishop, once again you've earned our respect and admiration!
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Defining open-space:
Planning debate on-line
January 2002
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David Hopper MES, MCIP, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources kicked off a vigorous, if brief, internet debate about open space when he posted the following on API's website "chat room." It is our pleasure to provide a mildly condensed and lightly edited version of the ensuing cyber-discussion:
David Hopper begins:
Help me with some thinking here - perhaps someone could provide some clarity. This has to do with the concept of open-space planning, in which the large regional municipalities are engaged. If the confusion is only with me, then fine. However, if there is some uncertainty among planners over the definition of open-space planning, then we should clarify it sooner rather than later.
To my mind open-space zoning (ergo planning) is an urban planning concept, which has been used mainly in our cities, suburban and urban fringe areas. In these areas open-space zoning focuses mainly on greenbelts, recreation areas, parks etc. However, there is a view that open-space planning should enable a more inclusive land use pattern. A website on London's open-space planning (http://www.londonlandscape.gre.ac.uk/ ) concludes with the following:
The net result of the above balance of factors is that London has only capitalized of a few of its advantages. Action is required:
1.Landscape and open space planning should be treated as a strategic issue, like transport, which requires a London-wide plan.
2.The emphasis of open space planning should shift from 'public parks' to multipurpose greenways.
3.Open space planning should be professionalized and democratized. It requires expert knowledge and the continuous involvement of open space users.
When open-space planning is applied to large rural areas, is the primary objective meant to define and protect areas, parks and recreational space from development or is it meant to define/plan/manage a more integrated mix of uses - - including resource use?
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To which Doug Foster says:
I can't help but comment on your question thinking that we must be one of those "large regional municipalities" supposedly involved in open space planning. Perhaps we are not large, as we are certainly not in league with London, although we are large geographically, and even by population by Maritime measure.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality may be an anomaly in the sense that we have had the most concentrated and consistent decline in the Maritime Provinces for the past 35 years (headed for 40), but we are not alone. Growth, such as it is, is concentrated in the Halifax Region and those Counties which immediately abut. The rest of Nova Scotia, and much of Atlantic Canada is dealing with decline or economic stagnation.
We have completely abandoned setting aside open space in our subdivision bylaw - it was abandoned because we simply have nothing to drive it. The reality legislatively at this municipal level is that we can't zone for open space, at least not overtly, unless we own the land. The Province has no money to invest in open space, and I don't see too much action on the Federal level either.
In Sydney, we have seen fit to sell off some of our most central urban parkland, in part based on the argument that it would give us some funds to maintain the open space that is left. In the last two decades, I have witnessed the decline and abandonment of some of our best urban parkland. Provincial and Federal initiatives tend to focus on capital investment, when we lack the resources to maintain what we have.
It would be nice to talk about open space as a strategic issue like transport, but our discussions about transport are just as pointless. Road, rail, air, and water transport are seen by our administration and our Council, as the most strategic questions facing us; however, the Province and the Federal Government are in the process of abandoning this infrastructure piece-meal and simultaneously. We are selling off or giving the assets of harbors away with no collective vision whatsoever as to what these assets are and could become. We have no Provincial context for highways planning, no air transportation strategy, no political will to make our rail lines economic, and no energy policy worthy of the name.
In this context, the very idea of open space planning is absurd, whether we are talking about public parks or multipurpose greenways. The total fragmentation of the public sector guarantees that we cannot plan in any sense for open space, any more than we do for transportation. Vision is lacking, and to some extent, the lack thereof may be justified by the lack of real necessity to plan, if our vision goes no further than to survive another budget year.
Abandonment and decline does not seem to be the spawning ground for real leadership or innovation, and that unfortunately is the incubation context for many of our areas outside Halifax. It seems ironic to me that some of our greatest leaders were spawned in the face of adversity and many of the significant achievements of nations were born of desperation.
Perhaps we lack a real sense of crisis to create the political consensus required. I can't help but feel that your questions are interesting only in a very abstract sense that doesn't have much relevance to much of Atlantic Canada.
David Hopper continues:
I recognize that planning is a struggle in Cape Breton and easily victimized in any depressed economy. Perhaps my questions sound irrelevant to (Cape Breton) but I feel they have relevance in Atlantic Canada - as they do anywhere else that conducts land use planning. My question actually derives from open space planning being conducted in HRM - clearly it is relevant to HRM planners and nearly 40% of Nova Scotia's population.
What actually surprised me most was the quick dismissal of the new energy policy with the comment - "no energy policy worthy of the name." It kind of stung a little considering that a cadre of my colleagues here at DNR and Petroleum Directorate spent the last 2 years of their lives putting it together. You know how policy development goes, how the purity of ideals are diluted by overly cautious bureaucrats and those we elect. Nevertheless, Nova Scotia's energy policy is based on considerable analysis, consultation and forecasting and provides a statement of what can be done now and near future.
I would still like to hear any other comments on the "open space question."
Peter Ewart asserts:
Communication lines among the different levels within the governments run well most of the time ... My sense is that everyone is pitching in to some degree.
... we need dynamic solutions to our problems. I like the chemical metaphor which relates the solutions to our problems with our basic resolve to change the mixture. To me this means people should not be afraid to talk about things in any forum.
Maurice Lloyd writes:
Just a couple of observations that may or may not be relevant ...
Doug's point is "dead on" in that development is concentrating in and around HRM (actually in a 100km radius around Halifax Harbour through to Truro, Wolfville/Kentville, along the South Shore perhaps to Bridgewater, and along the Eastern Shore to Musquodoboit Harbour).
If we look at other regions in North America then the trend had been for 50-60% of the regions population to concentrate in the main centre of trade and service. This means that the area noted above needs to be planning for growth and a population in the order of 600,000 (based on the NS population) and a 1,000,000 or more (based on Atlantic Canada). The remainder of Atlantic Canada will be planning for modest growth or decline.
The conundrum here is that planning has to be at its keenest when planning for modest growth or a drop in growth - you can't afford to make a mistake. In an area with dynamic growth a mistake can be made and economic forces will often provide the opportunity to make a correction. On the other hand, how do you inspire people in our communities to be interested in planning when the dynamic of growth is not present? Doug has thrown out an interesting challenge to planners - the need is very great indeed in areas of decline but how do we stimulate the understanding of that need and the interest and support for planning?
Doug Foster comes back with:
Although decline is more pronounced and perhaps more longstanding in Cape Breton, I don't think that we are unique. Of the Counties experiencing growth in Nova Scotia, five abut Halifax and the sixth is Antigonish, which certainly enjoys some of it's prosperity due to St. FX.
I think that other parts of Nova Scotia, are also dealing with decline. I think part of my frustration is that I think we should be planning for open space, even if we are planning in a declining economy. In other words, I would agree that planning for open space requires a strategic approach like transport.
Perhaps in the declining areas, which is most of the geographic area of Nova Scotia, the decline should be recognized, but open space should still be planned from a strategic point of view. I would not, for example, advocate selling off parts of Fortress of Louisbourg, or the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, just because Cape Breton Island is in decline.
Your analogy was quite appropriate to transport policy. My last statement about not having an energy policy worthy of the name, is based on our very strong perception of that energy policy, by omission more than commission is reinforcing inequity and decline across this Province.
The Province has given approval to electrical price reductions to industries in areas that have competition from natural gas. This has the ironic consequence of making electricity more expensive in Trenton and Glace Bay, where a substantial power plant is located, than in Goldboro, where there is no thermal electric plant. Guysborough County is getting enormous windfalls, thanks to a regulated utility that is required to pay municipal property tax in the municipality where its facility is located, even though there is little in the way of additional municipal expenditure required because of those facilities.
In Trenton, where trucks are pounding up our street system daily hauling coal, there is no municipal tax revenue from the power plant. In the gas case, revenues accrue to the municipality where the production facilities happen to get installed, whereas in the coal case, the revenue is distributed on a formula based on where it is consumed as opposed to produced.
The Province gives coal fired power producing areas a double whammy, from a competitive point of view, by giving industry in areas with access to natural gas a preferred rate on electricity as well as industrial access to cheaper natural gas.
Energy policy, like transport policy is so important that it must transcend any single issue approach. It should be a key policy in terms of transportation planning (e.g. lets get bulk commodities such as coal or gypsum moving on rails rather than beating up our roads). 100 series four lane highway access is a regional economic development issue, intimately tied to energy policy and rail/air/and port questions.
For Cape Breton Regional Municipality, policies on port development are seen by our municipality as our only significant chance at economic recovery. The Province and the Federal Government have been and are divesting all of the significant assets of Sydney Harbour, which are intimately tied to current energy production, with no coherent strategy for even the assets that abut each other and can and should be complimentary assets, with a common need for complimentary road, rail and airport access.
These issues, in my mind are also strategic, even more so than open space, and energy policy is inseparable from economic development and transportation issues. And if the Nova Scotia Government is credible in arguing for equalization on a National level, then it must surely use those same principles to ensure that all areas of Nova Scotia have a chance to be competitive in energy pricing, transportation and economic development.
David Hopper again responds:
This is simply a sharing of information ... I believe these stories provide us with a warning and further cause to make open space planning a higher priority in Atlantic Canada:
Report says planners threaten 'Britain's rainforest'
Wildlife charities say Britain's planning system is failing to protect the country's ancient woodlands. New research claims many local authorities are either unwilling to enforce protection policies or are unaware of them.
Woods more than 400-years-old are home to so many species of plants and animals they are sometimes called 'Britain's rainforest'.
A survey by the Woodland Trust and the WWF found more than 100 of Britain's most important ancient woods face damage or loss. It says many council records of wooded areas are inaccurate and inaccessible, while the guidance given by planning officers often fails to provide decision-makers with the correct advice.
Ancient woodlands are most at risk from infrastructure and transport developments such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the expansion of Manchester Airport.
Beatrix Richards, WWF Forests Campaigner, said: "A proper and easily accessible inventory of these woods must be compiled urgently to prevent this essential part of our natural heritage slipping quietly away under a tide of concrete."
Here Malcolm Gillis breaks in with some interesting comparisons:
While respecting the concern you express about the depletion of our forest resource here in Nova Scotia (one only has to fly over our Province in a low flying plane to appreciate the illusion created from the perspective of highway driving), comparing us with England should be put in its proper context.
England has a population of approximately 48 million residing on a land mass of 50,000 square miles. That's a population density of 960 people per square mile. Nova Scotia's 943,000 residents occupy a land mass of 21,000 square miles. We have a population density of 45 per square mile. The comparable density ratio is one Nova Scotian to 21 English.
Here is another way of using our own geography to compare ... The distance between London and Liverpool is equivalent to the distance between Halifax and Sydney. To get to Liverpool from London you have to go through or around the metropolises of Birmingham and Manchester. The smallest of these four English metropolitan areas is equal to the population of Vancouver. Instead of a population of approximately 340,000, imagine if 10 million resided in the Halifax Regional Municipality (London), another 3 million (Birmingham) resided in metro New Glasgow and another 3 million (Manchester) resided in Port Hawkesbury, while the population of Vancouver (Liverpool i.e. 2 million) lived in Sydney.
I can only imagine the problems planners are having in England trying to preserve the forests. Here in Nova Scotia what wouldn't be occupied by these large communities would be occupied by the highway system connecting them.
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And finally, April 3, Stan Kochanoff revisited the "green space/open space" subject when he posted a letter to all of us who subscribe to API's website:
To all fellow planners:
For those who attended the recent conference sponsored by the Dalhousie Planning Department, Ecology Action Centre and the Evergreen Foundation in Halifax, the importance of "greening" in the planning of our communities was really driven home by a diverse group of presenters. Stan Kochanoff is awarded the last word on the open space subject. He posted a letter to Dal following the Breaking Ground / Greening the Urban and Regional Landscape Conference
Congratulations and bravo to [organizers] of the above conference. Well done!
It was fitting [that] closing comments at the Friday afternoon wrap-up [showed] how important the topic of greening is in planning! Perhaps we should be putting the environment first in our planning considerations ...
When I was a student in the MURP program some ten years ago, I constantly bugged staff members about the curriculum lacking greening and landscape considerations. Also, the subject became my thesis topic (A Plan for Change in Attitudes towards our Landscape Environment in Nova Scotia). I continue to live my thesis in my professional planning work and for a number of years after graduation, I did offer to do a few guest lectures on planning and the landscape environment. The offers were for the price of a free lunch or two so it wasn't a strain on the department budget nor was there any danger of stepping on anyone's toes internally within the department or the School of Architecture.
Sadly, no one took me up on the offer but now [there is] a great opportunity to integrate green planning into the masters planning program with the amalgamation of the NSCAD environmental planning staff and program at Dalhousie. The department has added some talented and knowledgeable people to compliment the urban and regional planning staff. There is now a great opportunity to introduce this very important topic of the landscape environment into the MURP curriculum. Instead of talk and rhetoric about its importance, why not make the subject a required course for planners?
It's a perfect time now with the added internal environmental planning strength in the department. All planners should have a better understanding of the landscape environment with the planning issues faced today in our communities all over the country ... I believe Dalhousie has a great opportunity to lead in this area.
[Dal should] go for the gusto now and integrate 'greening' into the curriculum as a required course of study for planners! By the way, the offer still stands; if you need any part-time or guest lecturers on the subject, I¹m still willing. I am sure too, there are other professionals in the field who would do the same.
Also, the panel discussion topic on the NS Power and Landscape Nova Scotia program, "The Right Tree for the Right Place" has triggered a paper I hope to present at The Canadian Urban Forest Conference in Toronto next October. This program in its present form has the potential of dramatically changing our urban forest and treescape as we know now and it may have to be rethought.
As an MURP alumni, I'll look forward to seeing some action towards educating future planners about the importance of the landscape environment with a meaningful program.
Stan Kochanoff, MCIP
Stan is President of Environova Planning Group Inc. He will present the paper he mentioned in his letter at the Canadian Urban Forestry Conference in Toronto this fall. He is currently preparing this paper with respect to the planning implications and the impact on the future treescapes of Nova Scotia communities.
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PLANNING
SCHOOLS
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By the time we commenced assembly of this issue of Planners Pen, students were already leaving for their summer places of employment. In the end-of-year issue of this newsletter we hope to feature something from the students at API Council.
Fortunately for us, both David Stewart and Joseph Driscoll found summer employment in our Charlottetown neighbourhood. We caught up with them and were able to glean some Dalhousie news.
They were quick to report that there is an excellent complement of professorial staff at Dal, and that the merging of the Dal and NSCAD planning programs is working for them. Dave has smoothly made the transfer to our Atlantic school after doing his undergraduate program at University of Victoria.
Joseph Driscoll, from Summerside, has completed his NSCAD program and is now pursuing further studies in public administration at Dal.
He writes:
The spring of 2002 marked the end of Environmental Planning's first year as a temporary piece of Dalhousie University's School of Planning. Although the merger has required faculty and students of both the undergraduate and graduate programs to make adjustments, it has strengthened the School of Planning by providing students and faculty with a more diverse environment within which to learn, research and teach. Over the past year students have had the opportunity to select from a broad range of courses that reflect the specialties of the professors from both the undergraduate and graduate planning programs.
Five students graduated from the Environmental Planning program this spring and have gone on to gain employment with municipal and provincial planning agencies. Two of these students will continue their education at graduate school in the fall. It appears that the EP program will graduate its last two professionally designated undergraduate planning classes over the next two years.
The School of Planning intends to introduce an undergraduate program in Community Design that will allow students from a broad range of interests to explore concepts related to community and environmental design and planning. Dr. Jill Grant, a longtime Environmental Planning professor, will assume the position of Director of the School of Planning this summer. Congratulations Jill and good luck!
I have thoroughly enjoyed and value the education that I received in the EP program and am certain that the last three Environmental Planning classes will further the NSCAD program's fine reputation as a quality planning school. Best of luck to the two remaining EP classes and to the faculty members who will continue to educate at the School of Planning.
We now have an expanded faculty of six members in a renamed "School of Planning"
Joseph Driscoll
Student Representatives at API
Mike Logan and Sarah Anderson represented Dal and NSCAD respectively at the last API Council sessions.
Mike Logan provided councillors with copies of the brochure for the 2002 Dalhousie planning module. He inquired as to how student members can become further involved in the activities of API. He indicated the student membership wants to be more aware of what is going on in the region.
Some students were able to attend the 2002 CAPS conference in Montreal and many are looking forward to the 2003 CAPS conference to be held in Halifax. The theme of that conference will be "On the Edge."
Mike indicated that tuition fees at Dalhousie in the planning program are a student concern and funding is a major issue. Tuition at the school is almost $7,000 and the planning tuition cost is the highest of all programs at Dalhousie. There is little in the way of scholarship support to help defray these costs.
Sarah Anderson reported that the continued identity of the environmental planning undergraduate students is an issue. She indicated that some of the current students have considered transferring out of the program
On an administrative note:
The Graduate Planning Society (GPS) has had a recent cabinet shuffle. The new president is Heather Ternoway, Vice-President is Lindsey Mittelsteadt, Treasurer is Ravi Singh, Luc Ouellet and Jaret Lang are the new computer representatives, Charlene Cressman is our social and sports representative, Jen Meurer is in charge of organizing guest speakers and the API representative is Mike Logan.
NEW DEGREE PROGRAM: Bachelor of Community Design
From Professor Jill Grant comes the following news about proposed new programming at the Planning School. If this looks familiar to you, it's possible you have recently seen it posted via the internet < :
At Dalhousie University we are currently developing a proposal for a new undergraduate program. It would be called the Bachelor of Community Design, with Majors possible in two areas: Environmental Planning, and Urban Design Studies. We hope to continue to educate people with commitment to the environment and good design skills, as we did at NSCAD for 30 years. While initially the program will not be accredited, we see that it remains possible to work towards professional recognition of the program.
We are meeting with representatives of AIP and NSAPP to discuss the program, and the profession's thoughts and suggestions about it. At this time we are looking for support from the profession for the initiative.
Administrators here at Dalhousie have asked us to provide evidence of the need for the program and its graduates. If you believe that there is a need for people trained as environmental planners and as urban design planners in the region, please write letters or emails supporting our proposal. If you can see that there is a need for practitioners trained at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, please let us know why. If you believe that there are not enough planners being trained in the region to meet the demand for planners, and that there is room for new programs that may graduate as many as 20 people per year, please write to confirm that.
Jill Grant MCIP, School of Planning
Dalhousie University
Box 1000 Halifax B3J 2X4
<jill.grant@dal.ca>
(need more details? -- seeAPI web pages)
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BRANCH BIZ
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This is API. This is basic stuff for the benefit of all our members. We think this is information that we all need to know about our Council and our branch activities:
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Newfoundland & Labrador
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Karen Roberts reported at the last API Council meeting that the NF Branch held its AGM in December and the same executive has been returned. The Branch also recognized World Town Planning Day. The Province, the City of St. John's and Mount Pearl all proclaimed the day. A scholarship committee is looking at establishing a scholarship for an NF student to study planning. The executive is also looking at expanding the membership.
The Planners Plate series is continuing and the NF Branch is looking at developing a history of planning in the province.
Stephen Jewcyzk continues as President of the Newfoundland and Labrador branch this term
We regret the Branch has not reported to this newsletter.
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Prince Edward Island
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John Dalton reported at the last API Council meeting that the PE Branch held a meeting in October 2001 with a presentation from officials of the Canada Lands Company. A Christmas social was also held.
John noted that the PE government does not pay for member dues. John indicated that current membership in the PE Branch is about 14. He also indicated that UPEI has some interesting offerings from their School of Conflict Mediation.
John Dalton continues as PEI Branch president.this term. ( We regret the Branch has not reported to this newsletter.)
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New Brunswick
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G Kenton E. Kinney, MCIP is currently the president of the New Brunswick Planners Association. He was elected to take over the job held by Gilles Guérette before him. The New Brunswick Branch of API first became active in the mid-80's and Ken Kinney inherits the presidency of a branch that it has fulfilled the expectations of its founders -- namely to serve as an informal venue for New Brunswick Planners to get together from time to time to share ideas on planning issues specific to their region.
New Brunswick Planners Association
Submission to the Planners Pen.NBPA AGM
The New Brunswick Planners Association held its Annual General meeting in Tracadie-Sheila in May 2002. The NBPA wishes to congratulate the new association Executive, Mr. Kenton E. Kinney, MCIP, President; Mr. Mark Reade, MCIP, Secretary/Treasurer and Mr. Aaron Hershoff, MCIP, API Representative. The NBPA wishes to thank the previous Executive, Mr. Gilles Gueret