Question 7 of 7: Smart Growth and the Keys to Planning Success

Question 7: Smart Growth and the Keys to Planning Success (20 marks)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

What smart growth is. Smart growth is a planning and development philosophy that emerged in the 1990s as a direct response to the costs of urban sprawl. It seeks development that is compact, efficient, transit- and pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use and environmentally responsible — concentrating growth in existing and walkable centres rather than spreading it in low-density, auto-dependent sprawl. Its aim is a community that is economically strong, environmentally sustainable, socially equitable and fiscally efficient: growth that uses land and infrastructure efficiently, protects natural areas and farmland, offers transportation and housing choice, and creates places of enduring quality. It is essentially the operational, growth-management-era expression of sustainable-development principles applied to urban form, and it underlies Canadian instruments such as Metro Vancouver’s regional strategy and the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan.

The principles / keys to success. Smart growth is usually summarised as a set of principles; the keys to planning success with it are to pursue them together and to back them with the tools and political commitment to make them real:

• Compact, higher-density development. Build up and in, at densities that use land and infrastructure efficiently and support transit and services — the foundation on which the rest depends.
• Mixed land uses. Put homes, jobs, shops and services close together so daily needs are within walking distance, reducing trips and enlivening streets.
• A range of housing choices. Provide diverse housing types, densities and prices so people of different incomes and life-stages can live in the community — a key to equity.
• Walkable, human-scale neighbourhoods. Design for pedestrians (and cyclists) with connected streets, good public realm and quality urban design.
• Transportation choice / transit orientation. Provide real alternatives to the car — frequent transit, walking and cycling — and focus growth around transit stations (transit-oriented development).
• Direct growth to existing communities (infill & redevelopment). Prioritise infill, intensification, brownfield redevelopment and the use of existing infrastructure over greenfield expansion.
• Preserve open space, farmland and natural/critical areas. Protect greenspace, agricultural land and environmentally sensitive areas — the necessary complement to compact form (urban containment / greenbelts).
• Strengthen a sense of place / distinctive communities. Foster attractive, identifiable communities with a strong sense of place.
• Predictable, fair and cost-effective development decisions. Give the development industry clear, timely rules so smart-growth projects are viable to build.
• Community and stakeholder collaboration. Involve residents, developers and all levels of government in shaping and supporting growth decisions — the political key that makes the rest achievable.

Keys to planning success. Beyond listing the principles, success depends on: applying them as an integrated package (compactness without mixed use, choice and transit simply produces dense sprawl); aligning the tools — official plan, zoning, growth boundaries, development charges, transit investment and density bonusing all pointing the same way; coordinating across governments and with the market so that intensification is actually built where planned; securing public and political support (managing resistance to density) through good design and engagement; and investing in the infrastructure (especially transit) that compact form needs. Smart growth succeeds when a compelling regional vision is matched by an aligned tool-kit, sustained investment and genuine collaboration — and fails when its principles are adopted as slogans without the density, the transit and the political will to deliver them.