Smart growth in Canada: Implementation of a planning concept

Recently, a broad consensus has emerged concerning the growth and development of Canadian cities: our cities, as they have grown over the last 60 years, are contributing significantly to global and regional environmental problems, government deficits, and social inequity. In order to be sustainable, cities should alter their development patterns so as to be more compact, diverse in their land uses, with more defined urban boundaries and internal structures. The broad-based movement that is advocating such changes in the way our cities grow is called “Smart Growth”. Smart Growth refers to land use and development practices that limit costly urban sprawl, use tax dollars more efficiently and create more livable…