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• 1 media/bigstock--135558902 planning.jpg 2017-10-12T18:28:58+00:00 What is Planning? 12 image_header 17 2017-12-11T20:20:30+00:00 Every day, events unfold and decisions are made that shape the growth and development of a community. No matter where it is located, and no matter how big or small it is, these choices will also have environmental impacts that can affect the long-term environmental sustainability not only of this particular place, but also of the world beyond it. For example, decisions about where to construct new housing, and what types of housing that will be, can dictate whether or not fertile agricultural land is removed from productive use. Similarly, choices about the construction of transportation infrastructure (such as widening roads vs. adding new bicycle lanes and sidewalks) will have a bearing on future air, water and noise pollution levels. It is for reasons such as these that planning has become enshrined over the past century as an important and essential activity, one that ideally involves a wide range of stakeholders.
  
  The Canadian Institute of Planners defines planning as “the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban, rural and northern communities” (CIP, 2017). According to Hodge and Gordon (2014), planning serves two main purposes: first, it aims to solve problems associated with a community’s present development and avoid related problems in the future; and second, it enables a community to express its aspirations to “improve the form, functioning, or fairness of its built and natural environment for all who live there.”
  
  As facilitators of the planning process, professional planners work with a multitude of stakeholders to carry out activities such as:
   

  • planning and designing new neighbourhoods and communities;
  • improving conditions and accommodating new development within existing communities;
  • creating and preserving natural spaces and parks;
  • managing cultural and heritage resources, such as preserving the character of heritage buildings and neighbourhoods;
  • facilitating economic development;
  • assisting in the creation, operation, and development of transportation infrastructure and systems - roads, transit, bikes and pedestrian ways - which allow for freight and people movements; and
  • protecting the natural environment, such as through the development of watershed protection and conservation strategies.

  The following sections provide examples of three specific types of planning: land use planning; transportation planning; and economic development planning. These three have been chosen for this discussion because, as will be shown, decisions made through these processes can all have enormous implications for the environmental sustainability of the places where they take place.