What is Planning?
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:
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.
- 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.