Questions Answered

  •  Do the draft policies provide sufficient direction to effectively protect provincial interests in land-use planning?

Not from a perspective of acknowledged ecological imperatives. Given that provincial interests in land-use planning must not compromise interests at all other levels, such as public health, the integrity of eco-services provided by any ecosystem must be sustained.

1. Isolating ecosystems by way of designations like 'significant', 'prime agriculture', or 'specialty croplands', used within policies 2.1.2.2 & 2.1.2.3a-e, disregards or devalues the services and benefits provided by all other ecosystems. Policy 2.1.2.3d, for example, "will not permit development and site alteration in significant wildlife habitat." This calls into question, what would make any wildlife habitat insignificant enough to permit its compromise?

In the same vein, with respects to "Alteration to Boundaries of Settlement Areas," policy 1.1.1.4c states,

"The alteration of all or any part of a boundary of a settlement area or the creation of a new settlement area will be permitted only at the time of a comprehensive review and only where it has been demonstrated that:
   c) in prime agricultural areas:
     1. the lands do not comprise specialty crop areas;
     2. there are no reasonable alternatives, which avoid prime agricultural areas; and
     3. there are no reasonable alternatives with lower priority agricultural lands in prime agricultural areas."

This all seems to ignore the eco-services provided by ecosystems not considered 'significant', etc., existing outside settlement boundaries.

2.   Policy 1.2.1 states that, "Efficient, development and land use patterns which sustain the financial well-being of the Province and municipalities over the long-term, will be promoted." The implications of this policy may perpetuate the same kind of limited thinking these reforms intend on overcoming. All three imperatives could be addressed by declaring this policy's objective to, "sustain the combined social, financial and ecological well-being of the Province."

3.    Policy 1.2.5 provides an example of where the 'precautionary principle' should be applied - in the interest of the general public. If so applied, policy 1.2.5 could state, "Development and land use patterns which may cause environmental or public health and safety concerns will be forbidden."

Adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on the Environment and Development, 'precautionary principle' "should be applied where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment[. A] lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation."^[1]

Recommendations:

• The policies should reflect the emergent importance being placed on all ecosystems, applying the 'precautionary principle' wherever appropriate.
• The Province should establish guidelines for the applications of full-cost accounting and ecological footprinting. (See Table 1)
  
  Full cost accounting and ecological footprinting, used as assessment tools, would force a close examination of what eco-services are provided by each and every ecosystem under consideration for development or site alteration. Such accounting would be required in order to understand and know better what impact any development, or growth will have on local and regional carrying capacities. Additionally, without such practices, we will never be able to accurately measure, and account for ecological profits and losses.

Despite the above comments, mechanisms such as those recommended in Table 1 - and not the policies - may strike the desired balance. The policies should encourage and support the application of tools/mechanisms intended to achieve sustainability.

Developing sustainability compels us to strike a balance between social, fiscal and ecological imperatives. With regard to economic imperatives however, striving for sustainability could generate renewed economic activities comparable to those generated by the advent of horseless buggies. New services, products, and processes will be swiftly needed to replace non-sustainable, life-threatening services, products and processes. In many cases these will require new services, products and processes to recover, recycle and reuse all above-ground resources made available by their replacement or obsolescence.

With respects to the Planning Reform and developing sustainability, MMAH's greatest challenge would include obvious stewardship, collaborating with other ministries and agencies with interconnected interests. To paraphrase Ann Dale (2001), developing sustainability will not be realized without effective government leadership to enable us to diffuse its concepts and practices over the next decade.^[2]

 

Recommendations:

• That MMAH display committed stewardship toward developing sustainability for the sake of the success of the planning policy reforms.
• That MMAH define guidelines and determine timeframes within which sustainability tools and mechanisms are to be used in land-use planning.

There is one emerging planning matter not covered by Tables 3-6 that requires provincial policy direction. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) developed by Redefining Progress^[3] , and currently practiced since 1997 by Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada (GPI Atlantic^[4] ), should be given serious consideration for its application by the Province. Recently featured in this June's lead article of Saturday Night, 'The Gross Domestic Hoax' by Sean Butler, the GPI of which the ecological footprint is an essential component "is based on the fundamental understanding that social, economic and environmental realities are inextricably linked". ^[5]

 

Recommendation:

• That the Province adopt the Genuine Progress Indicator as a means of more accurately measuring the social, financial and ecological well-being of the province, and as an indication of the planning reform's effectiveness.

As suggested in 'Greenbelt, Policy Reforms, and Sustainability', ways must be found to encourage and support residential intensification of existing mall and plaza parking lots, and buildings. Integrated with green building designs, the list of social, environmental and economic benefits would be extensive.

While preparing this submission, I learned of the U.S. federal government's recent call for public input into preparing a Draft Federal Guide for Green Construction Specs.^[6] Similarly, 'Greenbelt, Planning Reform and Sustainability' made reference to the city of New York recently mandating all municipally owned and managed buildings to apply green design^[7] effective in 2006.

With regard to affordable housing, in the U.S. for example, some states are using housing sizes as a means of determining affordability. Additionally, if future building codes included green building design for housing, then the savings incurred over time would contribute substantially toward housing affordability. In July 2004, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) began its LEED for Homes (LEED-H) initiative, expecting the full program to be rolled out early 2006.^[8]

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Recommendations:

• Provide incentives to mall owners to redevelop mall and plaza parking lots and buildings for residential intensification.
• For affordable housing, size should be included in determining affordability.
• Establish a Provincial Guide for Green Construction Specs whereby all provincially owned and managed buildings must adhere by 2006/2007.
• Set out guidelines and timetables for all institutional, commercial and residential development, redevelopment and retrofits to apply sustainable design criterion, or participate in green building design rating programs.

If Ontario communities, and the public are expected to have effective voices in land-use planning, they will need to receive education for sustainability. Education for sustainability could play a profound role in meeting most of the mid-to-long-term objectives of these, and other policy reforms. This would further justify the need for inter-ministerial collaborations.

 

Recommendations:

• That the Provincial government rigorously pursue opportunities in education for sustainability
• That all the mechanisms presented within Table 1 be recognized as critical for effective land-use planning and implementation, as well as in developing sustainability.

Discussing "Greenbelt, Planning Reform and Sustainability" with the Director of Corporate Strategy for the Region of Niagara, Patrick Robson expressed his support for The Melbourne Principles over the Natural Step, specifically with respects to municipal or regional governance. In his view, "the Melbourne Principles, as constituted, are intended to view the city/region as an ecosystem, with considerable interdependency between environmental, social, economic and governance contexts^[9]."

QUEST™ interactive software developed by Envision Sustainability Tools, Vancouver, (see Table 1) "combines a deep understanding of sustainability with the power of information technology, public consultation and community engagement to produce value added products and services for innovative, forward looking strategic planners seeking to infuse the concepts of sustainability into their world view".^[10]

 

Recommendations:

• That MMAH (Ontario) officially adopt, and promote the Melbourne Principles to all Ontarian communities.
• Make QUEST™ available to all provincial municipalities/regions.

Definitely. While I can't really speak to the value, or practicality of the transference of development rights, I do think that limits and restrictions governing its use must be set out by the Act.

I can see where bonusing could support the objectives and ways might be devised to include LEED certification, greenroofing, etc.

The ten Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities are: Provide a long-term vision for cities based on: sustainability; intergenerational, social, economic and political equity; and their individuality.

• Achieve long term economic and social security.
• Recognize the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and protect and restore them.
• Enable communities to minimize their ecological footprint.
• Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of healthy and sustainable cities.
• Recognize and build on the distinctive characteristics of cities, including their human and cultural values, history and natural systems.
• Empower people and foster participation.
• Expand and enable cooperative networks to work towards a common, sustainable future.
• Promote sustainable production and consumption, through appropriate use of environmentally sound technologies and effective demand management.
• Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance.

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Source: http://www.davidrisstrom.org/100GreenAchievements/100GA-MelbournePrinciples.html

 

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES

ACHIEVEMENT: The Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities are understood and applied by cities around the world as a foundation for sustainable urban development.

The Melbourne Principles were adopted by the Local Government Session of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and adopted as part of a communiqué delivered to the Main Plenary on behalf of Local Authorities worldwide.

DESCRIPTION: The Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities were developed at an International Charette held in Melbourne, Australia 3-5 April 2002, organised by UNEP IETC and Environment Protection Authority Victoria, and sponsored by and hosted at the Melbourne Town Hall.

VISION: To achieve the creation of environmentally healthy and sustainable cities.

AN ELABORATION OF THE VISION: To achieve the creation of vibrant cities where there is respect for one another and nature to the benefit of all, contributing to global sustainability. In this context, sustainable development has been defined by the Brundtland Commission as: 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'

PURPOSE: The Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities are intended to guide thinking on the sustainable development of cities.

The Melbourne Principles provide guidance and contribute to global initiatives such as the Agenda 21 and UNEP's Cities As Sustainable Ecosystems (CASE) Initiative.

 

PREAMBLE

Cities are fundamental for economic opportunities and social interaction, as well as cultural and spiritual enrichment. Cities are also increasingly damaging the natural environment, unsustainably exploiting natural resources, undermining the social fabric and jeopardising long term prosperity on which these benefits depend. These impacts are of global concern as more than 50% of the world's population live in cities, and the trend indicates that this proportion will increase. Improving the sustainability of cities will not only benefit their inhabitants, but also significantly contribute to improving the global situation.

The following 10 Principles for Sustainable Cities were developed at an International Charette held in Melbourne, Australia 3-5 April 2002, organised by UNEP IETC and Environment Protection Authority Victoria.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 1: Provide a long term vision for cities based on sustainability, intergenerational, social, economic, and political equity, and individuality.

Clarification of Principle 1
A long term vision is the starting point for catalysing positive change leading to sustainability. The vision needs to reflect the distinctive nature and characteristics of each city. The vision should express the shared aspirations of the people for their cities to become more sustainable.

The vision needs to address equity, which means equal access to both natural and human resources, as well as shared responsibility in ensuring that natural and human capital is not degraded for future generations. A vision based on sustainability will help align and motivate communities, governments, businesses and others around a common purpose, and provide a basis for developing a strategy, action program and processes to achieve that vision.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 2: Achieve long term economic and social security.

Clarification of Principle 2
Long term economic and social security are prerequisites for beneficial change, and are an integral part of triple bottom line sustainability. Prosperity and social stability are dependent upon environmentally sound sustainable development. Economic strategies need to increase the value and vitality of human and natural systems, and conserve and renew human, financial, and natural resources. Other issues to consider include: local democratic control of resources (especially land use and watershed management), self-reliance in terms of energy and other inputs, maximising local multipliers, how to improve health and welfare systems etc. Economic strategies should also guarantee the right to potable water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation, allocating the resources required.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 3: Recognise the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems and their protection and restoration.

Clarification of Principle 3
Nature is something more than a commodity for the benefit of humans. We share the Earth with many other life-forms that have their own intrinsic value. They warrant our respect, whether or not they are of immediate benefit to us. Just as humans have the ability to alter the habitat and even to extinguish other species, we can also protect biodiversity. Therefore we have a responsibility to act as custodians for nature.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 4: Enable communities to minimise their ecological footprint.

Clarification of Principle 4
Cities draw in significant quantities of resources and have a significant impact on the environment, well beyond what they can handle within their borders. These unsustainable trends need to be substantially curbed and eventually reversed.

A convenient way to represent the impact of a city is to measure its ecological footprint. The ecological footprint of a city is a measure of the 'load' imposed by its population on nature. It represents the land area necessary to sustain current levels of resource consumption and waste discharged by that population. Reducing the ecological footprint of a city is a positive contribution towards sustainability.

Like any living system, a community consumes material and energy inputs, processes them into usable forms, and generates wastes. This represents the "metabolism" of the city, and making this metabolism more efficient is essential to reducing the ecological footprint of a city. Decisions should be based on an understanding of the consequences of a city's metabolism and should aim to reduce the city's ecological footprint wherever practical.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 5: Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of healthy and sustainable cities.

Clarification of Principle 5
By applying ecological principles of form and function, by which natural ecosystems operate, as a model for urban processes, cities can become more sustainable. The characteristics of ecosystems include diversity, adaptiveness, interconnectedness, resilience, regenerative capacity and symbiosis. These characteristics can be modelled by cities to design strategies that will make them more productive and regenerative, resulting in ecological, social and economic benefits.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 6: Recognise and build on the distinctive characteristics of cities including their human and cultural values, history and natural systems.

Clarification of Principle 6
Each city has a distinctive profile of human, cultural, historic and natural characteristic that provide insights on pathways to sustainability that are both acceptable to their people and compatible with their traditions, institutions and ecological realities. Building on existing characteristics helps motivate and mobilise the human and physical resources of cities to achieve sustainable development and regeneration.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 7: Empower people and foster participation.

Clarification of Principle 7
The journey towards sustainability needs the support of all. Empowering people mobilises local knowledge and resources and enlists their support and active participation in long term planning leading to the implementation of sustainable solutions.

People have a right to be involved in the decisions that affect them. Attention needs to be given to empowering those whose voices are not always heard, such as the poor.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 8: Expand and enable co-operative networks to work towards a common sustainable future.

Clarification of Principle 8
Strengthening existing networks and establishing new co-operative networks within cities facilitates the transfer of knowledge and supports continual environmental improvement. The people of cities are the key drivers to transforming them towards sustainability. This can be achieved effectively if the people of cities are well informed, can easily access knowledge and share learning. Furthermore, the energy and talent of people can be enhanced by working with one another through such networks. There is also value in cities sharing with others their learning, pooling resources to develop sustainability tools and supporting and mentoring one another through intercity and regional networks. These networks can serve as vehicle for information exchange and encouraging collective effort.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 9: Promote sustainable production and consumption, through appropriate use of environmentally sound technologies and effective demand management.

Clarification of Principle 9
A range of approaches and tools can be used to promote sustainable practices. Demand management, which includes accurate valuations of natural resources and increasing public awareness are valuable strategies to support sustainable consumption. This approach can also provide significant savings in infrastructure investment. Sustainable production can be supported by the adoption and use of environmentally sound technologies which have the potential to improve environmental performance significantly. These technologies protect the environment, are less polluting, use resources in a sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle all residual wastes in a more environmentally acceptable way than the technologies for which they are substitutes. The appropriateness of environmentally sound technologies can be informed by using evaluation tools, such as life cycle assessment, which can help formulate decisions, drive reduced impacts over the whole value chain and support businesses embracing product stewardship.

MELBOURNE PRINCIPLE 10: Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance.

Clarification of Principle 10
Good urban governance is based on robust processes directed to achieving the transformation of cities to sustainability through continual improvement. While in some areas improvements will be incremental, there are also opportunities to make substantial improvements through innovative policies, programs and technologies. To manage the continual improvement cycle it is necessary to use relevant indicators, set targets based on benchmarks, and monitor progress against milestones to achieving these targets. This facilities progress, accountability, and ensures effective implementation. Transparency and openness to scrutiny are part of good governance

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Source: http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/esd/gb-leed.htm

LEED™ Rating System Categories The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) Rating System is designed for rating new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings. It evaluates environmental performance from a "whole building" perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a green building. LEED™ is based on accepted energy and environmental principles described here.

These criteria were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) who maintains a list of registered and LEED™ certified green buildings and awards certificates for the various levels of certification.

LEED divides green building practices into five major categories as indicated above, all of which are essential, if a building is to be considered "green."

 

These nine principles prepared for EXPO 2000, The World's Fair, Hannover Germany by William McDonough and Michael Braungart23, form the basis of Cradle-to-Cradle design.

1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse and sustainable condition.
2. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations to recognizing even distant effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement including community, dwelling, industry and trade in terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural systems, and their right to co-exist.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance of vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creation of products, processes or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life-cycle of products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems, in which there is no waste.
7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their creative forces from perpetual solar income. Incorporate the energy efficiently and safely for responsible use.
8. Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever and design does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
9. Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers and users to link long term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and re-establish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity.

Click Here to download the complete The Hannover Principles: A Design for Sustainability PDF document.

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Source: http://www.metroquest.com (originally http://www.envisiontools.com/components.html)

QUEST™ is a toolkit of components that are designed as templates so they can be customized for any region of the world. Envision works with clients in the initial stage of a project to determine which components are required to ensure success. The QUEST toolkit includes:

Scenario Engine - A set of integrated models connected to a set of utilities designed to calibrate and test the scenario space. Useful for planners and decision makers to explore and validate models. Can be used in small workshop and meetings.

Interface Shells - A variety of user interface options extend the reach of the scenario engine to non-experts in an engaging and meaningful way. Options include sophisticated, multi-tier web delivery, various workshop configurations and classroom capabilities.

Stakeholder Scenario Library - A rich set of stakeholder values and preferred future scenarios, created by individuals and groups throughout the region. This library is typically connected to the central project web site, and can be used to determine collective trends and concerns.

Workshop Templates - A variety of stakeholder engagement, professional development and corporate training workshops have been developed to extend the regional visioning in new and innovative ways. These workshops can be delivered by Envision, or this capability can be transferred to regional agencies.

Decision Theatre - A special implementation of QUEST, designed for use in public science museums or other theatre type facilities. This special, highly interactive experience allows hundreds of community members to collectively explore regional tradeoffs and consequences as they build and explore a regional scenario.

 

First HTML submission begins at Tools for Planning Policy Reform ~ [Download Word Version]

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1. Greening the Way Ontario Learns: A Public Strategic Plan for Environmental and Sustainability Education; Environmental Education Ontario, http://www.eeon.org

2. at the edge: sustainable development in the 21st century; Ann Dale; UBC Press, 2001

3. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/

4. http://www.gpiatlantic.org/

5. Ibid

6. http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2004/07/28/04-16946/draft-federal-guide-for-green-construction-specs-notice-of-availability ~ link updated Sept. 2011

7. Int. No. 324; By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Member Gennaro. http://www.cap-e.com/Capital-E/POLICY_DEVELOPMENT_Engagements_files/Int%200324-A.pdf ~ link updated Sept. 2011

8. LEED For Homes (LEED-H) Update July 2004; http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2200#Homes ~ link updated Sept. 2011

9. email communication, August 16, 2004

10. http://www.metroquest.com; (originally http://www.envisiontools.com/aboutenvision.html)

11. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/footprint/

12. In Earth's company; Carl Frankel, 1998, New Society Publishers

13. See Change: Learning and education for sustainability, Jan. 2004, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment [http://www.pce.parliament.nz/publications/all-publications/see-change-learning-and-education-for-sustainability ~ link updated Sept. 2011]

14. Greening the Way Ontario Learns: A Public Strategic Plan for Environmental and Sustainability Education; Environmental Education Ontario, http://www.eeon.org

15. In Earth's company; Carl Frankel, 1998, New Society Publishers

16. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/projects/gpi/

17. - http://www.globalgbc.org

18. http://www.davidrisstrom.org/100GreenAchievements/100GA-MelbournePrinciples.html

19. http://www.naturalstep.org/canada - http://www.naturalstep.org

20. In Earth's company; Carl Frankel

21. http://www.metroquest.com/ ~ URL Updated Sept. 2011

22. Ibid

23. http://www.mcdonough.com/