Given the realities of climate change and fossil fuel dependency, many local governments are looking for ways to reduce the impact of their communities in regards to carbon dioxide emissions, and reducing the use of fossil fuels altogether.
For communities in which residents can easily walk or take transit to and from work, home, school and other services, this task is made easier. A recent statement from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) outlined that organization’s commitments to designing communities that are “healthier and more sustainable”, and highlights the ability of good land-use planning to reduce urban sprawl.
In Toronto and Vancouver, two innovative approaches have been taken that will hopefully help to attain the goal of reducing the environmental impacts of those cities. Both strategies, Toronto’s Avenues studies and Vancouver’s EcoDensity initiative, aim to re-urbanize areas of those cities, with a key goal of each being both an increase in housing options for residents, and a more walkable pedestrian friendly environment that promotes alternative transportation modes.
This website documents both the Avenues and the EcoDensity initiatives in attempt to give insight into their similarities, differences and motivations. Through this website, readers can take the positive and negatives associated with each approach, and will be better positioned to take lessons learned to other Canadian cities.