In a region which has seen exponential change in housing prices, home ownership is increasingly out of reach in most of British Columbia’s urban centres. Strong growth pressures, historically low vacancies, and rent increases stressed tenants. In a fun, interactive session with fast-paced presentations, four BC municipalities—Burnaby, New Westminster, City of North Vancouver and Victoria—will compare and contrast their different approaches to addressing this “wicked” problem. While enabled under singular provincial legislation, the four cities have walked different paths. From supply-based approaches to incentives, zoning, regulatory restrictions, and everything in between, each municipality will share their respective creative approaches to rental policies, affordability, getting rental on the ground, and taking care of tenants.
Applying a Climate Lens to Ottawa's Official Plan
We are at a critical moment when global commitments, national policies, and local planning must work together to combat climate change and its impacts. Ottawa has seen increases in temperature, precipitation, heatwaves, flooding and tornadoes. Applying a climate lens in developing Ottawa’s new Official Plan was, therefore, a priority action approved by City Council in 2020, along with setting aggressive new targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050. This presentation will explain how Ottawa incorporated climate change considerations into its land use and growth management policies. Strategic goals were applied to multiple sections of the Plan using two distinct pathways: a mitigation pathway to reduce emissions, and an adaptation pathway to address the impacts of climate change.
Canada’s First Transect Official Plan
Ottawa’s new Official Plan is Canada’s first big-city plan to eschew the mid-20th Century land-use-based planning policy framework in favour of a Transect-based framework focused on form and function. The new Plan represents a milestone for the city as it surpasses the one million population mark and opens the O-Train system as the backbone of its transit network. The Transect-based plan aims to establish policy goals, objectives and approaches that are sensitive to context, capturing the range of environments for which the municipality plans (Downtown, Inner Urban, Outer Urban, Greenbelt, Suburban and Rural). It also sets the stage for evolution from suburban to urban, following the concentric rings that radiate from the downtown out.
Have you ever felt that many exchanges (public hearings come to mind) are at best an abuse of reason and rationality? Do you know the difference between a slippery slope argument and an ad hominem attack? How about between guilt by association and hasty generalizations? Join in on a fast-paced, interactive, deep dive into the fundamentals of logic and failed reasoning. Participants will learn tricks and shortcuts to clarify their thinking, build rational arguments, and gain confidence in countering fuzzy logic with precision and rigour.