Achieving Sustainability in Niagara: An Evolution

1. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Achieving Sustainability in Niagara: An Evolution Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls Patrick Robson Director of Community Integration Niagara Region April 17, 2007

2. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls Traveler, there is no path. Paths are made by walking. Antonio MachadoSpanish Poet Aspirations for importance or significance are the illusions of the ignorant. All our hopes are minor, except to us: but some things matter because we choose to make them matter. What might make a difference to us, I think, is whether in our tiny roles, in our brief time, we inhabit life gently and add more beauty than ugliness.” Interview with James G. March, Harvard Business Review, Oct. 2006.

3. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls ‘Strong communities, a clean and healthy environment and a strong economy are inextricably linked. Long-term prosperity, environmental health and social well-being should take precedence over short-term considerations.’ PPS 2006

4. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Thinking in the Long-term: Smarter Niagara • Refocusing on Planning Policy • Linking Infrastructure to Land Use • Reclaiming Urban Areas • Protecting Sensitive Resources • Inspiring Innovation • Engaging Citizens in Planning Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

5. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Reclaiming Urban Areas • Brown/greyfield Redevelopment • Infill / Intensification • Offering Incentives – Smarter Niagara • Locating Public Uses Downtown • Compact Development • Mixed Use Development Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

6. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Protecting Sensitive Resources • Agricultural Land for Agriculture (Ag. Action Plan) • Water Quantity and Quality (NWQPS and Children’s Water Festival) • Buffering Environmental Features • Conserving Heritage Resources • Alternative Energy Sources - Wind Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

7. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Inspiring Innovation • Building Techniques - Green Roof • Recycling • Energy Efficiencies - LEEDs • Mixed Use Facilities / Areas • Good Urban Design • Culturally-sensitive design (e.g. Soroti, Uganda) Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

8. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | From ‘Smart Growth’ to Integrated Community Sustainability • Using the Melbourne Principles • UN-endorsed, based on Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems (CASE) concept flowing from Johannesburg • Niagara as one of several pilots Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

9. |Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Melbourne Principles Principle 1: Provide a long-term vision for cities based on sustainability; intergenerational, social, economic and political equity; and their individuality. Principle 2: Achieve long-term economic and social security. Principle 3: Recognize the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and protect and restore them. Principle 4: Enable communities to minimize their ecological footprint. Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

10. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Principle 5: Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of healthy and sustainable cities. Principle 6: Recognize and build on the distinctive characteristics of cities, including their human and cultural values, history and natural systems. Principle 7: Empower people and foster participation. Principle 8: Expand and enable co-operative networks to work towards a common sustainable future. Principle 9: Promote sustainable production and consumption, through the appropriate use of environmentally sound technologies and effective demand management. Principle 10: Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance. Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

11. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Thinking in the Long-term: Integrated Community Sustainability Planning • ‘Integrate ‘ – 1. to combine or form into a whole; 2. to bring or come into equal membership of a community • The term itself is agreeable to most – so what is holding us back? • It is not a concept – it’s a verb Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

12. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Thinking in the Long-term: Integrated Community Sustainability Planning • ‘Community‘ – can defy definition or agreement on who/what’s in & out • ‘No community is easier to govern than the one that rejects the very Concept of ‘community’ – Stephen King • How many different ‘communities of interest’ are there to engage in your ICSP process? Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

13. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Thinking in the Long-term: Integrated Community Sustainability Planning • ‘Sustainability‘ – derived from ‘sustain’ – v. 1. to support. 2. to keep alive. 3. to keep (a sound or effort, etc.) going continuously (ital added) • Various definitions – from ‘predictable financial capacity’, to social equity to First Nations’ Seven Generations Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

14. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Thinking in the Long-term: Integrated Community Sustainability Planning • ‘Planning‘ – n. making plans, especially with reference to the controlled design of buildings and the development of land • Traditional land use policy & regulation vs. a broader application • When we have the ‘Plan’ are we there? How will we know? Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

15. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Research – Be Creative! • Networks – PLUS, FCM, LivCom, smart growth (US and Can.), Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Cities, etc. • Best Practices and Best Failures! • Scholastic – ‘Vancouver Urban Observatory’, UB’s ‘Regional Institute’ and proposed ‘Niagara Observatory’ Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

16. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Linking Infrastructure to Land Use • Size and Location Meet Needs • Context Sensitive Design • Transit Efficient Densities • Providing for Pedestrians, Cyclists and Transit (e.g. Greater Niagara Circle Route and Stuttgart & Daimler-Chrysler) Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

17. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Engaging Citizens in Planning • Annual Summit events • Facilitated ‘exploration’ (e.g. 1812-2012) • Workshops & Charettes (Honolulu, HI -TV and arena; Nieuwlande Council, Netherlands – local tavern; Castle Cove, Ireland – community suppers) Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

18. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | Engaging Citizens in Planning, cont’d… • Citizen-centred Governance (e.g. SNSC, Culture Committee – Niagara; ‘Neighbors Building Neighborhoods – Rochester, NY) • E-democracy opportunities: Websites and Visualization/3-D applications • Contests and Competitions! Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls

19. | Fort Erie | Niagara Falls | West Lincoln | Pelham | Thorold | Regional Municipality of Niagara | Grimsby | Lincoln | Welland | The Community Must Own It! …when Dialogue is done skillfully, the results can be extraordinary: long-standing stereotypes dissolved, mistrust overcome, mutual understanding achieved, visions shaped and grounded in shared purpose, people aligned on objectives and strategies, new common ground discovered, new perspective and insights gained, new levels of creativity stimulated, and bonds of community strengthened. Daniel Yankelovich, The Magic of Dialogue Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines Niagara-on-the-Lake | Wainfleet | Lincoln | Welland | Port Colborne | St. Catharines | Niagara Falls