GEOG 346Emerging Crucial Issues in Urban Growth Management

Figure 10.26

Emerging Crucial Issues in Urban Growth Management

Originally, we were scheduled to get into this in Week 12, but I didn't want us to run out of time.

Municipalities and regions are facing many new challenges not traditionally on the radar screen. These include:

peak oil climate change an aging and increasingly diverse population, & a changing economy in which culture and

creativity are playing an increasingly important role.

Peak Oil Problem- gas will likely become very expensive as

supply becomes scarcer relative to demand. Consequences- traditional patterns of land

development (i.e. sprawl) may become untenable (like “a cement-filled SUV stuck at the end of a cul-de-sac” – J.H. Kunstler), there may be increasing threats to food security, and, in areas where urban populations are more dependent on fossil fuels for power, there may be a major energy crisis.

Possible Solutions- TOD and smart growth, food localization strategies, and Community Energy Planning. [This is a possible tool someone could look into.]

Community Energy Planning

Usually consists of 5 steps: developing a vision for the community doing a baseline assessment of energy

consumption developing quantitative targets for the vision developing implementation actions, and monitoring implementation. See

http://www.sbc.nrcan.gc.ca/documentation/communities/Community%20Energy%20Planning%202007.pdf

; http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/GBLWRM/docs/CommunityEnergyPlanningTool.pdf

Climate Change Problem- impacts on sea levels, weather & biodiversity Consequences- threats to communities from sea-level

rise and violent and fluctuating weather (e.g. hurricanes & heat waves), impacts on the economy (e.g. agriculture impacted by drought, and forestry impacted by disease outbreaks, decline in biodiversity)

Possible Solutions- more adaptable urban & regional plans, policies and structures/ technologies, decentralized infrastructure, and radical measures to reduce GHGs (Partners in Climate Protection programs represents a baby step [see

http://www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca/partners-for-climate-protection/])

For info on Cities for Climate Protection (led in the U.S. by Paul Schell) see http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=800.

Aging & Increasingly Diverse Population

Problem- aging of baby boomers and increasingly multicultural population

Consequences- decline in productive population relative to the elderly who will increasingly require a suite of expensive services and more senior-friendly infrastructure (housing, health care, etc. for which there are limited resources); planning and policies that are increasingly out of touch with a culturally diverse population

Possible Solutions- mechanisms for enabling seniors to 'age in place,' attention to more compact and diverse housing types; tailoring planning and communication to a culturally diverse population

Changing Economy Problem- rapidly changing economy, with

decline of traditional industries and rise of new ones; also outdated paradigms and economic strategies

Consequences- communities ill-equipped to deal with rapid change

Possible Solutions- community economic development (CEP), which focuses more on keeping money circulating locally; renewed attention to the arts and culture sector (see, for instance, http://www.charleslandry.com/), and attention to attracting and keeping members of the ‘creative class’ who thrive in more tolerant and place-distinctive environments.