User talk:Thetmunplanner/sandbox for Complete Communities

LEAD BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

The idea of Complete Communities has it’s roots in early planning theory. The Garden City movement was one of the first proponents for creating communities that accommodate a wide range of community members through a mix in housing types and uses (Grant & Scott, 2012).

Other planning ideas such as Smart Growth and Sustainable Development have also advocated for housing mix. This type of development was seen as a way to deal with issues of social isolation, inefficient land uses and meeting the needs of diverse household (Grant & Perrott, 2009, Talen, 2008).

More attractive and efficient communities through compact form, mixed-use, higher densities and a range of housing types has been a goal of Canadian planning Policy since the 1970s (Grant & Scott, 2012).

Households and communities in Canada are becoming smaller, have a different form than previous generations and more socially and economically diverse (Rose and Villeneuve 2006, Townshed and Walker 2010); while housing costs have increased dramatically in some parts of the country, resulting in smaller lot sizes and a growth in multi-family housing options and suburban density (Grant & Scott, 2012).

One of the typical critiques of past suburban growth patterns are that they replicate trends of homogenous landscape that are comprised mainly of white, middle class, nuclear families (Nicolaide, 2006). Social diversity and affordability looked to be addressed through creating a different form than this, through the design of new communities with place diversity (Talen, 2008).

DEFINING ELEMENTS

Diverse Housing Mix: In Canada, many Municipalities have focused on providing a mix of housing types as the key component of creating a complete community based on directives from Provincial and Regional policies (Grant & Scott, 2012).

Transportation: A mix of housing types and uses in compact form would be centred around transportation node for ease of mobility of residents (Grant & Scott, 2012).

TERMINOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS DEBATE/CRITIQUE

While many planning look to use urban policy as a way of creating a diverse housing mix, some critics argue that it is actually market pressures rather than planners and policy makers who are actually creating the increase in the share of multi-family housing in suburban areas (Grant & Scott, 2012).

EXAMPLES

Some city regions in Canada have been at the forefront for advocating for the desire to have suburban areas feel like dense and diverse downtown centres ( Grant & Scott, 2012).