Penny Taylor, Lisa Larson, Kevin Barton describe emerging planning approaches that accommodate citizen centred government. Stakeholders engagement is difficult to accommodate in current municipal development plan processes. Shared outcomes with stakeholders are a new paradigm for planners to strive for. The City of Calgary and City of Edmonton share their learnings from a process review and a project-based focus. Lisa Larson describes the youthful, growing, immigrant-based demographics of Alberta's urban centres. Urban sprawl is a challenge; Alberta's boom and cycles makes for severe fiscal challenges. "Building 21st century communities with a 17th century tax system and a 19th century governance system." Kevin Barton describes how the City of Calgary changed its planning process. Their objective was to move from what worked to a process that allowed more innovation, more diversity and better competitiveness. The culture around the development approval process was strained. Performance measures received high ratings but were focused on a time principle but less so on quality. Clients, municipal councillors and staff were looking for a transformational process. Kevin Barton completes the first half of this presentation by describing what the planning review delivered to the City of Calgary Council for approval.
Penny Taylor is Lead for Engagement and Client Relations with the City of Calgary. Lisa Larson is Acting Senior Planner, Urban Planning and Environment Branch, City of Edmonton. Kevin Barton is Senior Planner, City of Calgary. Their presentation was part of the Alberta Professional Planners Institute annual conference in Jasper, Alberta, Oct. 2013.
