ELECTION: Getting passionate about planning

WHAT: Mayoral debate on planning, community and environmental sustainability
WHEN: Thursday, October 7, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
WHERE: St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front Street East

Let’s face it: urban planning isn’t a very sexy municipal issue.

As Edward Keenan suggests in the most recent issue of Spacing, “Try telling the guy at the next bar stool that one of the key achievements of David Miller’s second term was passing the harmonized zoning bylaw, and see how long it takes before he suddenly gets really interested in whatever sport is playing on the TV above the bar.”

His point: planning is one of those subjects that, when mentioned, often causes people’s eyes to gloss over. And who can blame them? When conversations about proposed developments are reduced to conversations about GFAs, setbacks, commercial versus residential coverage, and angular planes, a baseball game — even if you’re not really into baseball — seems a whole lot more exciting.

But a city’s approach to urban planning affects everything from transit to sustainability to affordable housing to the design of our public spaces. Break it down into its various components and you’ll find that residents across the city are actually incredibly passionate about planning issues, whether they realize it or not. In short, people everywhere want a say in how their neighbourhoods grow. They want to play a role in building the city.

So, the question to ask candidates in this month’s municipal election is this: how are you going to engage residents in the planning process and ensure that they have a meaningful voice in the future of their neighbourhoods and the city as a whole?

The leading mayoral candidates will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on this and other planning issues tonight (see details above) at a debate organized by People Plan Toronto in partnership with Toronto Debates 2010.

Sadly, the city planning hasn’t exactly played a starring role in this year’s excruciatingly long race for mayor. But as Mitch Kosny, the Director of Ryerson’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, explained at a recent public forum organized by People Plan Toronto, there are a number of reasons why now is the time to push planning to the forefront of public debate.

“There are times when things collide, and I think that in the next 6 to 12 months in Toronto, we’re going to see some good collisions,” Kosny says.  “We’re obviously going to have a new council and a new mayor within a month, and that’s going to create opportunity or the need to perhaps — depending on what happens — salvage and protect some of the things we have.”

He points out that next year the City will be reviewing its Official Plan (a legally binding document that lays out a vision for how the city will grow). The City will also be hiring a new Chief Planner. (Gary Wright, the current Chief Planner, is retiring.)

According to Kosny, there are also about 65 vacancies in the planning department right now“and those are not brand new, they’ve been there for a couple of years,” he says.

This confluence of factors figured in to a letter urging the City undertake a comprehensive review of how it handles planning, which Kosny along with other prominent planners, architects, designers and developers presented to Council back in May. As one of the signatories, People Plan Toronto put a PDF of the letter on its website.

Addressing the audience at the forum, Kosny admits, “I might have given a slightly different talk six months ago, but things have changed. I think it’s about leadership right now, but I think it’s about leadership that’s going to come from the community.”