Is the rapid state of development making Guelph lose its character? This is a question more and more people have this election year as plans for bigger and bigger residential buildings keep coming to city council. Meanwhile, Clair-Maltby lies in wait in the south end for an official plan. So how do we know we're developing right?
In what is hopefully going to be an ongoing series within the podcast, Guelph Politico will try, in its way, to answer that question. In the first part of "On Development",...
Is the rapid state of development making Guelph lose its character? This is a question more and more people have this election year as plans for bigger and bigger residential buildings keep coming to city council. Meanwhile, Clair-Maltby lies in wait in the south end for an official plan. So how do we know we're developing right?
In what is hopefully going to be an ongoing series within the podcast, Guelph Politico will try, in its way, to answer that question. In the first part of "On Development", we consider the big picture, the academic theory of modern development in terms of balancing growth with sustainability.
Our first guest on this subject is Dr. Ray Tomalty, principal of Smart Cities Research Services and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Urban Planning at McGill University. His expertise includes intensification, green infrastructure, neighbourhood design, community energy planning, affordable housing, sustainable transportation, and the fiscal tools to promote community sustainability, and he's travelled around the globe to see how cities worldwide work towards a balanced approach to development.
While Dr. Tomalty is not an expert on Guelph, or development in Guelph, he does bring a wealth of information about the challenges and demands of growth for Canadian cites in the 21st century. When this interview was conducted, the second phase of the Clair-Maltby plan had just been passed, so Tomalty talks about the opportunities and concerns of such a plan. He also talks about the challenges of affordable housing, the characteristics of smart city growth, and how planners and developers can mitigate NIMBYism.
So let's build a better understanding on theories of sustainable development on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the work of Smart City Research Services here, and you can find Dr Tomalty’s latest book, America’s Urban Future: Lessons from North of the Border, which he wrote with Allan Mallach, here.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.
View more
