An Environmental Plan for the New City of Toronto: How to Make It ...

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Agenda 21 process and what is a result of other initiatives such as the new National environmental policy (Mullaney, pers.com.). The Audit has influenced the "greenup" of the Structure Plan of the County (similar to an official plan) and local plans, and the sustainability concept is a the heart of the new corporate plan for the county. Lancashire County Council has adopted a 'Charter for Sustainable Development’ which states: “Lancashire County Council is committed to delivering environmental, social and economic services to all people in the County in ways which will enhance their quality of life whilst protecting the local and global environment. ” (www.lancashire ) As in the case of Hamilton-Wentworth, the major change has been the increased awareness of the issue of sustainability. Staff report that they have experienced some small measures of success in implementing "sustainable" projects - a recent example is a project involving the recycling and refurbishing of old computers - bringing together environmental, social and economic successes in one small project (Mullaney, pers.com.). What were the barriers to preparing / implementing this plan Barriers to preparing the Audit included engaging the "wider world" in the process - although staff noted more success with the second audit as it incorporated social and economic aspects. Another impediment is the on-going cuts to local government resources, with increasing pressure to show the relevance of new initiatives such as those involving audits and actions for sustainability. Yet another barrier to implementation has been the integration of the sustainability concept throughout the corporate structure. This is barrier shared by many other cities and is of concern to the recently formed, incredibly large organizational structure in Toronto. Ownership of the plans rests largely with the Local Agenda 21 group which is housed within the Planning Department. Efforts to break down the barriers include 'training sessions' for service managers - approximately 200 have been trained so far (Mullaney, pers.com.). Another barrier, shared by other jurisdictions including Toronto, is the lack of statutory backing for the action plan. 21
2.5.4 Key elements of Success Political acceptance; the Council Chair is also Chair of the Lancashire Environmental Forum; and there is national support for sustainability, indicators and Local Agenda 21 plans. Community ownership: partnership with the Lancashire Environmental Forum was key to community involvement; efforts to involve the broader community through focus groups and surveys were effective. International recognition: emerging international recognition for undertaking a ‘sustainability’ audit and pursuit of membership in Local Agenda 21 Corporate ownership: training sessions for staff. Implementation mechanisms: influence on Structure Plan; development of Charter of Sustainability. 2.6 City-Region 2020, Manchester, UK 1998. This plan is a research piece undertaken by the University of Manchester in association with the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) which uses Greater Manchester as a case study to examine the ‘practicalities of integrated planning for longterm sustainable development in a major city-region’ (Ravetz, 1998), and in particular, a city-region with a legacy as an industrial city. Although still in draft form (the final is anticipated spring 1999), it was selected for review based on similarities with Toronto – a city of 2.5 million people in a large urban area dominated by a downtown core and a number of smaller municipalities (Greater Manchester is made up of 10 planning districts) and its position as the largest financial and media centre in the UK outside of London. Its visionary nature as academic exercise relatively unconfined by political and other agendas and its design as a blueprint for application of sustainable development to a large city in the western world were also factors in its selection. It asks the provocative question What if – a city or city-region was to become truly ‘sustainable’ within our lifetimes What might it look like and where would we live Would there be jobs and economic growth Where would the money come from, and who decides How can we define ’sustainability’ in practical terms 2.6.1 Framework/Structure City-Region 2020 is based on a vision of a radically different (ecologically sound) built environment for Manchester in the year 2020 (see box) It looks at the totality of current 22
Page 1 and 2: An Environmental Plan for the New C
Page 3 and 4: Executive Summary The new Environme
Page 5 and 6: address implications for applicatio
Page 7 and 8: The United Nations defines sustaina
Page 9 and 10: the principles of the Natural Step
Page 11 and 12: to engage people in a discussion of
Page 13 and 14: commitment to “follow the princip
Page 15 and 16: Political commitment is everything
Page 17 and 18: 2.3.4 Key elements of Success Poli
Page 19 and 20: 2.4.3 Implementation The Comprehens
Page 21: 2.5.2 Process: Plan Development The
Page 25 and 26: how developing/implementing long te
Page 27 and 28: The Environmental Policy is to appl
Page 29 and 30: criteria were identification of a p
Page 31 and 32: towards sustainability. As actions
Page 33 and 34: is not legally binding, but is an i
Page 35 and 36: 4 CONCLUSIONS 34
Page 37 and 38: 17. Ravetz, Joe, City-Region 2020:
Page 39 and 40: Appendix 1 Interview Questions 1. W

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