Maps illustrate challenge with creating ’15-minute neighbourhoods’ in built-up areas

Article content

City-produced maps that show how close people live to important amenities like grocery stores and parks illustrate the challenges in trying to create “15-minute neighbourhoods” out of many established communities.

Article content

The maps, published in the lead up to council considering a final draft official plan this fall, show where the city needs to focus if it wants more people to have access to amenities without having to get in a car.

A 15-minute neighbourhood is one where people can safely walk to amenities in that time. It’s one of the guiding principles for the city as it develops a new official plan that will manage residential development to 2046. Council will vote on the draft plan in October.

The trick is not only designing new communities as 15-minute neighbourhoods, but also, as the draft official plan says, “direct residential growth within the built-up urban area to support an evolution towards 15-minute neighbourhoods.”

Article content

According to the maps, much of the inner urban area has good access to services and amenities, but there are several pockets of the outer urban area, suburbs and rural villages considered to have poor access.

The city surveyed residents about what they considered to be the most important amenities, with grocery stores landing at the top of the list, followed by parks tied with retail spaces.

The city might have to manage expectations when it comes to creating 15-minute neighbourhoods in built-up areas.

In fact, the city has adjusted the language in an edit of the draft official plan when it comes to 15-minute neighbourhoods to reflect goals that might be more achievable.

For example, where the previous draft called to “improve public amenities and services within 15-minute neighbourhoods,” the edited version simply aims to “improve public amenities and services.”

Article content

Other changes soften expectations for anyone thinking the city can easily transform a community into a 15-minute neighbourhood. Proposed policy directions now emphasize the “evolution” process of becoming 15-minute neighbourhoods.

When it comes to retail, part of the challenge is the official plan doesn’t dictate the kind of business that should exist on a street. The land is usually marked as “commercial” and the market conditions ultimately dictate what kind of commercial uses set up shop.

The city has woven the 15-minute neighbourhood concept into two years of developing what has become a controversial official plan process.

The exercise has become a prime example of reconciling competing interests in land-use planning.

Article content

The city needs to have plan to accommodate a growing population and people have to live somewhere. It means either pushing the development boundary farther out and expanding the suburbs to create new communities, or stacking homes in various-sized buildings in established communities. Urban sprawl requires more municipal infrastructure to support homes, while intensification causes controversy when tall buildings encroach on low-rise communities.

The city has announced it’s pushing council’s final decision on the draft official plan to Oct. 27.

A joint committee meeting allowing public presentations will happen a month later then previously planned, giving people more time to read the changes and prepare their arguments. The first day of the committee meeting is now scheduled for Oct. 14.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling