Evolving Local Government Planning Perspectives

The changing role of local government

Historically, provincial governments provided a list of things that local governments could do or could not do. More recently, the trend has been to grant local governments broad powers and more flexibility for deciding and providing services the community feels are needed and this is where cultural planning fits in, as evidenced by a growing local government role in the development of arts, culture and heritage in Canada. Local governments include cities, districts, towns, villages and regional bodies of all sizes from the very small to the very large. Under the Canadian Constitution, local governments are established and granted their powers (e.g., to create bylaws, budgets and undertake local services) by provincial governments, usually through the Municipal Act or Local Government Act. Local government is often viewed as the level of government most accessible and closest to the public: it is located within the local community, providing opportunities for direct community involvement in its affairs; it provides many basic services that impact the health, safety and quality of life of its residents; and it has a significant role in determining how a community will develop and respond to changing circumstances.

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

Influences on local government

Local governments are responding to a variety of forces and trends that are impacting communities and have had a trickle down effect on community planning practices. These trends and forces set the stage for cultural planning, and include: An acceptance of Jane Jacobs view that rational and formulaic styles of planning, so much in vogue post-war, were heavy-handed and ultimately harmful to the health and vitality of cities that what was needed instead was that planning should acknowledge and facilitate mixed land uses and diversity1 A recognition that the community should be involved in the planning process one of the most influential planning practice activities of the 1970s and 1980s was the rise in citizen participation, with public participation built into the planning process and fundamentally changing the role of planners, moving them out of the traditional, closed arena of technocratic and into a more open, political/advocacy one2 A greater interest in the factors that impact the quality of life (e.g., social well-being and long-term economic prosperity) with an emphasis on community building, capacity building, social capital and livability held together by values such as interdependency, tolerance and respect Significant non-European immigration changing the face of the city and presenting challenges for addressing diversity in all its cultural, social, spatial and political manifestations The application of culture and heritage as key drivers in downtown revitalization and cultural tourism strategies An emphasis on place-based planning (uniqueness and authenticity) that promotes community identity, pride and a sense of belonging and provides a competitive advantage for cities in attracting investment and new business An interest in integration and comprehensiveness silo busting is a trend across Canada and abroad The devolution of responsibility from senior levels of government forcing local government to examine traditional ways of doing business and delivering services The emergence of cities as economic drivers and the changing nature of local economies (the emergence and marriage of the cultural/intellectual and technological economy focussed on creativity and innovation) Globalization The push towards sustainability for the planet, and in particular in human settlements The cumulative effect of several decades of support for arts and cultural policies

In addition, local governments are recognized for their increasing primacy as the crucibles of economic and social change they have perhaps the greatest potential for creative innovation of any level.3 This manifests itself in an interest in: Recognizing that profound cultural differences in communities often shape both the content of community plans and the planning process itself Promoting the connection between a vigorous arts and cultural life and economic and community health Providing services and infrastructure using a creatively designed organization and management that emphasizes flexibility, innovation, risk-taking, collaboration and leadership

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

The increased involvement by local government role in cultural planning is evident across Canada in communities of all sizes and in a variety of ways. Local governments participate both directly and indirectly in the cultural life of their community by improving the operating conditions and environment for local artists and cultural organizations, by building and enhancing their communitys opportunities for cultural expression and participation and by using their cultural resources as assets to help achieve the civic goals of an economic vital and healthy community. While many municipalities have long histories of involvement in cultural planning, others have recently hired their first staff person with a mandate to address cultural issues and develop cultural policy for the community. Municipal cultural staff are located in a variety of departmental contexts, and typically work alone or in small teams. They come to this work from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are specialists, while others have lengthy job descriptions where they are responsible for any and all municipal actions regarding cultural development, and still others have arts, culture or heritage included as one component among other responsibilities.4

New directions in community planning

Urban/community development involves a multi-disciplinary playing-field, one of whose key players is the planner. Just as local government has adapted and continues to adapt to changing circumstances and new realities, so has and is the planning profession. The inaugural meeting of the Town Planning Institute of Canada was held in 1919. Its roots were planted firmly in the British tradition, described as the scientific and orderly disposition of land and buildings in use and development with a view to obviating congestion and securing economic and social efficiency, health and well-being in urban and rural communities.5 The essence of much of planning remained regulatory, rule-bound, procedure-driven, obsessed with order and certainty: in a word, inflexible.6 Over the years, the planning profession has faced a number of challenges: Difficulties associated with forecasting and projecting future needs and the need to be skilled at dealing with uncertainty and change A focus on plans and how they are made techniques, strategies and methodologies for plan-making as opposed to understanding and defining the need these efforts are intended to match Institutional barriers (the nature of the organizations that employ planners) siloed, entrenched interests, inertia, emphasis on zoning, physical land use planning and the efficient delivery of municipal services, culturally and politically charged The resilience of European values and cultural norms the need to recognize the multicultural and fragmented nature make-up of communities and considering such socioeconomic factors as gender, race, income, ethnicity and location in their work Shifting social ideologies and values, resulting in a re-examination of solutions and approaches Skills required for the effective management of the planning process (e.g., negotiation and conflict resolution) have had little to do with their technical education and experience Acquiring new technology-related skills (e.g., CAD, GIS, data base management) Today, there is a new emphasis on defining planning as managing our co-existence in shared space7; opening up public debate about problems and opportunities for change8; and serving, developing and maintaining civic engagement enabling and facilitating the community to manage its built environment.9

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

This change in emphasis is reflected in an understanding of communities as a living organisms and in a number of emerging approaches to community planning. These emerging approaches have significant implications for the future of cultural planning.

The community as a living organism ...

The brain and nervous system refers to participatory processes by which a city develops visions and plans, monitors the implementation of its plans and adjusts to changing circumstances; The heart is the common values and public space of a city that reflect and reinforce its essential identity, that provide for dialogue, remembering history, celebration and socialization; The organs are the neighbourhoods, industrial clusters, downtown, parks and other hubs of a city; The circ ulat ory s yst em and neural networks that weave connections within a living organism are the transportation routes, infrastructure, waste disposal, communication lines, water flows and green space that connect these nodes.

Source: Oberlander (2006a)

Emerging and Emergent Approaches to Community Planning

Social Planning Social planning was part of the post-war attempt to establish social order in the wake of an economic depression and a long war. It has grown beyond using rational processes to resolve what were perceived as social problems and today is based more on community organizing, knowledge construction, and communicative action. Heritage Planning Heritage conservation is about the management of a community's past for the future generation, and heritage planning is the process through which to decide how best to manage that inheritance. Heritage planning should be integrated within an overall community or regional planning system. Healthy Communities Healthy communities recognize that the fundamental conditions and resources for health are peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice and equity, that all sectors of the community work together to achieve social, economic and environmental well-being. One of the strategies for achieving this is through strategic community plans, organizational development and collaborative community action. Complete Communities A complete community provides a range of choices in the physical and social elements of neighbourhoods (e.g., housing, shopping, working, travel, leisure, services and social contacts close to home). Encouraging diversity and vibrant places helps to address issues of well-being and gives people more choices about how they want to live their lives. New Urbanism New urbanism promotes the creation and restoration of diverse, walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the same components as conventional development, but assembled in a more integrated fashion, in the form of complete communities.

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

The Livable City The Livable City is underpinned by a common set of guiding principles: accessibility, equity, and participation. Livability refers to an urban system that contributes to the physical, social and mental well being and personal development of all its inhabitants. It is about delightful and desirable urban spaces that offer and reflect cultural and sacred enrichment. Key principles that give substance to this theme are equity, dignity, accessibility, conviviality, participation and empowerment. Smart Growth Smart growth principles ensure that growth is fiscally, environmentally and socially responsible and recognizes the connections between development and quality of life. Smart growth planning and development incorporates: mixed land uses, well-designed compact neighbourhoods, a variety of transportation choices, diverse housing opportunities, growth in existing communities, preservation of open spaces, natural beauty, environmentally sensitive areas and agricultural lands; smarter and cheaper infrastructure and green buildings; fostering a unique neighbourhood identity and nurturing engaged citizens. The Creative City The creative city is conventionally thought of as the home for thriving arts and cultural activitybut successful cities must also embrace creativity in the way they deliver services, energize their staff and manage their futures.

Sustainable communities
As sustainability has emerged as a core concern of the planning profession, new skills and approaches are evolving that also have significant implications for the future of cultural planning:
Integrated Planning: sustainability issues cannot be dealt with in isolation; they require multipronged approaches based on an understanding of the complex and dynamic interrelationships between social, economic and ecological systems. Collaboration: Partnerships and alliances the search for sustainability requires facilitating multistakeholder initiatives, the participation of non-governmental and private sector organizations, often in partnership with public sector organizations. Participation continued efforts to encourage and facilitate the participation of various groups in society, in all stages of the planning process, through a variety of techniques. Consultation and outreach use of consultative processes that target specific groups or in other ways make greater efforts to reach out to marginalized or vulnerable communities. Empowerment Through Knowledge: Use of new technology new technologies are being used as tools for tracking and managing data, outreach, education, receiving community feedback, monitoring and evaluation, and researching urban trends Research many innovative research techniques are being used to find ways of better understanding the unique needs and qualities of communities, ecosystems and economies in transition10

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

The integration of culture with community planning is consistent with the growing acceptance of culture as one of the four pillars of sustainable cities and communities along with social, economic, and environmental considerations. References: Government of Canada Department of Infrastructure and Communities Government of Canada External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities (chaired by Mike Harcourt) The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: Cultures Essential Role in Public Planning by Jon Hawkes

Contemporary planning literacies and sensibilities

In Towards Cosmopolis (1998), Leonie Sandercock outlined five literacies (technical, analytical, multicultural, ecological and design) that would equip planners with the necessary knowledge to face present and future challenges, including the integration of cultural and community planning. To these she has added sensibilities that might enable planners to rise to the challenges of 21st century cities: A sensibility that is as alert to the emotional economies of cities as it is to the political economies; as alert to the city senses (sound, smell, taste, touch, sight) as it is to city censuses; as alert to the soft-wired desires of its citizens as it is to the hard-wired infrastructures; as concerned with the ludic as with the citys productive spaces, indeed seeing these as inseparable; A sensibility as curious about the spirit of place as it is critical of capitalist excesses; a sensibility that can help citizens wrest new possibilities from space, and collectively forge new hybrid cultures and places. Sandercock goes on to outline four key qualities of a planning imagination that can be harnessed to the task of urban transformation, that is, the task of building more just, more sustainable and more beautiful cities. These four qualities she identifies as political, audacious, creative and therapeutic sensibilities.11

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits

References
Berridge, Joe. (2006). The creative city. Plan Canada, 46(1). Duxbury, Nancy. (2003, September). Cultivating creative communities: A cultural era for Canadian cities. Municipal World. Fielding, Jeff, & Couture, Gerry. (1994). Reflections on the profession. Plan Canada, 75th Anniversary Edition. Government of Canada. Department of Infrastructure and Communities. (2005). Integrated community sustainability planning: A background paper. Ottawa: Department of Infrastructure and Communities. Government of Canada. External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities (chaired by Mike Harcourt). (2006, June). From restless communities to resilient places: Building a stronger future for all Canadians. Final report of the External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities. Ottawa: Infrastructure Canada. Hawkes, Jon. (2001). The fourth pillar of sustainability: Cultures essential role in public planning. Melbourne, Australia: Cultural Development Network.
Healey, Patsy. (2003). Editorial. Planning Theory and Practice, 4(3): 245-24

Jacobs, Jane. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York & Toronto: Random House. Jamieson, Walter. (1994). Canadian personal planning: A personal potpourri.

Plan Canada, 75th Anniversary Edition.

Nicolai, Andrei. (2001). The twenty-first century is here: Is anybody home? Plan Canada, 41(1).

Oberlander, H. Peter. (Ed). (2006a). The livable city. Vancouver working group discussion paper. Prepared for World Urban Forum 3. Vancouver: Western Economic Diversification Canada. www.wd.gc.ca/ced/wuf/livable/1a_e.asp Oberlander, H. Peter. (Ed). (2006b). The planning city. Vancouver working group discussion paper. Prepared for World Urban Forum 3. Vancouver: Western Economic Diversification Canada. www.wd.gc.ca/ced/wuf/planning Sandercock, Leonie. (1998). Towards cosmopolis. London, UK: Wiley Publishing. Sandercock, Leonie. (2005, April 22). How far can/should planners go? A planning imagination for the 21st century. Planning Institute of British Columbia Keynote Address, Victoria. www.pibc.bc.ca/05conf/index.html
Plan Canada, 46(2), Summer 2006, p. 13 Jamieson (1994) 3 Berridge (2006) 4 Duxbury (2003) 5 Nicolai (2001) 6 Sandercock (1998) 7 Healey (2003) 8 Fielding & Couture (1994) 9 Nicolai (2001) 10 Oberlander (2006b) 11 Sandercock (2005)
1

Cultural Planning Toolkit - Web Resource - www.creativecity.ca/toolkits