Issues

Affordable Housing

Good, affordable housing is the foundation of communities and an essential part of smart growth. With a stable place to call home, people can build healthy families and communities.

Agricultural Land

The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) represents 5% of BC’s land base. Buying locally grown food supports BC’s farmers and minimizes transportation-to-market costs and emissions. Enhancing the urban/rural edge also means keeping the town in the town, and the country in the country. Protecting scarce farmland from urbanization is therefore a key smart growth strategy.


Climate Change

The ways in which we plan and use our land resources have both direct and indirect consequences on climate change. From reducing our vehicles miles driven to designing walkable, energy-efficient neighbourhoods, smart growth principles lead the way for creating more resilient communities.

Community Engagement

Citizens are assets in planning for the future of their communities. Citizens are the best experts about the places they live and the ways they should grow and change.

Compact Communities

Compact, complete communities provide people with opportunities to live, work, learn and play in vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhoods.

By creating compact communities, we can absorb new residents and jobs without sacrificing our quality of life, environment, or the fiscal health of our towns and cities.

Economic Development

Economic development is vital to the viability and health of our communities. However, economic development must be balanced with social and environmental considerations in order to achieve sustainable communities.

Infrastructure



By making best use of our existing infrastructure before extending our infrastruture into new areas we have more tax dollars to restore and maintain our existing roads, water pipes, and storm water systems.  Also, by building infrastructure that works within and mimics natural systems we can reduce its impact on the enviornment and save money.

Healthy Communities

Smart growth creates healthier communities.  People have good options to use active forms of transportation such as walking and cycling to do daily activities and increasing physical activity.   Less automobile use reduces air and water pollution creating a healthier environment for the whole community.

Transportation

Smart growth is intimately tied to transportation policy, which is closely linked to land use policy. How we plan our communities and the way we get around them influence the way our communities grow, and ultimately, their livability.


Natural and Cultural Features

The principles of smart growth promote the conservation, restoration and protection of natural and cultural features and remove development pressure from these lands by increasing density in existing communities. British Columbians greatly value their green space and natural ecosystems.