This text is part of the special section Municipalities
The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) is organizing a conference on urban planning as part of its annual meeting. Urban sprawl, climate change, economic development… Municipalities must act in many areas, which require certain knowledge.
“The aim of the conference is to provide the keys to a minimum understanding so that urban planning is not just a procedure for elected officials”, announces Jean-François Sabourin, urban planner and coordinator of the Service-conseil en aménagement du territoire ‘UMQ.
Get off to a good start
Entitled Urbanism 101. To find your way beyond the procedures, the conference will be held on Thursday, May 4, in Gatineau, as part of the 101e edition of the Assises de l’UMQ. It is aimed at elected municipal officials, mayors, councilors and general managers to provide them with the essential basics of urban planning. In a first theoretical part, participants will be explained the planning system in Quebec. Then, in a second step, the reflection will be carried out thanks to concrete situations in the form of workshops, which will be followed by discussions to debate the answers.
For Jean-François Sabourin, if there is one thing to remember, it is that “there are always several options to achieve the same result in land use planning. Each has its pros and cons, depending on the political context.” Indeed, urban planning is a broad and complex discipline that requires a great deal of expertise. Municipalities are responsible for many projects in this area and it can sometimes be overwhelming to find the right answers.
Always more responsibilities
“Territorial planning is one of the fundamental powers of municipalities,” says Jean-François Sabourin. They ensure, for example, that factories are not too close to homes or that roads are built logically. But cities must also assume and apply the decisions of the government. In this sense, the legal advisor in environmental law at the UMQ, Ms.e Anne-Sophie Doré believes that the responsibility of municipalities is even broader than land use planning. Indeed, they must also meet the objectives of the Government of Quebec, for example, as well as those related to the environment. “It is also for this reason that it is important that elected officials have a good understanding of the impact of the tools implemented by the government,” adds the lawyer.
Town planning has changed. It has long been reduced to the construction of commercial areas and residential areas, all connected by roads for cars, Jean-François Sabourin jokes. But today, it is quite different: “We need a more delicate, more nuanced approach. »
Discipline evolves to improve the living conditions of all, and this adds to the table of elected officials. “The urban planning challenges that elected officials must meet are more complicated than ten years ago, and even more so than twenty years ago,” he says. It is for this reason that the UMQ is working to develop the urban planning literacy of elected officials. “There is also a complexification of the legal framework which results from it”, specifies Me Anne-Sophie Doré.
New challenges
Cities are today confronted with many realities: the fight against climate change, urban sprawl, protection of natural environments… Concerning densification making it possible to limit urban sprawl, for example, there are considerations to be taken into account. “If we add housing in a neighborhood where deliveries usually take place at night, the noise will disturb the new residents. This creates a new problem. This kind of cohabitation of uses is an emerging issue,” explains the town planner.
The Quebec government’s transport electrification project, which involves the exploitation of mineral resources in the province for the manufacture of batteries, is another reality to examine. “We have the opportunity in Quebec, but also the challenge of having resources of what we call critical and strategic minerals. Installing graphite or lithium mines has major impacts on land use planning,” says Jean-François Sabourin.
When these emerging industries get closer to living environments, explains Anne-Sophie Doré, this forces municipalities to think about and anticipate the medium and long-term consequences in order to reconcile uses.
Obviously, the financing of urban planning projects has a cost. The Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM) believes that their expenses will increase by 12.9% in 2023. Fit-out works in 2022 cost on average 15.3% more than the forecast estimates. Another significant element with which municipalities will have to deal.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.