Do you believe Vaughan is being over-developed?

(As featured in the Vaughan Citizen, March 11, 2010)

"Do you believe Vaughan is being over-developed?" 

This was the question posed in Caroline Grech's March 3rd post entitled "Vaughan greenlights changes to official plan ".  While it sounds like a straightforward question, the answer may appear to be a paradox.

To understand why, one has to understand the quantum leap in the Provinicial policy framework for development.  Through the legislation of various policy documents such as the Places to Grow Act, the stage has now been set for long term growth management by establishing the rules that municipalities such as Vaughan must follow in respect of land development and sustainable community building.  

Prior to the enactment of this legislation, the focus on development tended to ignore existing built up communities in favour of newer Greenfields. During the 25 years up to the last census data of 2006, Vaughan experienced over growth of over 200,000 people and almost 150,000 jobs.  That short period of intense growth was accommodated mostly via unsustainable Greenfield development and has created a number of issues which require immediate attention including:

• Extreme dependence upon personal vehicles and growing gridlock
• Erosion of countryside, agricultural lands and green space
• Predominance of disconnected, limited access single-use areas
• Limited range of housing types and inventory
• Inadequate health and cultural and identity building facilities
• Greater capital and operating infrastructure costs per capita
• Greater concentration of low skilled versus high skilled employment

Regional forecasts now suggest that Vaughan will grow by 170,000 new people and 113,700 new jobs during the 25 year period of 2006 and 2031.  The aim of the Places to Grow program is to manage this next wave in order to avoid and/or reverse some of the impacts of past growth.  Accordingly, the legislation will attempt to:

• Create a vibrant and multi-dimensional downtown core (Vaughan Metropolitan Centre)
•  Create integrated communities that offer more live, work and play options
• Provide housing options to meet the needs of people at any age
• Curb sprawl and protect farmland and green spaces
• Reduce traffic gridlock by improving access to a greater range of transportation options

One of the key elements of the program is the established target for development that must occur through intensification within the already built areas.  Some of the arguments for intensification are that the cost of infrastructure in low-density, sprawling development is expensive because there are fewer properties among which to allocate such costs.  Furthermore, it prohibits the efficient and cost-effective provision of public transit solutions.

The irony with intensification however is that while many people tend to agree with the concept in principle, it often is the subject of great debate and opposition when it comes to local neighbourhood impact, a phenomenon otherwise known as NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard).  This, I would argue, is more so the case in suburban settings such as Vaughan where many residents have chosen to live based on an overwhelming preference towards lower-density developments.  The common belief is that among other things, the suburban setting offers improved privacy, slower lifestyle and less crime than the urban alternative.

The fact of the matter is that we can no longer subscribe to this way of life as it fails to ignore the long term impacts.  Even if we accept the premise that the suburban lifestyle offers a higher quality of life, it simply cannot be accommodated indefinitely.  While it may seem like over-development, the principle of intensification is in fact a necessary source of sustainable long term growth that will minimize urban sprawl.