In an ideal situation, municipal government officials work in consultation with organizations, community members and others in land-use planning that balances environmental, economic and social concerns.

But a number of obstacles, including “an increasingly activist provincial government,” may be impacting civil society involvement in such a process, says a new policy brief produced by Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO).

Land-use Planning in Niagara: A Study in Multilevel Governance and Smart Growth, co-authored by recent Political Science graduate Sean Giverin (BA ’18, MA ’20) and NCO Director Charles Conteh, examines how multiple tiers of government work together to take a ‘smart-growth’ approach to land-use planning.

The approach is based on 10 environmental, economic and social principles in the areas of housing, building design, neighbourhood design and atmosphere, farmland, natural resources, transportation, urban development and civil society participation, among others.

The policy brief describes how smart-growth principles in Niagara’s land-use planning system is governed by multiple tiers of government, explores the role of non-governmental actors, identifies components in this system that can be improved upon and suggests solutions to address these weaknesses.

What: Virtual presentation of NCO’s Land-Use Planning in Niagara: A Study in Multilevel Governance and Smart Growth

When: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1 to 2 p.m.

Where: Microsoft Teams

Who: Sean Giverin (BA ’18, MA ’20); Charles Conteh, NCO Director; Diana Huson, Pelham Regional Councillor and board member of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority; Doug Giles, Acting Commissioner of Planning and Development for the Niagara Region; and Catherine Longboat, Assistant Professor, Tecumseh Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education, Faculty of Education, Brock University

Please RSVP to cphillips3@brocku.ca and a Microsoft Teams link will be sent the day before the event.