Our neighbourhoods are intensifying as the GTA grows up—not out Story by Bryan Tuckey
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TAS rendering of Duke Condos
cross the GTA our neighbourhoods are intensifying and it’s affecting all of us. Our communities are growing up and not out as development follows the province’s growth planning policies. However, many residents in existing communities like their neighbourhoods just the way they are. This resistance to change means more and more development projects are facing opposition. NIMBYism (or a not-in-my-backyard sentiment) is not new, but it’s stronger now because of the intensification taking place in Toronto and the rest of the GTA. NIMBYism is a challenge not just for developers but for all of us and especially new home buyers. The growing chants of NIMBY are adding to the GTA’s housing supply shortage. They cause delays and increase costs, which are ultimately passed on to people buying new homes. Developers don’t just build what they want. Government policies and plans at all levels dictate how land can be used and where and how development happens. Ten years ago, Ontario’s provincial government created the Greenbelt and introduced the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to change how development occurs in the GTA. It mandated intensification and required four out of 10 new housing units to be built within existing communities. Those new units are necessary to house our growing population. Each year the region’s population increases by about 100,000 people due to immigration and growing families. In accordance with policy, our industry has been building to a more intensive pattern of development. Today we are building at least as many highrise multi-family homes as groundrelated single-family homes. Unfortunately there is little public understanding of and even less support for intensification. When intensification policies were introduced the industry encouraged the government to educate the public on how and why their neighbourhoods would change, but we have yet to see anything. Everything from proposed highrise condo projects near subway stations to townhouse projects in Scarborough and mid-town Toronto,
to plans for semi-detached houses in Burlington is met with, “Not in my backyard.” The home building and land development industry is increasing its efforts to work with community stakeholders. Community engagement has been in practice for years, but today developers are engaging residents earlier and working alongside community stakeholders to create projects that benefit everyone. It is critical that our industry communicates and shares information early in the development process to help residents properly respond to proposed changes. We also need to help community stakeholders understand the goals and benefits of intensification and specific projects. We all want our communities to thrive, and new development and neighbourhood renewal helps that happen. New development brings more homes and more housing choices and it can bring new life to established neighbourhoods. More people in neighbourhoods mean they can support more amenities such as shops and restaurants. All this leads to property value increases and means local governments collect more property tax which they can invest in things like parks and transit. The GTA is a growing region that attracts people and businesses. To help keep it growing we need housing and we need to keep working together to create thriving complete communities. We need to find ways to turn NIMBY to YIMBY: Yes In My Backyard. To help improve public awareness of these issues, BILD has created a couple of animated videos on turning NIMBY to YIMBY. They explain in a simple and fun way why are our neighbourhoods are changing and how development can benefit everyone. Check them out on youtube.com/bildgta. Bryan Tuckey is President and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and is a land-use planner who has worked for municipal, regional and provincial governments. He can be found on Twitter (twitter. com/bildgta), Facebook (facebook.com/bildgta) and BILD’s official online blog (bildblogs.ca).
abode Fall 2016
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