imagineCALGARY: a unique approach to long term urban sustainability planning John Lewis, MCIP, M.E.Des. Community Sustainability Leader Population - 1,019,942 Key current issues: Population growth Economic growth Housing affordability Infrastructure Workforce Calgary - Background POPULATION 1884 Things To Come? Boom ! Early Years Post War Recovery Slow Years To the BURBS Bust, Recovery & Boom! (991,759) 2011 (1,113,000) 2026 (1,387,200) 2006 Year Historical and Forecasted Population Growth for the City of Calgary 1884 2026 (2007 Forecasts) GDP Growth: Index Employment Growth: Index Community dialogue on Calgarys future A Long Range Urban Sustainability Plan for Calgary Commitment to Membership of PLUS Network Key Outcomes 100 year vision and goals 30 year targets and strategies imagineCALGARY structures What is imagineCALGARY? CALGARIANS (18,000+) Providing values on what they want for their future MAYORS PANEL ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY (25) Community leaders providing advice and institutional support imagineCALGARY PROJECT TEAM (10) Support and coordinate project activities WORKING GROUPS (85) Experts developing 30 year targets & strategies ADVISORS (175) Interested citizens called upon to review the output of the Round Table and Working Groups imagineCALGARY ROUND TABLE (35) Citizens listening and working to develop the 100 year vision and goals City-led, community-owned The advice The experts The support The Board The interested citizens The community Building the Vision: Where do we want to go? Citizens Values as the Building Blocks of a Vision: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach Calgarians were invited to answer 5 questions. 1. What do you value about Calgary? 2. What is it like for you to live here? 3. What changes would you most like to see? 4. What are your hopes and dreams for Calgary in 100 years? 5. How could you help make this happen? 18,000 responded through 364 engagement activities. Visioning sessions were held with groups from a range of communities including ethno-cultural, seniors, low income, urban aboriginals, those with disabilities. Intergenerational Interviews: 52 Volunteers spent over 435 hours interviewing 150 business and community leaders Key Learning: Engagement in long-term visioning Go to where people are. 100 year Goals Imbedding sustainability into the process Melbourne Principles Human Needs Business as Usual 100 year Vision and Goals Community-wide Year Targets & Strategies Individuals Government Business/Organizations 30 year Targets & Strategies: How do we get there? Focus on assets Meet human needs within the 5 community systems identified Understand & respect the complexity and interconnections between the systems look at the whole Asset based approach not a problem solving approachAsset based approach not a problem solving approach The Community as a Whole System meeting human needsThe Community as a Whole System meeting human needs Social System Economic System Built Environment System Natural Environment System Governance System Inspired by: Gwendolyn Hallsmith Taking Action on SustainabilitySystems Thinking 30 year Targets & Strategies Key Learning: Engagement in target/strategy development The wisdom of crowds.diversity matters. Target Development - Trends Annual Vehicle Kilometers Traveled per Person 0 2, , , , , , , , Year Annual Vehicle Kilometers Traveled per Person Target Development - Variables City is becoming more spread out People live further from jobs Transit not meeting mobility needs City growth policies result in more people in the periphery that are not adequately served by public transit Lots of parking wherever we want to go People like driving Cost of gasoline Cost of vehicles is relatively low relative to income Automaker incentive plans (low financing, leasing) Target Development Systems Approach Road congestion Build roads Increased suburban development Increased distance between areas of city Reliance on private auto Increased development opportunity at the edge Road congestion 30 year Targets & Strategies TRANSPORTATION Target: Reduced private vehicle miles traveled AIR ENERGY Target:Reducedenergyconsumption RECREATION Target:90% of Calgarians have active lifestyles HEALTH AND WELL-BEING Key Learning: Goal, target, strategy development Recognize the complexity of sustainability, but try to articulate in ways that are understandable. This will be an ongoing challenge. Sustainability Public Engagement Key Learning: Development of a long range sustainability plan Create your sandbox and use it. Plan completed in June 2006 What is happening now? Partners in action towards The imagineCALGARY Plan The imagineCALGARY Partnership* Alberta Ecotrust Foundation Alberta Environment Alberta Real Estate Foundation Arusha Centre Bow Valley College Calgary Airport Authority Calgary Arts Development Calgary Board of Education Calgary Chamber of Volunteer Organizations Calgary Economic Development (CED) Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Calgary Farmers Market NGC Inc Calgary Foundation Canadian Freightways Calgary Health Region Calgary Heritage Authority Calgary Public Library Calgary Region Home Builders Association (CRHBA) Calgary Sport Council Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Child & Youth Friendly Calgary City of Calgary Climate Change Central Community Mediation Calgary Society Cultural District Renaissance Society of Alberta Epcor Centre Enmax Power Corporation Faith & The Common Good Calgary Federation of Calgary Communities (FCC) Flextronics Calgary Centre Glenbow-Alberta Institute Goodwill Industries of Alberta Mount Royal College Pembina Institute REAP Business Association SAIT Polytechnic Sierra Club of Canada Sustainable Calgary Theatre Calgary Torode Commercial Ltd. United Way of Calgary University of Calgary Urban Youth Worx The Van Horne Institute Vibrant Communities Calgary Volunteer Calgary * 46 Partners as of October 22, 2007 As a Partner, you commit to 1. Declaring ACTION Evaluate your organizations mandate and work against the applicable Targets in the imagineCALGARY Plan. 2. Sharing your progress Attend the annual imagineCALGARY community conference and share your accomplishments, lessons learned, and aspirations with other imagineCALGARY Partners and the community. What it means to be a Partner Before imagineCALGARY Working mostly on their own to achieve an undefined long term vision Creating a more sustainable future by working towards The imagineCALGARY Plan while building the capacity of each Partner organization to achieve their mission. Community Partners Working individually toward a common Vision - The imagineCALGARY Plan. imagineCALGARY Structures Enabling progress toward The Plan by iC partners by working together. Partnership Outcome: samepagedness ImagineCALGARY represents a unique and exceptionally powerful opportunity. For the first time, our community has developed a Vision for our entire city going forward many years into the future. If we collectively look at how our Missions, business activities, government policies, and individual footprints on our community can be aligned to the vision we have created for ourselves, achieving imagineCALGARYS Vision is inevitable. - Mario Siciliano, President & CEO, Volunteer Calgary Partners in action towards The imagineCALGARY Plan imagineCALGARY Structure Steering Committee: The coordinators of the imagineCALGARY work. Encourages progress towards the objectives of the imagineCALGARY Partnership through oversight of a coherent work plan amongst the Committees. Facilitates adequate resourcing and provides advice to imagineCALGARY Committees. Collaborative Action Committee: Assesses action on imagineCALGARY at a high level and enables Partners to make connections on areas of shared activity and interest. Creates opportunities to gather and explore common actions and initiatives through workshops or other member focused activities. Communications & Awareness Committee: Builds awareness of imagineCALGARY and related Partner initiatives both among imagineCALGARY Partners and the broader community. Assists existing Partners with recruiting new Partners to act towards the imagineCALGARY Plan. Creates and coordinates the delivery and dissemination of imagineCALGARY messages on behalf of the Partners. Community Conference Committee: Prepares programming and logistics for an annual imagineCALGARY (Reporting) Conference. imagineCALGARY Committees Key Learning: Developing structures Structures arent sexy. (But they are essential) Vision Current Reality The gap between vision and current reality is also a source of energy. If there were no gap, there would be no need for any action to move towards the vision. We call this gap creative tension. - Peter Senge Business as Usual 100 year Vision and Goals Community-wide Year Targets & Strategies Individuals Government Business/Organizations bad start reality of effort set-back discouragement plateau fatigue up-down fatigue good-as- it-gets time & effort level of mastery & achievement Adaptive learning paths are rough, broken, even when pursued with discipline, dedication, intelligence & resourcefulness Adaptive Persistence Key Learnings Visioning: Go to where people are. Target Development: Wisdom of crowds. Diversity matters. Plan Development: Recognize complexity, but always try to make it understandable. Developing a plan: Create your sandbox and use it. Implementation: Creating structures is difficult, but essential. From plan development to implementation: Be ready to learn and adapt through the entire process. Larger communities Smaller communities Size of the community: different challenges?