Winnipeg should "grow smarter"

Urban sprawl is an intensely important issue in Winnipeg that should be controlled, in part, through the use of "smart growth" strategies, a new report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba argues.

Stopping the Sprawl: How Winnipeg Could Benefit From Metropolitan Growth Strategies for a Slow-Growth City, co-authored by University of Winnipeg Professor Christopher Leo and Richard Lennon, shows that many cities across North America have adopted measures designed to counter urban sprawl and achieve more compact growth across urban regions. These measures are often referred to as "smart growth" or "metropolitan growth management" (MGM).

For the most part, however, such measures have been adopted in areas affected by rapid population growth, and there is a widespread conception that they are most appropriate to rapid growth. Stopping the Sprawl argues that sprawl development is far more damaging to a slowly growing city such as Winnipeg than to a rapidly growing one. Metropolitan growth management is therefore highly appropriate to Winnipeg.

Stopping the Sprawl considers the problems and possibilities that are likely to be encountered in any attempt to manage WinnipegÕs growth, and produces a set of recommendations designed to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the difficulties.

Stopping the Sprawl is being released in the midst of a flurry of activity around the issue of provincial land-use planning. It emphasizes the central planning role that must be played by the provincial government, an argument that is consistent with one of the key recommendations of the Livestock Stewardship Panel, which released its report on Monday.

As well, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Jean Friesen announced today (Tuesday, January 23) a planning framework for development in the Winnipeg capital region.

Stopping the Sprawl will be released:
Wednesday, January 24, 2001
12:00 (noon)
CCPA-MB Office, 309 - 323 Portage Avenue