AMOl08.2017 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference Minister of Municipal Affairs The Honourable Bill Mauro
AMOl08.2017 Annual Conference Promoting a Healthy Built Environment Background The way people live and move impacts their overall health. Over a period of decades, physical activity has been removed from people s lives, in part because communities are designed and built to accommodate automobiles. As such, the Region of Peel is pleased the updated provincial land use plans, including the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan) and the Greenbelt Plan: Are more integrated and coordinated with each other; Address key provincial priorities, such as planning for a changing climate; and Have more supportive policies in place to promote healthy complete communities. The Region is working with stakeholders to implement the Growth Plan s population and employment forecasts through a set of principles that form the foundation for complete and healthy communities and ensures financial sustainability for the provision of infrastructure: Ensure efficient use of existing and planned Regional infrastructure; Support growth pays for growth to minimize financial impacts to existing residents and businesses; Protect environmental and agricultural resources; Plan for densities that support transit, affordable housing and complete communities; and Plan for a range of employment over the long-term to adjust to market cycles. The province can continue to support Peel municipalities to accommodate the projected growth and build healthy complete communities by prioritizing investment in regional and municipal transit infrastructure projects that foster transit-oriented development and mobility hub initiatives such as: Completion of Regional Express Rail for the Lakeshore and Kitchener Corridors; and Increased frequency of the Milton GO rail line. Milton GO Train Eastbound By GTD Aquitaine (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 1 Ministry of Municipal Affairs
AMOl08.2017 Annual Conference Health Measures for Built Environment Another way the province can promote complete communities is by incorporating health measures into the performance indicator framework for the Growth Plan. Doing so will: Allow for provincial measurement, reporting and tracking of progress related to health and the built environment; and Identify provincial trends and provide a point of reference and comparison for local government. Assessing the health impact of the built environment is of critical importance given the high health and economic costs related to physical inactivity. Currently, in the GTHA obesity and physical inactivity cost $4 billion a year, and diabetes-related medical costs attributable to inactivity currently exceed $550 million each year. Furthermore, active lifestyles and habits was one of the top ten issues identified by Regional Council and the community through the engagement process undertaken in 2015 to develop Peel s current Strategic Plan. As such, the Region of Peel recommends the following indicators to measure the health-promoting elements of the built environment: Density (number of people and jobs per hectare in an area) Proximity to Transit (population within 400 metres to transit) Diversity of Land Use (index providing the mix of land uses in a particular area) More information on the proposed indicators is found on the following page. To demonstrate Regional Council s commitment to healthy built communities, Peel requires that a Health Development Assessment (HDA) be completed by all applicable development applications. However, developers are under no obligation to change their applications as a result of the HDA. Future provincial support of local health assessments through legislative change would assist communities like Peel to improve walkability and health outcomes. The Region of Peel recommends that the Ontario government: 1. Implement a performance indicator framework that measures the health-promoting elements of the built environment. 2. Explore legislative/regulatory changes that enforce the requirement for local health assessments, and the ability to require changes to a development proposal/plan based on that assessment as a means to achieving greater walkability and health outcomes in the built environment. 2 Ministry of Municipal Affairs
AMOl08.2017 Annual Conference Proposed Health Measures for Performance Indicator Framework Density (number of people and jobs per hectare in an area) Higher densities increase demand for a broader variety of services and support employment opportunities, transit and other community amenities (e.g. community centres, parks) within close walking distance. Increasing the number of employment destinations in a community creates opportunities for active transportation, which is a key component of creating healthier places to live. Proximity to Transit (population within 400 metres to transit) The percentage of population living within 400 metres of a transit stop is a common measure of how easily people can access transit services. Living close to public transit: o Makes using public transit for daily travel a more viable option; and o Is associated with increased active transportation, decreased car use, and increased use of public transportation to get to work. Diversity of Land Use (index providing the mix of land uses in a particular area) A mix of land uses directly impacts the distance between, and availability of, a variety of services and destinations in a community. Communities with a diverse mix of residential, service and employment areas allow for walking and cycling as viable modes of transportation, support a more compact and efficient urban form and create the necessary support for public transportation. Land use mix is closely associated with density and service proximity. 3 Ministry of Municipal Affairs