Neoliberalism and urban planning in Toronto: how seasoned planners adjust to their changing circumstances

ABSTRACT

This paper examines what 14 senior urban planners working for various planning agencies across metropolitan Toronto said about their work, interpreted through the lens of neoliberalism. Some still draw on the planning values of the old City of Toronto from the 1970s and 1980s, and most, in various ways, seek to push the bounds of contemporary practice. Consideration is given to the possibilities of emergent planning practices beyond the current neoliberal ascendancy in public life.

KEYWORDS:

• Toronto
• planning practice
• neoliberalism
• professional culture

Acknowledgments

The detailed and constructive criticisms of one of the referees is gratefully acknowledged as are those of my colleague at RMIT University, Benno Engels.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The West Don Lands, surplus industrial and railway land, flood prone, and adjacent to Regent Park, is a project site being managed by Waterfront Toronto. Unlike local academics like Lehrer and Laidley (2008), this planner and the Waterfront Toronto planners view these two projects as exemplars of more sustainable inner-city redevelopment.

2. It is important to note the weight given to a Canadian municipal planner’s professional opinion. For example, if their advice to their employer on a planning application is contrary to the decision finally made, and the applicant subsequently appeals to the OMB, the appellant can call on the planner to state their opinion to their benefit. When asked if this can affect a planner’s career prospects, an interviewee said it generally does not, but occasionally it has.

3. He is little quoted because he is a dominant voice in planning debates in Toronto and Canada more generally, so here other voices are given prominence.

4. Port Lands, 400 hectares of now largely disused land, lie between land currently being redeveloped through Waterfront Toronto and the open waters of Lake Ontario – a ‘wilderness’ next to the metropolis. Comparable cities have similar land close to the CBD – Glasgow’s Clydegate and Melbourne’s Fisherman’s Bend for example – but not of such a size, so a potential to build large numbers of affordable houses close to a variety of work places.

5. Repeat interviews conducted in November 2014 may revise this conclusion.

6. Since 2011, according to one of the senior City of Toronto planner the ratio has switched from a losing 40:60 to a winning 60:40 ratio, in favour of the City.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the International Council for Canadian Studies [grant number Faculty Research Program 2629].