Assessing water resource management in provincial land use planning policies in peri-urban regions of Southern Ontario

Abstract

Urbanization is one of the most significant trends of the 21st century, affecting global economic development, energy consumption, natural resource use and human well-being. Land- use planning is a tool used by local and regional municipalities to address these increasing development pressures. Currently, provincial land use plans for ecologically and economically important regions within the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the Greenbelt Plan, are undergoing a Coordinated Land Use Plans Review, which commenced in 2015. Scholarly and grey literature was examined to evaluate these land use plans using criteria based on Integrated Water Resource Management and Monitoring. Select strengths, weaknesses and recommendations were provided for Oak Ridges Moraine, Niagara Escarpment and Greenbelt land use plans to move toward adaptive environmental management.