Kanata's story holds lessons for Tewin development

Community engagement is key, says Marianne Wilkinson.

With the approval of city council, now is the time for the Tewin development near Highway 417 and Boundary Road to proceed, so it can become a special place in the city. Planning for an entire area is not new. Tewin has 445 hectares, providing the opportunity to create a full concept for development from the beginning.

That's what happened in the 1960s when Bill Teron put together 1,295 hectares in March Township to create his vision of a new town of 60,000 people. He wanted to move from building homes to building a full town. So he built a model of the future city, his “Kanata Concept,” with residential communities, a town centre, a technology park and an open-space country club.

Just as Tewin has agreed to pay for all services, Teron did the same, including being one of the first developers to bury all residential hydro lines. (Even now, Hydro Ottawa still has overhead lines on collector roads.)

Creating a new town from scratch depends not only on the initial broad concepts, but on the many details and modifications that follow over time. For Kanata, a small municipality that could not afford professional staff, it was the early residents who took up the challenge through KanPlan. It was exciting, hard work, but hundreds took part in planning everything from land use and transportation, to cultural activities, recreational programming and more.

Their work created the first 15-minute communities (which still exist) and is where now, 60 years later, residents still step up to ensure that any changes work.

High-density housing is welcomed in the town centre area and the technology park is now the largest in Canada.

Tewin, with its unique property, has a wonderful opportunity. The owners can learn from what worked in Kanata and other new towns. They can also find out about why failures happened and so ensure that they don't fall into similar traps.

They need to let community members, first those interested in the development and later those who live there, play a major part in what is built and how various uses can be easily accessible to all.

They need to ensure that infrastructure includes community centres, retail outlets, sports facilities, schools, churches and more. These need to be there from the beginning so everyone can meet their daily needs within a 15-minute walk.

They need to help put in place and support community groups so these can provide the feedback that makes for better communities.

Every development has challenges and Tewin will have its share. So take the time to do it right. Once built, it will be there for a very long time. Don't rely solely on professionals but undertake broad consultation, study developments elsewhere in Canada and the world and create partnerships.

In Kanata, from the beginning, the developer, the township and the residents worked together.

Tewin needs to do the same. By listening to each other and considering ideas, they can best fulfil community needs.

Provide for all income groups in differing types of homes to make a complete community.

Everything needs to be thought about in advance and provision made for it to happen.

Moving to Kanata years ago was a game-changer for our family as we were able to participate in its ongoing creation. Tewin can do the same for its residents. I look forward to watching as it evolves into another great place.

Marianne Wilkinson served for 29 years on municipal councils between 1970 and 2018 in the Township of March; Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton; City of Kanata and City of Ottawa. As reeve and the first mayor of the City of Kanata, she was the head of council for nine years. She is presently writing a book, The Kanata Concept, about the experience of being involved in creating a city from scratch.