Brampton searches for a new vision
Leading urban planner tasked with reinventing growing suburb
Larry Beasley has made his mark on the urban landscapes of Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Dallas and Moscow. But his next challenge is to usher one of Canada’s most important suburbs into the future. Beasley’s next stop is Brampton. Brampton’s chief administrative officer, Harry Schlange, has asked Beasley to make the city “futureready.” It’s a new idea that captures the burgeoning community’s desperate desire to transform their home into a world-leading city — desperate because Brampton’s population is set to grow from 600,000 to close to one million in the next 20 to 25 years.
In this rapidly growing suburb, Beasley, who has been retained as an adviser to assist the city’s planning department, sees potential to dream big. Brampton has never had a master plan, so there is an opportunity to reinvent city centres and neighbourhood developments. More importantly, Brampton has one of the largest South Asian communities in the world outside of South Asia, but this diversity is, strangely, not visibly evident.
“We’re looking for ways to be more disruptive in the ways we do things,” said Kevin Montgomery, co-chair of the Brampton Cycling Advisory. “We keep trying to find solutions to problems but it feels like we’re just trying to squeeze solutions into the same framework that’s creating the problem.”
Residents of Brampton say that the city is long overdue for someone like Beasley to give the community some direction. The city still lacks both the alternative transportation infrastructure and business hubs of other large cities, despite being situated in between Toronto and Waterloo, in Ontario’s planned innovation corridor.
Brampton also doesn’t have a university or a well-defined white collar labour market for residents to work in, despite being home to one of the youngest demographics in the GTA.
There is still no “downtown”— in fact, according to one resident, “The Rose Theatre has been struggling for a long time to get more people to come.” And the waiting lists for affordable housing in this rapidly growing city are unsustainably long.
“Brampton is a big city but thinks like a small town,” said Harpreet Zingh, cofounder of Lab B, a startup incubator based in the city. “For so long, we’ve had unstrategic growth simply for the sake of growth.”
In fact, after a series of failed attempts by city councillors — some of whom have served for decades — to provide solutions, most residents feel that city council was either not listening to their concerns, or simply didn’t care.
“There has been a steady decline in the conduct, passion and professionalism of our councillors and people are beginning to lose hope that change is even possible,” said Denise Allard, a local artist and resident of 30 years.
“Everybody is reading the same book, but not everyone is on the same chapter,” said Rick Evans, who has lived and worked in Brampton since the1980s. “We all want a new Brampton, but some people think that Brampton is a great big suburban blob. And we’re not.”
Beasley himself has found that the city lacks a sense of how it needs to change, but he is hopeful.
“Brampton is in a generational kind of moment where they will convert from a bedroom community of a larger city to be an independent city of their own,” he said.
Across Canada, suburbs like Brampton have struggled to get out of the shadow of the big core cities they are connected to, despite the fact that over 60 per cent of Canadians are choosing suburban living over the high-density downtown core.
“Maybe Brampton will become a reference for other suburbs in Canada,” Beasley said.
Logistically, however, according to Brampton city Councillor Martin Medeiros, Beasley’s vision will only be as good as council’s resolve to implement it.
“A lot of good planning principles are undermined by political motives,” Medeiros said. “Certain projects that are not the right fit for the community get passed.”
Beasley’s participation is important, Medeiros said, but he isn’t the key player in creating a stronger Brampton.
“(Beasley’s) road map will only be as valuable as the determination and cooperation of everyone involved,” he said, adding that a budget will also help.
Todd Letts, CEO of the Brampton Board of Trade, believes that Beasley is asking the right question: What can differentiate Brampton and distinguish it on the world stage?
“If he’s able to bring an alignment of vision and better collaboration through his efforts, that’s a good thing for Brampton,” he said.
Over the next year, Beasley (who is based in Vancouver) and his team will embark on six or so trips to Brampton, four days each, to engage in a “community-wide conversation” to learn what would make day-to-day life in Brampton “more fulfilling.”
Between July and November, there will be public outreach campaigns, which will then culminate in two big interactive, town-hall type sessions where, Beasley said, “we’ll craft their dream in front of them.”
By May 2018, Brampton should have what Beasley calls a “chaotic document, rich with content” that will function as the city’s vision.
The city of Mississauga embarked on a similar process a decade ago when it launched its Downtown Master Plan to transform from a sprawling suburb into a dynamic cosmopolitan city.
It has since created a strategic plan for stronger transit and better land-use policies after a series of consultations with community members and experts (in- cluding, incidentally, Beasley).
“The whole process was about listening,” said Ed Sajecki, Mississauga’s commissioner of planning and building. “It was a community-based vision that was led by a multi-dimensional multi-faceted group of people.”
As an outsider, Beasley knows he “cannot invent the dream of Brampton.” But he has the ability and experiences to convene an inquiry on what it should be and “make sure this dream does reach the future.”
Beasley’s local partner in all this is Rob Elliot, Brampton’s new head of planning and the former director of development services for Peel region. Hired eight months after the departure of former chief planner Marilyn Ball, who was part of a major senior management restructuring under Schlange, Elliot said that it’s up to him and the rest of the organization to implement Beasley’s vision.
“It’s going to help us inform our formal planning documents, the master plans for transportation, recreation and so forth, which are utilized to move into the next stage” Elliot said.
“If (Beasley’s) able to bring an alignment of vision and better collaboration through his efforts, that’s a good thing for Brampton.” TODD LETTS CEO, BRAMPTON BOARD OF TRADE
Beasley’s vision will be a pivot for the city, Elliot said, toward the next stage in the city’s life. Both he and Schlange believe it will be a game-changer, especially when combined with the city’s plans to build a university, revitalize the Etobicoke Creek and develop public transit.
Mayor Linda Jeffries is certain that Beasley will “disrupt the status quo” by “thinking bigger” — phrases echoed by residents and business owners alike in any conversation about Brampton’s future.
“The thing about a dream is that it’s more aspirational and to some degree inspirational,” Beasley said.
“I wish we had always had a vision in a place like this because from a social perspective I see how difficult it is for people to live and move around in the city,” Lab B’s Zingh said. “Yes, the best time was to start 20 years ago, but the second best time is now.”