Giving a voice to community dreams
New vision for city of Brampton touted as cohesive and bold plan on the future of a growing area
Free transit that loops around the whole sprawling suburb. One unified green network connecting every ravine, every park. A vibrant, developed “Uptown;” a university-focused downtown. Five new town centres, a sports arena and an “Arts Street.” This could be Brampton. In a 100-page document, internationally-renowned urban planner Larry Beasley details what some residents and councillors are touting as a bold, exciting and long-awaited vision for a city that has lacked a cohesive master plan for its growth — one that will see its population rise to close to one million in the next 20 to 25 years.
The vision would first need approval from city councillors, who have been resistant to change.
The meeting was set for Monday night. Residents were encouraged to attend by city planning staff.
The document titled “Brampton 2040 Vision” is the result of almost six months of intense engagement — the largest of its kind ever undertaken by city staff. More than 13,000 people participated in 20 sessions, 65 community events and social media conversations from fall 2017 to spring 2018.
“When people start to have a direct involvement in auditing their own neighbourhood with city hall, when they know something will happen, then they’ll put their own flavour on their city,” said Beasley, former chief planner for Vancouver.
“We needed to get the whole community to express their diversity … it hasn’t been expressed well ’til now.”
The Brampton 2040 Vision is not a policy or plan, Beasley said. It is a conceptual document that he said gives voice to the dreams of the community, and the objectives needed to become a forward-thinking suburb. The goal is twofold, he said. First, to “transform the physical space of the city to create very magnetic, enticing new spaces” that bring jobs and “fun, urban things” to the city.
The second is to “protect that amazing neighbourhoods that are here and so much of what people like about living here and not downtown Toronto.”
To do so, Beasley has proposed some bold ideas that organize the Brampton community. These proposals include a “complete community audit” of each neighbourhood; an institute of cultural diversity and another for enterprise; a network of transit, walkways and bike lanes that connects the entire suburb; and the integration of Ryerson University’s first campus outside the GTA.
Residents, however, remain wary of how the vision will translate into reality.
Andrew DeGroot, co-founder of the advocacy group OneBrampton and longtime resident, is encouraged by the vision but has his reservations.
“I’m not sure they’re ready,” DeGroot said. “They have perpetuated the sprawl.”
Mayor Linda Jeffrey believes that city council now has its “marching orders,” to finally rebrand the city from being the “flower city” or the “city where cars were built.”
“We didn’t used to be cool,” Jeffrey said. “I think we’re going to be cool.”