Urban planning should include Indigenous perspectives
On Sept. 30, Canada will officially recognize the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Like many, I wonder how we can address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 calls to action.
I’m an urban planner who understands how our cities — notably land-use and zoning regulations — are based upon a colonial process often inconsistent with Indigenous world views. I believe that even at a local level, I can broaden decision-making to include Indigenous perspectives and expertise around land stewardship and regeneration.
Over the past year, I have gained a deeper understanding of the tragic and multi-generational impacts of the residential school system and the broader exclusion of Indigenous society.
I recently worked with the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society to secure approvals for Ontario’s first healing lodge. Indigenousowned and operated, it describes itself as “a community-driven initiative raised out of concern and recognition of the urgent need to break the cycle of Indigenous women’s overrepresentation in Canada’s prisons.”
Incarceration rates amongst Indigenous populations are disproportionate to Canada’s population. Over 30 per cent of prisoners identify as Indigenous, while comprising only five per cent of the population. The situation is far worse for women: 42 per cent of female prisoners are Indigenous.
Healing lodges help Indigenous men and women reconnect to their culture, spirituality and communities. Only eight exist in Canada.
Scarce as they are, they result in better outcomes among program participants, significantly lower recidivism rates and are directly referenced in two TRC calls to action.
Our urban planning system originates from a colonial perspective that puts land use into narrow definitions. According to Toronto zoning bylaws, a healing lodge is not a defined use — and therefore not permitted under existing zoning bylaws governing the Thunder Woman site. To overcome this obstacle, we asked the city for a minor variance, which involved a community meeting attended by over 300 people. Emotions ran high. The press came. So did the police.
Several bureaucratic hurdles ensued. The city required a 1.5-metrewide strip of land off the front of the property (a road-widening conveyance) to facilitate the eventual road and sidewalk reconstruction — a typical procedure often overlooked in the development approvals process.
After weeks of discussion, city staff and the local councillor were able to bring forward a council motion to provide fair compensation for the land.
The design team also took issue with the city’s standard 2.1-metre concrete sidewalk design and landscaping along the street edge. In contrast, Thunder Woman had developed a different streetscape design with input from community members, incorporating native plantings and permeable pavers. The city acquiesced.
I am proud of my efforts to help secure planning approvals for a much-needed home for women transitioning out of our prison system. We created a replicable precedent for other municipalities to follow.
Many TRC recommendations should remain federal responsibilities, but considerable opportunities for change rest with local government.
My experience with Thunder Woman is a modest but significant example of building a more equitable society to benefit Indigenous women, through a collaborative and respectful community-building process.