Examples of Municipal Sustainable Community Plans or Strategies

Municipal sustainable community plans or strategies typically meet a series of milestones throughout the planning process. These milestones include:

• establishing a sustainability vision
• analyzing the current situation
• developing sustainability goals and targets
• developing an implementation plan
• reporting on the initiative
• consulting with the public and stakeholders throughout the process
• obtaining municipal council approval for the plan

Integrated community sustainability plans (ICSPs), Local Agenda 21 plans, or official municipal plans that include sustainability goals are examples of municipal sustainable community plans.

Here are some examples:

• City of Calgary, Alta.: Imagine Calgary is the blueprint helping Calgarians create a sustainable future and exceptional quality of life for generations to come.
• City of Sorel Tracy, Que.: The City of Sorel-Tracy has recently completed a Local Agenda 21 plan, a sustainable development tool proposed by the United Nations at the 1992 Earth Summit (available in French only).
• City of Port Coquitlam, B.C.: As part of the Official Community Plan implementation, the city is the first municipality in North America to introduce a triple bottom line sustainability checklist for all significant land development applications.
• City of Whitehorse, Yukon: The city's integrated community sustainability plan is the first part of a two-part plan and process to create Whitehorse's sustainability plan.
• City of Sacramento, California: The sustainability practices included in the city's Master Plan will guide the city for the next several decades.
• City of Montreal, Que.: The city's first Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development establishes sustainable development as the cornerstone on which to build the city of Montréal, and identifies several priority areas for action. (The complete version of the plan is available in French only.)
• City of Rossland, B.C.: The city's Strategic Sustainability Plan expresses the city's commitment to a sustainable future and describes the long-term community vision, principles, goals and strategic actions to achieve it.
• Metro Vancouver, B.C.: Adopted in 1996, Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan (LRSP) aims to help maintain regional livability and protect the environment in the face of anticipated growth.
• Resort Municipality of Whistler, B.C.: Whistler's comprehensive sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, presents an overarching, integrated, sustainability-based approach to planning that broadly addresses social, economic and environmental issues.
• Town of Oliver, B.C.: Developed as a result of B.C.'s Smart Growth on the Ground program, the town's Concept Plan proposes practical ways that the town can manage future development in the Oliver region to meet the long-term goals of the community.
• Town of Baie-Saint-Paul, Que.: The town's Stratégie de développement durable presents the principles, vision and priorities resulting from its Local Agenda 21 process. More information on the town's related sustainable development policy is available on the Baie-Saint-Paul website. (The town's strategic plan and sustainable development policy are available in French only.)
• Village of Teslin, Yukon: The village's integrated community sustainability plan outlines Teslin's sustainability vision, values, goals and measures of success.