Regional Planning for Sustainable Development: Lessons from California

The rapid growth of Canadian metropolitan areas poses challenges for sustainability, with traffic congestion, housing affordability, and environmental degradation all increasing public concern. This paper reviews California’s experience in addressing these issues through regionwide, mandated scenario planning, examining transportation and land use strategies that could improve long-term sustainability, i.e., supporting a socially equitable society with a strong economy and a healthy and livable environment. The paper is based on a review of the literature and interviews with nine Canadian subject matter experts, as well as the authors’ experiences with U.S. urban planning processes. We review the California experience in legislating that its 18 metropolitan planning organizations develop scenario plans aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and examine the case of the San Francisco Bay Area. The paper concludes by discussing counterpart issues in Canada and the Canadian policy context, and then identifies ten elements that are key to successful regional transportation planning.