9. Planning in the Ethno-Culturally Diverse City

SUMMARY

Organizers:

Marcia Wallace
York University
CANADA
mwallace@yorku.ca

Katherine Pestieau
Metropolis Project Team
CANADA
kp_metro@istar.ca

Description:

Cities are the primary destination of immigrants and are being transformed by the growing diversity of their populations. This workshop will explore the implications of these realities for city planners and the planning process in general. City Planning encompasses many aspects of urban life; from land use and zoning to the delivery of municipal services, including architecture and urban design.

The session will begin by giving voice to the practitioners and hearing their experience at planning in an immigrant rich context and/or highly diverse environment. What are the challenges they face, the stakeholders they interact with and the constraints within which they must negotiate? The second part of the session will examine the notion of "Multicultural Planning". What does it mean to plan amidst diversity and what does it entail for planners and the populations they serve? The workshop should uncover best practices and how to face the challenges within current administrative structures, but also explore the need for new institutions and rules governing urban life to reach the goal of a socially cohesive and sustainable urban environment.

In the first half of the session planners will be the principal speakers, while community groups and researchers who have expertise in the area will present their perspective. The second half will hear from representatives of all three groups who have reflected on the future of planning in a context of diversity. To focus on international comparisons, presenters will be drawn from Canada, the U.S., Australia, Europe and Asia.

Presenters

Katherine Pestieau, Metropolis Project Team, CANADA (co-chair)
Wendy Au, City of Vancouver, CANADA
Pieter Bol, City of Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS
David Edgington, University of British Columbia, CANADA Paper
Rebekka Ehret, University of Basel, SWITZERLAND
Wardlow Friesen, University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Julie Elizabeth Gagnon, INRS-Urbanisation, CANADA
Irene Kessler, Wiener Integrationsfonds, AUSTRIA
Patrick Simon, National Demography Institute, FRANCE
Susan Thompson, University of New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Marcia Wallace, York University, CANADA (co-chair)

Schedule of Workshop