Coupling Sustainable Development Goal 11.3.1 with current planning tools: city of Hamilton, Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT The city of Hamilton, Ontario, provides services to its residents through rigorous land-use planning and management. Policies, guidelines, manuals, plans, and specifications are the tools used for land-use planning. Goal Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change seeks to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” In this study, the SDG 11.3.1 indicator – the ratio of the land consumption rate to the population growth rate – is estimated for three periods: 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015. The indicator values for the three study periods are 0.915, 0.84, and 0.783, respectively, meaning that the population growth rate is greater than the land consumption rate. This study forms a baseline assessment of the indicator and tries to couple it with the present land-use planning tools for monitoring as well as future developments. The key area looked at in this study for planning is stormwater management for projected climate change.