- Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

The work of planners is to make urban and rural places better for the rest of us to live and work and play in. That was my take away from Thursday evening, when the planners of Grey County and Owen Sound celebrated 25 years of their professional designation by sharing broadly about the history, present and future of their work.
From the Niagara Escarpment to South Africa, and from the treasures of our built heritage to the health benefits of opportunities to connect with nature and get out of our cars, the presentations covered both the scope and the value of the planning profession.

We were able to try our hand at some planning of our own, with big bags of Lego to represent houses, parks, commercial, industrial and industrial buildings. The County planners take this exercise to local classrooms to help students as young as grade two get hands-on excitement about the process. Scott Taylor, one of a strong cohort of young planners in our region, commented that it is possible the computer game Sim City might be responsible for the career choice of his generation of planners.

For his part, Owen Sound planner Justin Teakle said his interest in heritage planning was influenced by a decision by his home town council to expropriate and remove a whole stretch of downtown buildings – most dating from the 1800s - with absolutely no plan for the empty space.

Although they themselves are not the decision makers, the work of planners supports “the health and well-being of urban and rural communities, by addressing the use of land, resources, facilities and services with consideration to physical, economic, and social efficiency,” according to the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Members of the Institute, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, “work in both the public service and the private sector, across fields such as land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, transportation planning, and economic development.