Ottawa Official Plan 2021
Core idea
Transect-based plan, 15-minute neighborhoods
Why it matters
Modern statutory plan for capital
Description
The statutory Official Plan for Ottawa adopted by the City of Ottawa in 2021, replacing its 2003 predecessor. It organises the capital through a transect approach, grading urban form from the downtown core through inner-urban and suburban rings to rural areas, and commits the city to achieving most growth through intensification, with '15-minute neighbourhood' principles guiding local services and walkability. It integrates land use with the city's light-rail investment and climate objectives.
Significance
Ottawa's plan is notable for translating the transect concept, associated with American New Urbanism, into a Canadian statutory instrument at metropolitan scale. It represents the mainstreaming of intensification and 15-minute-city ideas in North American capital-city planning, though debates continue over suburban boundary expansion and the pace of actual modal change.
What shaped it
- The 15-Minute City (2016)
- Transit-oriented development (TOD) (1993)
- The compact city (1973-1990s)
- The Image of the City (1960)
Sources
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/official-plan-approved-city-ottawa-1.6227321
- https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-development-and-construction/community-design/healthy-communities/