Complete Communities
One way that the City of Winnipeg advances the sustainable development goals of OurWinnipeg is by ensuring that desired outcomes are fully implemented and achieved through Winnipeg's physical development. This happens through planning, policy, investment, and regulation that help shape development patterns, promote sustainable transportation systems, enable a healthy, compatible mix of land uses to support a growing population, and support the concept of complete communities in all parts of the city.
The Complete Communities Direction Strategy 2.0 (CCDS 2.0) relies on an Urban Structure; a tool to identify and define Winnipeg's physical components, not as they are today, but as they are envisioned.
Winnipeg has been growing and is expected to keep growing; by 2040, our city is expected to grow by more than 160,000 people, add more than 83,000 new jobs, and require approximately 82,000 new dwelling units. This will provide opportunities to promote downtown revitalization, transit-oriented development, and general intensification. To make sure we grow in the most sustainable way possible, the new Complete Communities Direction Strategy introduces three key directions:
- Targeting at least 50% of all new dwelling units to be built in the existing built-up area of the city. It will do this by making infill development easier, more desirable, and more predictable.
- Directing the highest residential and employment densities to areas best served by transit, to enhance the viability of sustainable transportation modes.
- Providing more direction regarding how to manage greenfield (undeveloped) land, and includes guidance about when land can be developed, and when the City will be able to invest in capital infrastructure (regional roads, pipes, etc.) to service these areas.
Further, this strategy also includes enhanced policies for downtown, established neighbourhoods, financing and management of growth and development, and management of commercial and industrial lands.
These updates to Complete Communities are based on research and consultations from the OurWinnipeg review process, where Winnipeggers said they want the City to be more strategic in how we grow, which involves adding density to places with existing infrastructure (established communities). These updates also provide opportunities for every neighbourhood to have a range of housing types, employment options, and transportation options available so people of every age and ability can live, work, and enjoy life in their own neighbourhood. Finally, these updates reflect what we heard from the community, helping to focus energy on implementing these goals and making the plan work.