York University Conference on Urban Planning & Multiculturalism Investigates How Planning Can Accommodate Ethnic Diversity/How Does City Planning in Vancouver, Europe Compare to GTA?

TORONTO, February 10, 2000 -- The Greater Toronto Area, a beacon for newcomers to Canada, embraces the largest percentage of Canada's immigration and visible minority population. With that presence comes challenges for both urban planners and the recently arrived -- witness recent land-use issues that have attracted widespread media attention in the region: Asian malls in Markham; mosques in East York.

During a York University conference, entitled Planning in a Multicultural Region, Tues., Feb. 15, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., academics, professionals and people interested in urban planning and diversity issues will examine how immigration and ethnic diversity affect the way cities are planned and compare how planning practices in the GTA differ from those in Vancouver and in European cities. They will focus their minds around such questions as:

To what extent is multiculturalism a source of local economic development?

How should planners accommodate cultural difference in land use?

How should cities strive to build culturally sensitive housing alternatives?

"The GTA has the largest share of Canada's immigration and visible minority population, yet there is very little evidence of how this region's multiculturalism intersects with the urban planning process," said York University Urban Studies Prof. Marcia Wallace. "The purpose of this conference is to discuss and compare how we might best meet the challenges of urban planning in the GTA, while at the same time meet the needs of our ethnic communities in the planning process."

Wendy Au, a multicultural planner from the City of Vancouver, will give a talk entitled: Planning Amidst Diversity: a Look at Practice, which will examine how Vancouver has instituted multicultural community planning as an approach to the city's wider social and economic planning challenges, particularly in light of new challenges arising from the city's burgeoning Asian population.

Dr. Andreas Wimmer, Director of the Centre for Development Research at the University of Bonn and an expert in political and cultural change, will argue that European cities have taken a more proactive role than North American cities in delivering services to new immigrants during his talk: A Proactive Approach to Urban Immigration.

The conference is presented in collaboration with the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (York/UofT/Ryerson), the Metropolis Project, and Urban Forum as part of a four-city series (Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal) of conferences/workshops on immigration and urban planning.

WHO:

York University Geography Prof. Valerie Preston

Greg Fyffe, Asst. Deputy Minister, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Wendy Au, Multicultural Planner, City of Vancouver

Dr. Andreas Wimmer, Director, Centre for Development Research, University of Bonn

WHAT:
Planning in a Multicultural Region: a working conference on urban planning and diversity issues in the GTA

WHEN:
Tuesday, February 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: Vari Hall, (Lecture Hall D), York University, 4700 Keele Street

-30-

For more information, please see the attached agenda or contact:

Prof. Marcia Wallace
Urban Studies Program
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 77829
mwallace@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086 kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/015/00

---

Planning in a Multicultural Region
Agenda

9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Opening Remarks

Portrait of Diversity in the GTA: Prof. Valerie Preston, Geography Department, York University

The Policy Context of Canadian Immigration: Greg Fyffe, Asst. Deputy Minister, Policy & Programs Development, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Planning Amidst Diversity: a Look at Practice: Wendy Au, Multicultural Planner, City of Vancouver

10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Morning Workshops

a) Resolving Conflict: The role of planning: Presentations will explore conventional land use issues that have attracted widespread media attention, including Asian malls, funeral homes and mosques.

b) Accommodating Difference: the case for land use: Presentations will explore the changes multiculturalism brings to the urban form, the politics of representation in a case of landscape re-creation, and possibilities of outreach to a multicultural community for environmental stewardship.

1:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Afternoon Workshops

c) Multiculturalism: A source of economic development?: Presentation s will explore the potential for ethnic businesses as a source for neighbourhood redevelopment, the attraction of new immigrants with the ability to invest in the local economy, and support for small-scale immigrant economic development initiatives.

d) Housing a Diverse Population: building neighbourhoods: Presentations will explore emergency housing for newcomers, cooperative housing as a culturally-sensitive housing alternative, and the attraction of conventional suburban housing forms for many new and established immigrants.

3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Plenary / Closing Address

Best Practices, Lessons Learned: Reports from the Workshop Moderators.

A Proactive Approach to Urban Immigration: Dr. Andreas Wimmer, Director, Centre for Development Research University of Bonn, Germany.