Abstract
In this research I evaluated the role of collaboration in regional planning in the Calgary Metropolitan Region (CMR), one of largest and fastest growing metropolitan regions in North America. The CMR has a long tradition of regional planning, dating back to 1951, throughout which collaboration has been seen as a key tool to achieve integrated economic development, efficient water management, and sustainable urban growth. Despite these anticipated outcomes, the CMR has failed to develop effective collaborative planning processes to shape its future. Understanding the regional planning practices undertaken by the Calgary Regional Planning Commission (CRPC) from 1951–1995 is critical to evaluating the current planning practices utilized by the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP). Therefore, an evaluative framework was developed to analyze the actions and planning processes used by both organizations within their different historical contexts. The evaluation factors were organized and collected from three important sources: the literature on collaborative planning and metropolitan governance, the practices of regional planning in Calgary, and multiple case studies of regional collaboration in metropolitan regions across North America and Europe. I found that evaluation factors related to organizational capacity and leadership, communication and dialogical processes, and regional identity strongly affect the success or failure of collaborative planning in metropolitan regions. The CRPC did not develop these functions adequately, and as a result, conflicts rooted in differences in interests and values between urban and rural municipalities within the CMR arose. These conflicts eventually lead to the abolition of the CRPC in 1995. Following this, critical issues, such as urban sprawl, water scarcity, and imbalanced development predominated planning discourse. Municipalities in the CMR established the CRP as a voluntary organization to coordinate regional development. The CRP made significant improvements to its regional planning approach. However, there are still challenges to be addressed regarding organization, communicative action, and regional identity if the CRP’s collaborative planning approach is to result in consensus around the Calgary Metropolitan Plan. After examining the socio-economic and political circumstances that helped shape the region, I offer recommendations to improve planning processes in the CMR.
