In 2004, Ottawa council approved the Downtown Ottawa Urban Design Strategy. That wide-ranging document contains a grand overall vision for the urban core of Ottawa that most citizens can agree with. The Strategy aims to make Ottawa a more walkable, vibrant place to live, begining with its physical design. It covers everything from opening up the Escarpment District on the west side of downtown to integrating the University of Ottawa with its Sandy Hill surroundings to the east. The result is an excellent overview of potential improvements to the core, including streetscaping, sensitive infill, and opening up the Rideau Canal to the downtown area. Details can be found at http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/planning/community_plans/completed/urban_design/index_en.html

Of course, as good as the overall vision may be, the devil is in the details. Whereas the strategy document takes an overall view of the city's development, individual projects face numerous constraints ranging from the budgetary constraint to the NIMBY action. As a result, the integrity of the overall strategy can suffer as a result of pressures which often have undue influence on the planning process.

My goal in writing this is to give some attention to urban design issues as they fit into the overall strategy for re-making Ottawa into a 21st century urban environment. I am hoping that it will contribute to the discussion in a positive way. It may fail, but at least I will have tried.