Municipal Green and Natural Asset Management: Case Studies in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

Municipal Green and Natural Asset Management: Case Studies in the Greater Golden Horseshoe is a new report that seeks to advance understanding about natural asset management in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). The report includes case studies on the Town of Ajax, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Oakville, Durham Region, and Dufferin County to review the state of local infrastructure and barriers for implementation.

There is also a growing recognition of the role that natural infrastructure assets play in achieving multiple municipal objectives, like stormwater management, access to recreational greenspace, and climate change adaptation.

Municipalities are required and encouraged to plan and manage green infrastructure assets through several provincial policies. There is also a growing recognition of the role that natural infrastructure assets play in achieving multiple municipal objectives, like stormwater management, access to recreational greenspace, and climate change adaptation.

The objective of this study was to describe natural asset management policies in the GGH, identify opportunities to integrate natural asset inventories into policies other than asset management policies, and identify potential opportunities for natural asset inventories to be adapted to improve uptake.

What is Natural or Green Infrastructure?

The term green infrastructure is a contested term used by different governments to refer to different things. The Province of Ontario has included the term in many policies, typically using the definition outlined below:

Green infrastructure asset means an infrastructure asset consisting of natural or human-made elements that provide ecological and hydrological functions and processes and includes natural heritage features and systems, parklands, stormwater management systems, street trees, urban forests, natural channels, permeable surfaces and green roofs.

Municipal infrastructure asset means an infrastructure asset, including a green infrastructure asset, directly owned by a municipality or included on the consolidated financial statements of a municipality, but does not include an infrastructure asset that is managed by a joint municipal water board.