2022 06 28 | Host: Colin Heggie | Kathleen Heggie - Trends in Community Planning

Kathleen Heggie was hosted by her father Colin. Kathleen is a 2018 graduate of UBC’s Master of Community & Regional Planning degree program, & has worked since then for Vancouver, BC based EcoPlan International, a boutique consultancy offering a variety of planning & economic development services, mostly to small municipalities, regional districts & First Nations, with the balance coming from large organizations or the BC government. Their work is values-based, participatory, collaborative, reflective, structured, adaptive & results-focused, using variations of a four-part approach, asking “where are we now, where do we want to go, how do we get there, & have we arrived?” She described three different recent projects, distinguishing between “comprehensive” as opposed to “official” community plans – where the former, often used by First Nations, includes references to values not usually a part of the latter; climate adaptation planning, which is drawing a lot more attention; and “age-friendly” planning, which addresses concerns of older adults & seniors in a community. Most of her work is won through a competitive bid process (Requests For Proposals), with some coming from word of mouth referrals.