Perspectives on the Municipal Role in Effectuating Sustainable Industrial Park Development and Operations: The Hamilton, Ontario Case

Abstract

Within the greater movement of sustainable development, industrial practices have been identified as a key area in which much improvement is both necessary and possible. The development and operation of industrial parks have become a focus of these efforts. The basic premise of this thesis is that a sustainable industrial park should function in an economically competitive manner that provides for human needs through market mechanisms while doing so in alliance with the local community, in congruence with the local ecosystem and within the carrying capacity of the planet. From a municipal planning and economic development perspective, this thesis focuses upon the development of a municipal strategy to effectuate sustainable industrial development and operations. Utilizing a blended theoretical approach incorporating general systems theory and planning theories, the proposed industrial park surrounding the Hamilton International Airport, in the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has been analyzed to develop a viable sustainability vision for the park, identify barriers to implementing and achieving that vision, and formulate a municipal strategy to promote and enable the pursuit and realization of that vision. It was found that there is an important role for the municipality to assume and numerous opportunities for concrete municipal action throughout the planning, development and operational stages of the industrial park. Upon reflection of the research process, the findings were extrapolated to garner wider applicability and relevance to other municipalities provincially, nationally, and internationally, as well as to the professional and academic community involved in industrial sustainability.