The Sustainable Cities: PLUS Planning Cycle is a generic summary of the principles and stages of long-term planning for sustainability developed by Nola-Kate Seymoar and the PLUS Network Steering Committee, using a participatory action research approach and based on the experiences of various cities that are members of the PLUS Network.
Six Stages of the PLUS Planning Cycle
1 Awareness and Scoping
Planning for sustainability begins when a community recognizes their need to become sustainable, usually in response to a serious challenge, like climate change or a mine closure, or because they have been inspired by another city. This ‘push’ or ‘pull’ helps to build commitment to change the status quo. Having decided to change, the city then scopes out the nature of its planning project. During this stage, the community typically assesses its capacity to engage in a long-term planning process, establishes the geographic and jurisdictional scope and the timeframes, budgets and resources, and creates a multi-stakeholder project team.
 2 Visioning
In this stage, the community articulates a vision of the city in 100 years, or two generations out. Some cities use large-scale participatory processes, like Imagine Calgary or Imagine Durban, whereas others use smaller multi-sectoral processes like roundtables, focusing on themes such as environmental, social, cultural, economic and governance systems. The vision is based on shared community values, strengths and assets, and on sustainability principles.
3 Establishing the Baseline, Exploring the Options
The project team gathers data to establish the current status on various issues such as energy or water. With the baseline established, the team then sets exploratory targets and indicators for review with municipal staff and others who will be critical to implementation.
4 Developing Strategies
With targets and indicators defined, the timeframe is shifted to the medium term for the identification of strategic priorities for reaching the vision and goals. The resulting action plans are both comprehensive and integrated.
5 Implementation
The implementation stage involves the creation of a budget and workplan and aligning it both with the vision and goals and with other municipal operating plans. Responsibilities are assigned and decision matrices to guide actions are adopted.
6 Monitoring, Reporting, Celebrating and Adapting
Progress is measured against sustainability goals, targets and timeframes using the sustainability indicators and base-line data in a transparent process. The information is used to celebrate successes and adjust action plans
Principles of the PLUS Planning Cycle
The planning cycle is underpinned by the following principles:
• Adopting a long-term outlook, typically more than two generations out;
• Viewing the city as a complex system;
• Using an integrated and comprehensive approach;
• Using adaptive management and collective learning;
• Focusing on a city’s bioregion, ecological footprint and neighbors;
• Using participatory engagement.
Frameworks and Tools
The stages and principles of the planning cycle are consistent with a large number of frameworks and tools currently used by cities and communities in Canada and around the world, including:
• The Natural Step
• Sustainable Planning and Design Essentials (the decision making framework first developed for citiesPLUS)
• Smart Growth
• Local Agenda/Action 21
• Earth Charter Action Tools
• Tools such as MetroQUEST, design charrettes and others.
An Organic, Iterative Process
The cycle is not meant to lay out a rigid linear sequence. In the real world of cities trying to achieve long-term sustainability, the planning process is organic and messy—in short, human. While this cycle suggests stages one to six with a defined start and finish, each city moves through it and organizes itself in its own distinct way. Some planning frameworks involve a different sequence.
The Sustainable Cities: PLUS Planning Cycle is intended to describe an ongoing, iterative process that sometimes feels chaotic as work proceeds in parallel. The cycle is flexible and adaptable to each city’s specific situation and needs, readiness, capacity and existing planning processes. Cities can “join” the process at any stage. This process is like an upward spiral. Even if external circumstances change (economic movements or climatic events, for example) and initial projections have to be adjusted, the city will still be closer to sustainability than before engaging in the process.
Cities and communities that embark on the long-term planning process are invited to share their experience and lessons with others through the International Centre for Sustainable Cities and the Sustainable Cities: PLUS Network.
For More Information
For the full background paper:
 The Sustainable Cities PLUS Planning Cycle (860.98 kB)
For powerpoint presentation by Nola-Kate Seymoar at the 2008 PLUS Network conference in Durban, click here
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