So I've been reading for my online class, mostly about Land Use planning, and how it relates to environmental stewardship, which reminded me of an old post from my previous class:
Greenbelt vs Private Property
Is it our right to own private property? If you own property should you be entitled to do what you wish with it? I admit where I live there is not a whole lot of Greenbelt action it is when I am travelling that I notice the Greenbelt signs, what’s that all about? The Greenbelt is 1.8 million acres (728,000 hectares) surrounding the Golden Horseshoe, Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park, agricultural land, pristine environment, and hundreds of rural towns and villages (1). The Greenbelt was created by legislation in February of 2005 (2). The purpose of the Greenbelt is to protect key environmentally sensitive land and farmlands from urban development and sprawl such as forests, watersheds, and green space communities (1).
I believe that the Greenbelt act is necessary along with other acts on development and planning, environmental sensitive areas, etc. Yes as a landowner you should have freedom over your land. But you should be a responsible landowner. You need to realize that the land that you own is part of something bigger and you need to be cautious of your actions and how it will affect the rest of the land. You cannot own all the fish in a lake or all the trees in a forest, to suggest you own all of the trees on your homestead sound’s a bit out there, do you then own all the animals that it provides habitat for. A person cannot own parts of a forest, or watershed just because it lies within their property lines. They do own their buildings and have a right to build on the land but must follow the policies and procedures that go along with it. If the land was going to be used for industrial use or public buildings such as schools it would have to be planned and approved according to ministry guidelines, so why should a private land owner be entitled to destroy the land? The Green Belt Act protects our land and we should abide by it, it is in our best interest to sustain the land and the species within it. I feel that we do have a right to own land, but within that right lies responsibility to the land itself. If the land should not be further developed then perhaps it has already been degraded and we should either move on to new land, or try to fix what is left of the land or what can be done to the existing space.
This quote really says it all: " the reality is that the farmer, the chef, the scientist, the cyclist and many
rural residents all share a passion for the same thing – Ontario’s greatest environmental statement, the Greenbelt."
I really wish the Greenbelt would expand to Southwestern Ontario, Ie London, Windsor, and beyond :). I have found lots of resources, and will read them when I find some time.
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