New Urban Expansion Areas are lands that were designated for urban development after the Growth Plan came into effect in June 2006 to accommodate the growth forecast for each municipality. Lands within New Urban Expansion Areas may not yet be fully approved for development. Approval requires the agreement of the municipal council, as well as of an upper level of government (a county, Regional Municipality, or the Province), and, in some cases approval from the Ontario Municipal Board.
Mapping Source:
The Neptis Foundation identified and mapped these areas through a review of municipal Official Plans, Official Plan Amendments and other planning documents before and after the introduction of the Growth Plan conformity amendments.
Additional Information:
Each municipality has calculated its own land requirements, but as of late 2013, the Province had not published overall totals for designated greenfield areas or settlement boundary expansions for the region as a whole. The Neptis Foundation therefore conducted its own research to determine the cumulative total for these numbers across the GGH: https://www.neptis.org/publications/how-will-growth-be-accommodated/chapters/land-supply-question