Ultimately, smart growth is achieved one development project at a time - through what in this report we have called "smart development". To date, we have not seen as much smart development in the region as we would like nor indeed as much as we need to achieve smart growth. There have been some encouraging signs recently, however, such as the Province's Smart Growth exercise for the Central Ontario Zone, and the high level of support and flexibility expressed by developers and builders who participated in our smart development workshop.
There are, however, a number of critical obstacles at present that are preventing smart development. This report has identified some of the key ones, and suggested areas for action. The region continues to grow by some 100,000 people every year. Swift, coherent and inspired action on all of the major areas identified in this report is needed if the Central Ontario Zone is to embrace smart growth.