Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe)
| Ontario's Greenbelt | |
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| Location | Southern Ontario, Canada |
| Area | 7,200 square kilometres (2,800 sq mi) |
| Established | 2005 |
| http://www.greenbelt.ca/ | |
The Greenbelt is a permanently protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It surrounds a significant portion of Canada's most populated and fastest-growing area—the Golden Horseshoe.
Created by legislation passed by the Government of Ontario in 2005, the Greenbelt is considered a major step in the prevention of urban development and sprawl on environmentally sensitive land in the province. The Government of Ontario states that the Greenbelt includes 800,000 acres (323,748.5 hectares) of land protected by the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan plus 1 million acres (404,685.6 hectares) of land in the Protected Countryside overarching Greenbelt Plan. That total (7,284 km² or 2,812 mi²) makes this is one of the largest and most successful greenbelts in the world. The Government of Ontario is committed to increasing its size in future.
The Greenbelt is established around the Golden Horseshoe, which is one of the fastest growing urban areas in North America. The population in the region increased from 6.5 to 7.7 million between 1991 and 2001. The population increase put urban development pressure on areas surrounding the Greater Toronto and Hamilton. Between 1996 and 2001, the amount of farmland decreased by 7% in the GTA, and by 6% in Hamilton. The Golden Horseshoe's population is projected to increase to 11.5 million by 2031.
The idea of establishing a greenbelt in Ontario was created by newly elected Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty in his Speech from the Throne in November 2003. Bill 27, the Greenbelt Protection Act, 2004 became law on June 24, 2004. The new legislation, in conjunction with a zoning order issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, created a study area and placed a moratorium on some land uses until a specific plan was established. Bill 135, the Greenbelt Act, 2005 was introduced to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for first reading of the bill in October 2004, and became law on February 28, 2005. It now provides permanent protection for the Greenbelt area.
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