Applying community design principles to amenity area development in Ontario's Blue Mountains

Amenity migration is the settlement of people on a permanent or intermittent basis in places that are perceived to be rich in environmental and cultural amenities. The resulting community often has negative social, economic and environmental impacts, which will be addressed using established community design approaches that demonstrate significant contributions to sustainable design. A set of community design principles will be synthesized from these approaches and applied to the design of Castle Glen Development, near the amenities of Ontario's Blue Mountains. The design is evaluated using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighbourhood Developments (LEED-ND) rating tool to assess the sustainability of the design. Results indicate that the design does not meet the sustainable neighbourhood development standards accepted by LEED-ND due primarily to the remoteness of the proposed site within the amenity area. Nonetheless, application of the principles did contribute to reducing the negative impacts of the development and meeting the potential needs of amenity migrants.