Ontario

Ontario
Professional Planners
Professional Planners
Institute
Institute

Ontario

PLANNING
March / April 2017 Vol. 32, No. 2

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABLE
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
COMMUNITIES Journal

Planning in the
new millennium
A look at planning across the generations
 There is no official designation associated with being a
Professional Practice Candidate Member of OPPI. If you are a Candidate, you are
of course entitled to claim this status on your resume or
curriculum vitae, or in a letter or conversation, where you can
Summaries dont explain it clearly. However, claiming a non-existent
designation such as RPP (Candidate) on a business card,
replace code etc., could potentially confuse other people. In a worst case
scenario, it could lead to a complaint to OPPIs Discipline
Committee that you are being intentionally misleading about
Dear Dilemma,
your status. Therefore, we strongly advise against the use of
I recently did something in my professional planning practice, such manufactured titles.
and a colleague told me it was improper. So I checked the There is some flexibility as to which post-nominals to use
summary of the Professional Code of Practice that was and in what sequence. But the general rule seems to be that
recently printed in the journal. I dont see that Ive broken any you cite academic degrees, followed by professional licences,
of the rules spelled out there. followed by professional certifications (such as RPP), followed
So Im okay, right? by professional associations and affiliations (such as MCIP, if
Ignorance of the Law, RPP applicable). Typically, you only list the most relevant 3-4 post-
nominals, otherwise you risk looking like a spilled bowl of
Dear Ignorance of the Law,
alphabet soup.
Your conduct may or may not have been improper, but you And of course you should use the acronyms that will be
havent yet consulted the correct document to properly figure best recognized and most relevant in the circumstances.
that out. Perhaps you play a mean oboe on the weekendsbut your
The summary that you refer to says in the last point that heritage planning clients probably dont care that you have an
Registered Professional Planners must meet and exceed the MFA in music, and belong to the Canadian Federation of
requirements of the OPPI Professional Code of Practice Musicians, Local 149.
The OPPI by-law that governs your membership also states Now that weve straightened this out, lets meet for a
that All Full and Candidate Members are obligated to adhere postprandial drink
to and be bound by the Professional Code of Practice of the
Institute attached hereto (section 2.2.3).So its pretty clear Brian Brophey is OPPI Registrar & Director, Member Relations.
that you must abide by the Professional Code of Practice, as
found in the OPPI by-law and on the Institutes website.
Summaries or explanations of the code may be helpful, but Social Media
they are not definitive. It is your professional and ethical

3D Printing the Future

responsibility to comply with the full Professional Code of
Practice. So go online and find out what it says. After all
ignorance of the law is no excuse for improper conduct.

A
Yours in the public interest, By Robert Voigt, RPP, contributing editor
Dilemma
t the close of 2016, the Ontario Professional
Planners Institute issued its latest Call to Action:
Professional practice Healthy Communities and Planning for the
Public Realm. Among the directions it provided
A planner by any other to professional planners was a need to work collaboratively
and effectively with the citizens that will be affected by the

name, is not an RPP public realm. It encourages members and all stakeholders
to continue discussions on topics related to the public
realm, and how they can help to create healthy

A
By Brian Brophey communities.
This highlights the intersection of two
re you handling your post- of the most common challenges for
nominals correctly? I dont planners: having meaningful dialogue
mean to be rude with stakeholders, and improving
Im talking about the letters understanding of complex issues
and acronyms that come after your name associated with urban design and the
on your business card or signature block. built environment. I feel that there is one
As you know, in Ontario there are particularly interesting and potentially
certain conditions on the use of the powerful technological advancement
designation RPP: the governing that can assist with both these
provincial legislation reserves the title for Full Members of challenges, one that will become commonplace in the near
OPPI, and the OPPI by-law further restricts it to practicing future3D printing.
Full Members who are fulfilling the requirements of Full Most of us have only seen or heard of 3D printing as part
Membership (including meeting the annual CPL requirement). of a group of technologies that is leading edge, and can make

Vol. 32, No. 2, 2017 | 27

 for motivating TED Talk presentations. It may be viewed as a simulations have replaced physical models because of their
fringe technology today; however, 3D printing is already in many advantages, including: portability through digital
use in some areas of planning and urban design. It holds communication and social networks and ease of editing or
many advantages, and could be easily adapted to improve altering to show alternative design arrangements. And, better
current practices and methods. yet, they are inexpensive.
3D printing is exactly what it sounds like. Also known However, as professionals we often forget that drawings,
as additive manufacturing, it is generally a process by illustrations, aerial photos and digital graphics require a skill
which a computer controlled machine uses a combination set to understand. Not everyone has these skills or is
of resins to create a three-dimensional object by placing comfortable working with images. However, there is a real
successive layers of materials on top of each other. The advantage to using scale models to express the built
digital models, or designs, that are printed can be created environment over drawings and digital visual simulations.
through computer-aided design (CAD), through 3D Models allow the viewers to choose their own perspective to
scanners, or photogrammetry (such as Lidar surveying, get a better sense of scale and the relationship to
that uses lasers to take highly accurate measurements of neighbouring conditions and forms of developments. They do
the environment). not require specialized knowledge and help eliminate
The first 3D printers required extensive mechanical and language and age barriers, and there is generally less
technical skill, and were very costly. Their use has expanded confusion about what is being depicted. Details about things
significantly in the past few years into a wide variety of such as grade changes, circulation routes, potential shadows,
manufacturing industries ranging from custom automobile and so on, are almost inherently evident when looking at a
parts, to prosthesis prototyping and production. The model.
evolution of maker and hacker culture has also pushed The level of comfort and ease for exploring and
advances in creating 3D printing equipment that is within the analyzing the features presented by a large group, which can
reach of average citizens. 3D printers are becoming common be having several non-expert users, can be a comparative
and will soon be mainstream. They are easy to operate and advantage over the 3D digital visualization. Also it
relatively inexpensive. You can now buy one for under $2,000 eliminates the need to have a digital display system every
from online office supply retailers. time, which could be a hindrance in some cases. (T.
Generally new technology is not completely disruptive Ghawana, S. Zlatanova in 3D printing for urban planning:
of an existing system. Typically, it involves being integrated A physical enhancement of spatial perspective, Delft
with existing tools and tactics. Its really about an University of Technology, GIS Technology Section, Delft,
evolution, as opposed to superseding current technology. Netherlands July 31, 2016.)
In fact, sometimes new technology creates renewed Fortunately, 3D printing now provides contemporary
awareness and ability to reinvent past traditional methods planners with a method of crafting these easily
with greater efficiency or effectiveness. 3D printing of understood representations of our built environment,
scale models for developments and the built environment with many of the same cost, time, and adaptability
could do just that. advantages of digital simulations. Whats old is new again:
The use of scale models to depict urban design scenarios in Oslo Norway a 1:1000 scale 3D printed model of the
through the planning process is quite rare now. Virtual digital city is being used by the Agency for Planning and

Congratulations!
Full members who became certified as Registered Professional Planners
Congratulations to our 47 Full members who successfully completed their Full membership certification in summer 2016
and became certified as Registered Professional Planners. The title RPP signifies both their achievement and their pledge to
abide by OPPIs Professional Code of Practice. We applaud their commitment to the public interest, to quality professional
standards, and to advancing healthy and sustainable communities.
Lina Al-Dajani Matthew Dumont Caroline Kimble Julia Pierdon Julia Smachylo
Kimberley Baldwin Matthew Edwards Lukasz Kot Jaime Posen Adrianna Spinosa
Jonathan Benczkowski Meagan Ferris Casey Kulchycki Kayla Rell Jeffrey Thompson
Erika Brown Heather Finlay Michelle Kwok Heather Sewell David Veights
Melissa Campbell Andrea Friedman Samantha Lahey Sabrina Sgotto Lindsay Wiginton
Joyce Chen Kate Goslett Kelsey Lang Meng Xi (Stream) Shen Nicole Zambri
Ann Marie Chung Adam Grossi Jennifer Maestre Simona Simion Tania Zimmerman
Stephen Corr Julie Hannah Tolek Makarewicz
Alisha Cull Jennifer Huff Yuri Mantsvetov The notice is accurate at the time of going to press.
For questions regarding membership, please email
Danielle De Fields Tate Kelly Devon McCloskey membership@ontarioplanners.ca or call 416.483.1873 ext. 222.
Antonio De Franco Kristy Kilbourne Jeff Medeiros

28 | ONTARIO PLANNING JOURNAL

Building Services. In this case the model was generated using
Lidar data. It is a valuable tool for fostering planning-related
dialogue and increasing understanding of the built Hire a Summer
environment.
And it doesnt just stop with people coming together to view
Student!
Believe it or not summer is
and discuss a proposed design represented to scale with 3D fast approaching, and its
printed coloured resin. Open source design processes can allow time to start thinking about
people to submit their own design ideas for 3D printing. This employing a summer
way, we could see processes where various individuals and student or intern. Support
stakeholder groups put forth many different scenarios for student planners along their
discussion. This approach facilitates their participation in professional journey.
crafting the public realm and being key actors in the valuable Contribute to the future of
placemaking exercises we need to make our communities the planning profession.
healthy. In these ways 3D printing can also be democratizing in
the communication and creative processes of community
planning. ...and be involved
3D printing has a great future in planning and community Member-led events, online groups, District-level activities
design, helping professional planners work more and partner collaborations are just some of the ways you
collaboratively and effectively with citizens. It will do this by can get involved. Make a difference in Ontarios planning
becoming one of those special technologies that simultaneously profession. Log on to your Member Profile and click on
opens new horizons while reconnecting us with past Volunteer Opportunities to sign up today.
traditional skills.

Robert Voigt MCIP, RPP is a professional planner, artist and writer,

Letters to the Editor Members are encouraged to send
recognized as an innovator in community engagement and healthy letters about content in the Ontario Planning Journal to the editor.
community design. He is a member of OPPI and the chair of the Please direct comments or questions about Institute activities to the
OPPI Planning Issues Strategy Group, member of PPS Placemaking OPPI president at the OPPI office or by email to the executive
Leadership Council and publishes Civicblogger.com. Contact: director. Keep letters under 150 words. Letters may be edited for
@robvoigt, rob@robvoigt.com. length and clarity.

Specializing in
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Municipal Planning Services

Private Planning Services

Development Planning
Urban Design I Landscape Architecture I Planning I Communications
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