Dirigiste and smart growth approaches to urban sprawl: Lessons from Scotland and British Columbia

Two communities operating under diverse planning systems, St. Andrews in Scotland and Prince George in British Columbia (BC), provide case studies for examining how planning tools are used in these jurisdictions to address urban containment issues. The dirigiste planning powers available under Scottish planning along with the institutional arrangements for funding Scottish local government facilitate greater containment than the community-centred approach favoured in BC, but at the expense of restricting local engagement in the process. BC's application of Smart Growth concepts suffers from more limited enforcement powers but offers its municipalities greater involvement in shaping their communities. © 2012 Board of Transatlantic Studies