Winnipeg-Manitoba Capital Region Planning Framework and Use of MetroQuest

The Manitoba Capital Region includes Winnipeg and 14 other municipalities. A computer-based regional planning modelling system, MetroQuest, will be used to project environmental, fiscal, and socioeconomic growth for 40 years into the future. Scenario-based modelling may include water quality and supply (including potable water and lake stewardship), waste generation and disposal, infrastructure sustainability and cost, land use, transportation, economic activity, agricultural land preservation, municipal taxation, natural heritage, housing, recreation, and Red River Valley flood plain protection. Baseline data will be used to create scenarios and trends that will assist in defining targets for waste reduction, water conservation, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and air quality improvements. Additional goals include reducing urban sprawl, preserving agricultural and forest land, improving transportation, meeting municipal budgets, and creating employment. A preliminary analysis of a “movement toward sustainability alternative” compared to the business-as-usual scenario suggests that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be reduced by 59 per cent, carbon monoxide (CO) by 46 per cent, volatile organic compounds (VOC) by 43 per cent, nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 59 per cent, sulphur oxides (SOx) by 48 per cent and particulate matter (PM10) by 42 per cent.