As the City of Burlington continues to grow, we need a strategic response to address the emerging economic and demographic changes. Our Vision 2040 Strategic Plan addresses these changes and provides us with guidance for long-term decision making and resource management. This will help us prepare for future challenges and opportunities.
While our Strategic Plan looks at a 25-year period, we will be reviewing it with the community every four years.
Strategic goals
There are four key strategic visions for Burlington in our Strategic Plan. Learn more about what each goal represents and how we are measuring progress in each one.
A city that grows
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As our population grows, we aspire to have:
- Buildings and public spaces where people can live, work or gather
- Economically and socially active rural areas
- Innovative, entrepreneurial businesses settled or developed in Burlington
- More people who live in Burlington also work in Burlington
- Our downtown be culturally active, thriving and home to a mix of residents and businesses
- Residents close to goods and services
Our measurable goals include having:
- 106,000 employed residents in Burlington by 2031
- A minimum of 50% of new housing units produced annually be in the form of townhouses or multi-story buildings
- A minimum of 30% of new housing units produced annually be affordable or assisted housing
- A population of 193,000 by 2031
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A city that moves
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We want people to be able to move throughout the city more efficiently and safely.
We aspire to have:
- Convenient and timely transit connections between municipalities
- Our rural areas connected to the City
- People rely less on automobiles
- Transit rider access to regional and provincial transportation networks
- Walkable neighbourhoods well connected throughout the City
Our measurable goals include having:
- Transit mode share reach 15% and continuing to grow
- Modal split of 70% car, 15% transit, 15% active transportation and the car mode share continuing to decline
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A healthy and greener city
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To create a more sustainable community, we aspire to have:
- A clean, safe and useable waterfront
- A healthy thriving urban forest and increased tree canopy
- Access to parks and amenities for residents in rural Burlington
- Every Burlington resident live within a 15- to 20-minute walk from parks or green space
- Leadership in storm water management and low impact development
- Multi-use parks and green spaces
- Our community and City operations net carbon-neutral
- Our rural area and waterfront easily accessible
- Recreation and sports programs widely available to all residents
- Residents grow their own fresh and healthy food
Our measurable goals include having:
- An increase of our tree canopy to 35%
- Our city operations be net carbon neutral
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An engaging city
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We aspire to have a community where members are engaged, empowered and well-served by their City through having:
- A customer centric approach in all City service areas
- All residents, especially newcomers, feel welcomed and at home in Burlington
- City information that is always accessible
- Infrastructure in good condition
- New infrastructure that is paid for by new development
Our measurable goals include having:
- 80% of residents consistently feeling that meaningful engagement occurs where community input would help shape decisions
- 85% of customers using on-line services having an outstanding and customer-focused digital experience
- Our infrastructure funding gap eliminated by 2040
- The customer experience considered 100% of the time in the design and delivery of all services
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Supporting plans
Our Strategic Plan is supported by other City plans, including our:
Burlington – Partnering for Success
Burlington works with other levels of government. This partnership helps us provide services and achieve our goals. Partnering also supports the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to improve community well-being.
This is a long-term vision for the future so the Strategic Plan is a living document. This means Vision 2040 is monitored, reviewed and evaluated on an ongoing basis. There may be changes along the way like global, regional, and city events. Also, other levels of government may influence change. Vision 2040 will adjust as needed.
