Yukon Land Development Assessment
+ Planning Study

Client Government of Yukon
Location Whitehorse | Yukon | Canada

Communities and First Nations groups in the Yukon area expressed concerns with respect to land development, specifically with continuing constraints in the land and housing market that limit economic competitiveness and growth. To respond to this need, the Government of Yukon (YG) Department of Community Services, Infrastructure Development Branch (CS-Infrastructure) carried out the first in a series of projects to assess the land development issues and related processes in the Yukon, as well as provide recommendations for policy and planning improvements initiatives. O2 assembled a talented and multidisciplinary team of experts in regional and municipal planning, land development, spatial analysis, GIS tools, economic analysis, and communications to meet the needs of CS-Infrastructure. 

The workplan for this project included an initial project study plan, development of community study areas with similar development drivers and constraints, review of existing data on development and local land use policies will be compiled for this analysis, and site meetings that were conducted as part of the tour to collect information regarding the development process.

O2 also provided three research reports on best practices in land development from other jurisdictions, current trends in land development and the development process, as well as a situational analysis to be performed that assesses the current context of land development and land supply on the ground in Yukon communities. A comprehensive issues characterization analysis addressed all identified issues from the background research for action by the Government of Yukon and CS-Infrastructure, followed by the completion of an Economic and Land Demand Forecasting Models and Land Supply Options Decision Making Tool.

The final report will compiled all of the material produced in this project to provide a comprehensive, holistic picture of the land development system in the Yukon, as well as a road map to guide additional work in making the Yukon land development system more streamlined and transparent.