Towards smart regional growth: institutional complexities and the regional governance of Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt

The task of developing regional greenbelts poses multidimensional challenges to policymakers. Unlike their early 20th-century predecessors, these greenspaces incorporate multiple functions including growth management, farmland and environmental protection, increasing economic competitiveness. This multifunctional approach greenbelt management involves considerable governance complexities, as an number policy fields such growth, agriculture, housing, nature conservation, different levels various territorial jurisdictions become involved in implementation. However, institutional dimensions contemporary are hardly reflected within the literature. is also case for Greater Golden Horseshoe region Southern Ontario, Canada, where a Greenbelt Plan was implemented 2005. By engaging with perspectives on governance, we analyse how smart have been influenced by vertical, horizontal coordination politics at provincial local levels. We conclude that despite government intervention planning, impact market pressures, coalitions problems prevent policies from delivering significant changes promised Ontario government.