The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) is the recognized voice of the province's planning profession. OPPI provides leadership on policy related to community planning, development, the environment, and related issues. As the Ontario affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners [1] (CIP), OPPI represents approximately 3,000 practising planners across the province and approximately 500 student members. OPPI members work for government, private industry, community agencies, and academic institutions.
OPPI members are committed to creating and fostering healthy communities throughout Ontario. Planners recognize how land use planning decisions shape communities in many ways - obesity, heart disease, mental health, social isolation, nutrition, and air quality. In keeping with this commitment, OPPI issued a position paper called Healthy Communities, Sustainable Communities, several Calls to Action have been released and the Institute recently partnered with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on a publication entitled Planning by Design: A Healthy Communities Handbook. These efforts explore the links between public health and land use planning and includes strategies for collaborating on tangible actions that result in healthier communities.
OPPI partners include the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing [2] and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario [3].