The Greenbelt was proposed by
Jacques Gréber in 1950 as part of his
master plan for Ottawa, and the federal government started expropriating land in 1956. The majority of the lands were purchased by 1966 at an approximate cost of million (in 1966 dollars), of which around were acquired through
expropriation. Growth beyond the 500,000 to 600,000 limit anticipated within the Greenbelt was planned to take place in
satellite towns in rural areas beyond it, although these areas were not designated by the master plan. This proposal to build satellite towns was based on
Ebenezer Howard's 1898 Social Cities scheme and also drew on
Patrick Abercrombie's "
Greater London Plan", especially in the proposals for the Greenbelt to be implemented by development regulations. Prior to the completion of the Greber Plan, the Ottawa Area Planning Board (OAPB) was created in 1947 to control unregulated
suburban expansion. Despite its creation, suburban townships continued to approve low-density subdivisions without municipal services. In an effort to stop low-density suburban expansion, the City of Ottawa successfully annexed rural township lands to the future proposed inside boundary of the Greenbelt in 1948. The rural townships fought the annexation and continued to refuse to zone parts of their land to accommodate a Greenbelt after their loss. After six years of conflict with the rural townships, it became clear that unlike in the
Greater London Plan, it would not be possible to establish a Greenbelt using Ontario and Quebec planning legislation alone. As a result, in 1956 the
Government of Canada decided to buy or expropriate Greenbelt lands as required. Despite these efforts, research planner H.A. Hossé noted as early as 1960 that there were signs that the Ottawa Greenbelt would not be able to restrain urban sprawl. The surrounding rural townships of
Nepean and
Gloucester retained zoning jurisdiction on lands outside the Greenbelt and encouraged their continuing development to increase municipal tax revenues. The Greenbelt was easily crossed by car in a few minutes, and this did not stop civil servants from seeking more affordable homes outside of it. He concluded that without an active program of planning control by the local municipalities involved, or by the province, growth would continue unabated outside the Greenbelt. (2011)|thumb At the same time the Greenbelt was being assembled, developers were purchasing land beyond the belt for future use. The population grew much faster than Gréber had predicted, and his population forecast for the year 2000 was reached as early as 1970. In 1965, the suburb of
Kanata was built west of the Greenbelt in the Township of March, and the suburban communities of
Orleans (Gloucester/
Cumberland Township) and
Barrhaven (Nepean Township) grew up quickly to the east and south of Greenbelt lands, even before the inner suburbs had filled out. Highway development followed this suburban population growth, with
Highway 417 to
Montreal built through the eastern Greenbelt in 1975 and
Highway 416 extended south through the southwestern Greenbelt in 1996. The rapid population increase encouraged suburban politicians to press for more development outside Greenbelt lands. With the formation of the
Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 1969, suburban and rural politicians, who had a majority on the regional council used their power to press for urban expansion. Urban boundaries were continually expanded to incorporate further development on former farmland. This general pattern continued following municipal amalgamation in 2001. One outcome of this pattern of development outside the Greenbelt is an increased infrastructure burden on the city. While homes inside the Greenbelt pay the full cost of their development, it has been estimated that those in the suburbs receive the equivalent of a taxpayer subsidy due the gap between development charges and infrastructure costs to the city. Urban planner and geographer Barry Wellar has estimated that this subsidy may be as high as per house when the long-term maintenance costs of roads, bridges, pipes and transit equipment are factored in. ==Development==