The City of Markham (population ~329,000) is located in the Regional Municipality of York, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of downtown Toronto. It is the fourth largest city by population in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Markham is mostly urbanized; however, its northern and eastern portions remain rural and agricultural.
Markham owns approximately 950 hectares of natural open spaces including woodlands, wetlands, valley lands and grasslands. Many of these natural assets are open and accessible to the public and are local community landmarks.
2021 Natural asset inventory
Markham partnered with NAI to develop a natural asset inventory and identify steps it can take to progress to a full natural asset management initiative.
Markham has three main interests in natural asset management:
- Obtain a better understanding of the ecological services provided by natural areas and better communicate quantifiable benefits to Council and the public.
- Better support decision-making related to managing and prioritizing investments in natural assets and maximize benefits to residents.
- Identify the risks to the services it receives from natural assets, such as climate change-related risks to stormwater management and flood control infrastructure
Markham has embarked on a city-wide Natural Heritage Inventory; this, together with the inventory, will support the development of a natural asset management plan.
In Ontario, natural asset management supports the implementation of O. Reg. 588/17, Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure, which requires local governments to include green infrastructure into asset management plans.
