November 8 is World Town Planning Day. Every day, we celebrate and recognize urban planners who help promote, preserve and create livable communities like Newmarket. Planning and the work of planners is extremely important because urban planning affects many aspects of everyday life around the world and in Newmarket!
It helps determine where people live, where they shop, where they work, where they play, where they go to school, how they get around the Town, and how residents and visitors experience the Town every day. Great planning leads to housing and employment options for everyone and is what makes Newmarket a great place to live, work and play.
Planners work on all things related to great planning such as policy creation for growth and development, land uses and zoning, heritage conservation, tree protection, parkland dedication and more!
Here are some fun planning-related facts for Newmarket:
- Newmarket is the 4th largest and the most dense municipality in York Region with a population density of 2,284 people per square kilometre. To help Newmarket evolve into a vibrant and sustainable Complete Community, the Town is undertaking a new Official Plan to plan for growth and guide development to 2051. Check out HeyNewmarket.ca to get involved.
- Addressing housing supply and affordability is central to the Official Plan Review, supported by the Housing Action Plan (HAP). Adopted in 2026, the HAP identifies 18 actions to support stable and affordable housing that meets the needs of residents. The Town currently has 357 affordable units in the approval and construction phases.
- Want to know what developments are occurring in Town? Check out our interactive map that shows all the planning applications currently under review in Newmarket. You can click on the property on each map to learn more about the application and its progress
- Newmarket has 93 properties designated under the Ontario Heritage Act! One of the jobs of a planner is to protect the built character of these buildings while in some cases adapting them for other uses.
- Newmarket has a Heritage Conservation District, along Main Street from just north of Millard to Water, that that includes 72 properties. Changes to buildings in this area require a Heritage Permit and there is a grant to help property owners upgrade their building facades with appropriate materials and design.
Learn more about planning in Newmarket and see how we are continuing to build a community that is well beyond the ordinary.