The Globe and Mail

In the fall of 2004, the relentless development pressure that turns farms into subdivisions spilled out of the north edge of Brampton into Caledon, a town that prides itself as being the greenest community in Canada. Two developers sought permission to build, but the town's official plan had room for only one. So the town came up with a unique solution: It would approve the bid that offered the most attractive vision for a new community of about 7,500. The town wanted to break out of the planning cycle that produces communities on the fringes of Toronto that all feel and look much the same, said Patrick Moyle, Caledon's chief administrative officer.