Strong Towns founder, Chuck Marohn, will be giving a virtual keynote presentation on Strong Towns principles at the annual conference hosted by the Planning Institute of British Columbia.

About this conference:

PIBC will be holding our 2021 annual conference - North of Normal - online this year from June 15 to 18, hosted from Whitehorse, Yukon. You can look forward to a diverse, educational and comprehensive virtual annual conference to be hosted by the PIBC Yukon Chapter. This online conference will come with a distinctive Yukon sense and feel, and will include unique local elements from Whitehorse. To help ensure that all members ultimately have the opportunity for the full Whitehorse and Yukon conference experience, we will also be looking to return with a future annual conference in person in Whitehorse in the coming years.

The tagline for this year’s conference is planning North of Normal.

Physical distancing, the closure of public buildings and local businesses, the climate crisis and Black Lives Matter protests; people's ability to operate, communicate, and go about their daily lives have been disrupted in 2020. The evolving response to this new reality has significantly changed most of our relationships within Yukon and BC communities and with our neighbours.  

To mitigate social, environmental, and economic fallout, it is more important now than ever for industry, communities, First Nations, and governments to come together to ensure that planning and community-building continue to protect the land, support livelihoods, and strengthen our connections to one another and the places we live.

This conference is about planning North of Normal; it’s about planning in wilderness communities, storytelling, First Nations-led planning, and building healthy communities.