Senior Urban Planner · Toronto, ON Est. 2006
Jeff Hignett

City builder. 17+ years translating complex policy into liveable, equitable communities across Ontario.

17+ Years
40k Businesses Surveyed
View Work Contact
About
17+ Years Experience
3 Municipalities Led

Building better cities from the inside out.

Location Toronto, Ontario
Email hignett@gmail.com
Phone (416) 917-6961
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/hignettjeff

I'm a senior municipal planning professional with over 17 years of experience across Ontario's public and private sectors. My work spans the full arc of city-building — from long-range policy research and community engagement through to Council approval and implementation.

I've led major initiatives at the Town of Caledon, City of Brampton, and York Region — including Official Plan Amendments, Secondary Plans, Major Transit Station Area frameworks, and Community Improvement Plans. I have a track record of translating complex, multi-stakeholder policy challenges into real, implementable outcomes.

Equally at home in the public and private sectors, I bring consulting experience from AECOM Design & Planning and a deep commitment to evidence-based, people-centred urban development.

Areas of Practice

Where I
work best.

06
01 —
Policy & Research
Applied research, Official Plan review and amendments, policy analysis, briefing notes, and long-range planning strategy.
02 —
Transit & Mobility
Major Transit Station Areas, transit-oriented communities, rapid transit corridors, and mobility hub studies.
03 —
Housing
Gentle density, inclusionary zoning, Community Improvement Plans, and affordable housing policy design.
04 —
Land Use & Growth
Secondary Plans, complete communities, employment lands, growth management, and development review.
05 —
GIS & Spatial Analysis
Advanced ArcGIS, demographic and land supply analysis, mapping products, and data-driven planning decisions.
06 —
Stakeholder Engagement
Public consultation, Council reporting, multi-sector collaboration, and executive-level presentations.
Experience

17+ years of
city building.

2022 – 2026
Senior Planner, Policy Planning
Town of Caledon — Caledon East, ON
Led housing and growth policy initiatives, Secondary Plans for future urban areas, and a town-wide Community Improvement Plan. Official Plan lead for Transportation, Open Space, Urban Design, and Aggregate Resource policies. Managed multi-disciplinary consultant teams and presented to Council, Committees, and the public.
2021 – 2022
Policy Planner III
City of Brampton — Brampton, ON
Led development of Brampton's Major Transit Station Area planning framework and related Official Plan Amendment. Contributed to city-wide studies on transit-oriented communities, intensification, affordable housing, and growth management along the Main and Queen St. corridors.
2013 – 2021
Senior Planner / GIS Planner
York Region — Newmarket, ON
Regional lead for secondary plans and transit-oriented development along rapid transit corridors. Led the Annual Employment Survey (14 staff, 40,000 businesses), GIS analysis, and policy leadership on the Yonge North Subway Extension and Metrolinx Regional Express Rail.
2006 – 2009
Urban Planner
AECOM Design & Planning — Burnaby, BC
Contributed to proposal development, client engagement, and delivery of multi-disciplinary planning and infrastructure studies in a private consulting environment.
Earlier
Additional Roles
Region of Peel · Town of Caledon · Concordia University · TransLink
Transportation planning, GIS analysis, cartography, active transportation policy, and urban mobility research across public sector and academic environments.
Selected Work

Projects that
shaped communities.

Secondary Plan 2023 – 2024
Humber Station
Secondary Plan
01
Town of Caledon
Land use and mobility framework for a new complete community in Caledon's future urban area, integrating parks, infrastructure, and transit planning from the ground up. Led multi-stakeholder engagement through to Council approval.
↗ Details to be added by Jeff
Policy Framework 2021 – 2022
Brampton MTSA
Planning Framework
02
City of Brampton
Led development of the Major Transit Station Area land use framework for Brampton's new Official Plan, shaping transit-oriented development across key rapid transit nodes along the Main and Queen St. corridors.
↗ Details to be added by Jeff
Housing Policy 2023 – 2025
Gentle Density
Community Improvement Plan
03
Town of Caledon
Town-wide housing initiative integrating policy, financial incentives, and an implementation strategy to advance affordable and attainable housing outcomes, aligned with provincial targets.
↗ Details to be added by Jeff
Regional Planning 2017 – 2021
Centres, Corridors
& Subways Program
04
York Region
Regional lead for transit-oriented community development along major rapid transit corridors, including the Yonge North Subway Extension and Metrolinx Regional Express Rail. Led City Building public programs.
↗ Details to be added by Jeff
Research & Analytics 2016 – 2017
York Region Employment
& Industry Report
05
York Region
Managed the Region's Annual Employment Survey overseeing 14 staff across 40,000 businesses. Authored the annual report using spatial and socioeconomic analysis to inform employment lands policy.
↗ Details to be added by Jeff
Documents

Download
my work.

Full résumé and a sample cover letter available as PDFs.

PDF
Résumé
Jeff Hignett — CV
Download PDF
PDF
Cover Letter
Sample — CUI Application
Download PDF
Contact

Let's talk
cities.

Open to senior planning, policy, and research roles — in-house municipal and regional positions, and select consulting engagements across Ontario.

✉ hignett@gmail.com ✆ (416) 917-6961 ↗ linkedin.com/in/hignettjeff

Message received — I'll be in touch shortly.