Yesterday, the Ontario Government announced that they wouldn’t be putting a gas-fired generator on a Mississauga Lakeview site after a citizen developed waterfront plan was enthusiastically endorsed by the Mississauga city council.

The site was home to a coal power plant until 2005, and was to be replaced by a gas-fired generator before the community led Lakeview Ratepayers Association stepped in. The 800 member group came up with a plan that called for a 200 hectare mixed use community with medium-rise buildings, residential, employment and educational sites, and a “destination” waterfront area devoted to trails, parks, an aquarium or stadium, and a pier with entertainment and educational features.

This amazing feat brings the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) opposition to a new level. Will Dick wrote about direct democracy last week. In a world like that, how is the NIMBY problem solved? NIMBY relegates power plants, airports, and other high polluters farther and farther away from population centers where they are more useful. Even though high voltage AC transmission lines try to minimize energy loss when transporting electricity, they still lose about 20% per 1000 km.

Is this a loss we can deal with when giving citizens more power in planning their respective communities?

P.S. Sorry Wikinomics Report Card fans, I don’t have another entry this week, but if you missed my last entry on De Beers, you can find it here. The Report Card will return next week, better than ever!