Jason Thorne is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Thorne discusses the challenges of urban planning from a systems-wide point of view; the unusual combination of Planning and Economic Development (usually two sides of the coin); and the inner workings of a municipality of 500,000 people that encompasses a growing urban culture, a healthy agri-business region, endless trails and natural settings (part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - Niagara Escarpment), and the legacy of Canada's steel industry centre.