Calgary Embarks on Transforming Existing CommunitiesSustainable development isn't just a priority for Alberta's sprawling suburbs. The vast majority of urban residents live in existing communities, whether they're downtown or further removed from the core. So if Alberta's cities and larger towns are to become more livable and less harmful to the environment, these older neighborhoods must also be transformed. "We need to be redesigning and infilling the city to create a more compact, more vibrant community built around a good transit system," says Noel Keough, executive director of the Sustainable Calgary Society. "It's like an usher in a movie theatre inviting people to shuffle in and make room for other people. "There's an element of ‘not in my back yard,' where some people don't want redevelopment in their community. We need an informed civic conversation about the tradeoffs required and the benefits to be realized, and we really need leadership at the political level." "Infilling the established city is going to be a more difficult task because the pattern of development has been set," says City of Calgary Alderman Bob Hawkesworth. "But we've been approving redevelopment opportunities as they arise. There is a strong and growing market for attractive, well-designed multi-family projects." Calgary's former Canadian Forces Base's lands - a 10-minute drive from downtown - provide a good example of the evolution of sustainable inner city redevelopÂment on so-called brownfield sites. The project began in 1998, when Canada Lands Company began work on Garrison Woods, the first of three development phases on the CFB lands. The sustainable initiatives included:
"We want to build complete communities, with a lot of services right in the comÂmunity, so you don't have to get in the car just to buy a loaf of bread," says Linda Hackman, Canada Lands' director of planning and urban design. But throughout the 10-plus years of developing the CFB site, Canada Lands says it has had to fight a constant battle with city officials to get everything from narÂrower residential streets to tenant parking approved. "There's been a lot of supÂport from council and parts of the administration, but there's been a disconnect between policy and implementation," says Hackman. "We've spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and money fighting the city to do things in an innovative way. We've fought the same battles over and over. Hopefully, it will get easier in the future." 
The CFB lands' second phase of development, Garrison Green, is increasing residential density to 10-13.5 units per acre. The third planned phase is Currie Barracks, which will combine housing densities of 16 units per acre with a European high-street mix of retail and office space and the latest energy-efficiency, water conservation and stormwater handling features. "There's so much talk today about climate change, energy issues and building green," says Mark McCullough, Canada Land's general manager of real estate. "An increasing part of the buying public wants to live in communities that address those issues. It's not just the flavour of the month anymore. We also see a large market of empty nesters leaving the suburbs for down-sized housing in inner-city neighbourhoods that you can walk around in." Still, it will take more than environmental concerns alone to convince many famiÂlies to move into the downtown core. "A lot of people are concerned about issues like safety, adequate services, schools and privacy in the inner city," says Stephanie Sanders, a planner with Calgary-based Urban Systems Ltd. "These things are more important to the average homeowner than emissions. Once they see an example of a well-designed community that is safe and has high-quality public and private outdoor spaces, they're more willing to consider living in the inner city." |
