Canada: Edmonton council ponders plan to prepare for 2 million residents

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Edmonton may soon adopt a high level plan that will guide policy on a wide range of issues from housing and commercial developments, to transportation, infrastructure and climate goals. The City Plan, which administrators presented to council Monday, aims to accommodate an estimated two million people in the coming decades about double the current population.

Stephanie McCabe, deputy city manager of urban form and corporate strategic development, said the city has been working on the blueprint for two years but noted the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the need for flexibility. Change will happen, some that we can predict and some that we cannot. There is no better example of the need to be agile, responsive and imaginative in the face of disruption than what we're going through right now."

The plan lists five big city moves for a greener, denser, more inclusive, mobile and employable city. It calls for the city to plant two million urban trees, attain zero net greenhouse gas emissions per person and have half of all trips use public transit or active transportation such as biking, scooters and walking.

Charity Dyke, the city's lead urban strategist, said the plan aims to create 15-minute districts with amenities close enough to homes. People are able to easily complete their daily needs by walking, rolling or cycling. For many, living locally has become the new normal through the pandemic and the value of having services and amenities close to home has never been more pressing.

The plan calls for 50 per cent of new housing to be infill within existing neighbourhoods. Ashley Salvador with YEGarden Suites was one of more than two dozen people who gave council feedback at a public hearing Monday. She suggested the city bump the percentage of infill up to 55 per cent of new housing to accommodate another 750,000 people.

Salvador said, committing to a slightly higher target will encourage the city to start investing in upgrades now and over the life cycle of the City Plan.

Mike Kohl with the Urban Development Institute said he supports the City Plan framework but it is lacking details. As city builders, we are excited to be part of that aspirational vision. The specifics of how to get there merit careful consideration and discussion as we move from aspiration to action. The city shouldn't lose sight of market conditions, consumer demand and infrastructure investments that have been made. There is a general desire to move toward ground oriented single family housing units, certainly not in its entirety, but as a generalization.

Bob Summers, associate director of the University of Alberta's urban and regional planning program said that he supports Edmonton's continued investment in its core. Really, really great cities and thriving cities have fantastic downtowns and it doesn't matter if you live in a suburban area or if you live in a downtown, there are some benefits to that for the entire city.