urban farms of the future?

Fresh off the heels of our urban agriculture review comes this article on the future of urban farms. Pretty neat idea: from an engineering perspective, this may be a good way to, ahem, beef up our food security and grow crops in a manner that is efficient enough to allow us to rededicate existing cropland into more effective carbon sinks.

The future of urban agriculture, or the ultimate greenwash?

As Peter Marcuse points out in this trenchant artcile, however, we need to view sustainability initiatives such as this with a critical eye. Should we be creating a room with a view for rows of corn stalks, or should we be tackling social justice concerns (such as urban poverty and homelessness) before we pour money into projects like these, which are sure to absorb large amounts of increasingly scarce public funding? Is this a way to gloss over social justice concerns with glitzy technology, or is this a valuable step towards sustainability, and if so, what is the true cost of sustainability?

You decide.

Montreal Public Space Design Competition

Are you a Urban Design inclined/interested student? Want to flex your design muscles?

The Ville de Montréal is pleased to announce a nationwide ideas competition for the redesigning of the area around the Champ-de-Mars métro station. The purpose of the competition is to solicit explorations and illustrations of a variety of development concepts made possible by the planned covering of the Ville-Marie expressway and the potential reconfiguration of its exit ramps.

This would be a great opportunity for UrbanCSA members to gather together and get the creative/productive juices flowing! Why wait for someone to organize a project when you can organize it?

More about the competition here…
http://www.realisonsmontreal.com/en/projet/Redesigning-of-the-area-around-Champ-de-Mars-metro-station

Calgary: The Events Leading Up To Sir Norman Foster

In my girlfriends apartment there are a bunch of issues of the Walrus lying around. I saw that there was one called “the cities issue” that examined the history of Calgary. It was one of the best articles I have read about the city’s past. The article really made me hopeful for Calgary’s future. It is a bit of a lengthy read, but it is not very often where you really get a sense of why Calgary is the way it is and where it is going (hopefully).

Calgary: The Events Leading Up To Sir Norman Foster

A British architect, oil barons, an urban vision, and creeping liberalism: what is the future for Cowtown?

By: Don Gilmore

In 1970, the year I moved to Calgary, the oil boom was just beginning to flower. Our house was in a new development at the northwestern edge of the city, and I walked past horses on my way to school, and past an isolated shack that stood on a few bare acres, waiting for a developer to raze it. The small house contained a large family of porridge-eating hillbillies, to use the phrase of a friend who was one of them. Their father was one of those handsome, hard-drinking, capable, wild-haired western archetypes who wore one pant leg inside his cowboy boot and the other outside. On good days, my friend and his father rode horses in the foothills adjoining the rented property, among the evergreens and stands of poplar that have long since become suburbs and malls. On bad days, of which there was no shortage, there was alcohol and violence.

During a particularly savage winter, a jerry-rigged addition to their house fell off when the cinder blocks it was propped up on split and collapsed in the cold of a 56°C night. The bedroom containing several children separated from the main house, leaving the father standing at the opening, wondering what forces had brought him to this. He eventually went blind, and on those occasions when he was in an alcoholic rage, intent on strangling their mother, the children piled on him like bluetick hounds on a grizzly as he flailed in his darkness. During the 1970s, the house was razed and the clan dispersed.

I think of them when I think of the oil boom of those years, a boom that brought an undeniable energy to the city, and a consuming blindness to certain notions of civic responsibility. What buoyed and defeated us was the same curse every lottery winner carries: sudden possibility. Newly rich, the city thrashed around, defining itself in a drunken spree as the Jed Clampett of urbanism.

In 1973, the Calgary Tower (formerly the Husky Tower), a Jetsonian spike that sits in the centre of the city, was still the tallest building in town. Its revolving restaurant was frequented by tourists, and by university students on lsd who watched their untouched steak sandwiches turn to carrion and observed the city passing below in a sluggish panorama. It would be an exaggeration to say that the landscape changed from one revolution to the next, but not much of one. The price of oil jumped from $3 a barrel to $17 that year due to the opec embargo, and during the height of the ensuing boom 600 old buildings were torn down annually in Calgary, and roughly $1 billion in building permits were issued each year. What we saw from the vantage point of the Calgary Tower was the residue of the 1947 boom, when oil was discovered at Leduc. There were office buildings that were ten or so storeys, a few skyscrapers (Calgary’s first skyscraper, the Elveden Centre, was built in 1960), and some graceful older structures, such as the Burns Building, the Lougheed Building, and the Palliser. Most of the original sandstone buildings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had already been torn down. The residential streets that bordered downtown featured modest postwar homes, and the odd Eaton’s bungalow, sold through catalogue by the department store in the 1920s, delivered by train in pieces, and assembled by the owner. Most prominent, though, were wrecking crews and construction cranes, poised in clusters: the beginning of another swift transformation.

more fallout over planit

Critics Charge Council With Selling Out to Land Developers Over PlanIt

Markham Hislop, for the SE Calgary News
November 3rd, 2009

Nine units per acre versus 11.3.  That little formula represents changes to the municipal development plan recently adopted by City Council as part of Plan It.  It is also the subject of a huge debate in Calgary.  On the one side is the development industry, and its supporters on Council, who argued that 11.3 UPA was too high, that not enough Calgarians want to live in multi-family dwellings.  Or that the lower number is a floor and that many new communities are already being planned for higher density without the City dictating it.  On the other side are the critics who say Calgary can no longer grow in a great suburban sprawl, that the city must have a higher population density in the future, and more dense communities actually save taxpayers money and lead to a more advanced infrastructure, such as public transit.  Critics also allege that civic governance is not transparent and accountable, and that developers exercise too much influence on Council.

Continue reading and watch a video here

Score one for grassroots democracy

Civic Camp still young, but could influence 2010 election

Markham Hislop, for the S.E. Calgary News
October 26th, 2009

All Saturday long my Twitter account hummed with Tweets from the CivicCamp get together at the Epcor Centre.  At the #civiccamp hash tag (hash tags allow a Twitter comment, called a Tweet, to be posted to a special web page dedicated to a particular topic), those who couldn’t attend were begging those in the know for regular updates.  The excitement was palpable.

In today’s story on CivicCamp, organizer Peter Rishaug called it a “democratic movement.”  Pretty heady stuff, really.  The last movement to come out of Alberta was Reform, and while it never formed goverment in Ottawa, it had a profound effect on Canadian politics.

So, if CivicCamp really is a movement, what are we to make of it?
Continue reading here

McIver strikes back

Working on policy is called democracy

By Ric McIver, for the Calgary Herald
October 26, 2009

I read with interest Naheed Nenshi’s trip into fantasyland. With a civic election now less than a year away, it would appear he was unable to restrain himself, and unfortunately his column reflects a perspective on the history of this council that is so pathetically at odds with reality, it’s hard to know where to start.

But I’ll try with what is perhaps the most important issue, one that Nenshi conveniently missed and one that most Herald readers are probably unaware of. The Herald has previously reported that Nenshi is considering running for council. He has already run once, unsuccessfully, on a slate of candidates under the banner of The Better Calgary Campaign.

Continue reading here

Countdown to 2010 elections begins

One year to go before possibily radical city election

By Naheed Nenshi, for the Calgary Herald
October 22nd, 2009

In just under a year, Calgarians (or at least 18 to 30 per cent of us if voting patterns hold) will go to the polls to elect a new city council. In the past, this was a pretty perfunctory affair. In fact, with the exception of the Ward 10 scandal in 2004-05, no incumbent had lost a seat in my memory.

Things started to change in 2007, when two incumbents lost and a third, presumably afraid of losing, dropped out at the last possible moment.

I think that this pattern may continue in 2010. In fact, I would argue that no incumbent is safe, and that a result like that in Guelph, Ont., in 2006, when voter turnout hit 50 per cent (from 36 per cent) and voters sent the mayor and more than half of councillors packing is not out of the question.

Continue reading here

Free Tour of Victoria Crossing BRZ this Friday!

The local favorite "The Drum and Monkey" Bar is located in Victoria Crossing

Formed in 1997, the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) is a collaboration of merchants and businesses working together to promote and improve the community of Victoria. The area lies just south of Calgary’s downtown core, between 6th Street SE and 2nd Street SW and between 10th and 17th Avenues.

We are going to meet at 12:55 Friday October 23rd at the prairie chicken (big middle structure in the middle of campus) and leave no later than 1:05. The tour will only take about an hour, but some have expressed interest in  hanging out in the area and going for a brew after.

The tour will be given by David Low, the Executive Director of the Victoria Crossing BRZ.

Personally, this is one of my favorite areas in Calgary, especially for the night life. The area is still in the midst of developing, so it will be amazing when it is done. We will have a first hand look at what it takes to create a vibrant urban area and the problems one can encounter along the way.

The tour is free for all UrbanCSA members.

Please contact andrew.sedor@urbancsa.org to confirm attendance.

Tour teaches students about urban planning

Adam Nordquist
Gauntlet News

October 15th, 2009

Garrison Woods has proved to be one of Calgary's most innovative communities.

Last week University of Calgary students had the chance to go on a guided tour of one Calgary’s most innovative communities: Garrison Woods.

This was the first of several tours the Urban Calgary Students’ Association is putting on this month. The students were guided by one of Garrison Wood’s planners and Ken Toews, Urban Development Advisors Inc. president.

The unique community was designed with the goal of creating streets conducive to interaction between community members.

“How we live and where we live has a huge impact,” said Toews. “People are a bit starved for socialization by phones and the Internet. If we can set up communities so that people can socialize, it causes a huge impact.”

There is a massive demand for new developments like Garrison Woods. House values in the innovative community have increased by 300 per cent in the 10 years since opening.

“There is demand for communities like this, but developers are not making them,” said Toews.

Continue reading here

… and the PlanIt controversy continues.

By Noel Keough And Bob Morrison, For The Calgary Herald
October 13th, 2009

Late last month, city council hit Calgarians with a tax hike of at least $2 billion and probably much more. This wasn’t an increase in the budget. It wasn’t an increase to pay for an emergency or somebody’s pet project.

Instead, a majority of council, led by Mayor Dave Bronconnier, slipped the tax increase by us with a surprise amendment to the new Municipal Development Plan (MDP). They didn’t consult with the public. They didn’t even discuss the impact on our taxes — either because they had no idea of the financial magnitude of their decision or they wanted us kept in the dark.

Continue reading here

Sitopias… food shaped cities!

Drake Landing Tour

Hello, Hello….

Last Wednesday, the UrbanCSA took 21 students to Drake Landing Solar Community in Okotoks, Alberta. In 1998, Okotoks made a decision about its future, becoming one of the first municipalities in the world to establish growth targets linked to infrastructure development and environmental carrying capacity when it adopted a Municipal Development Plan. They called this innovative initiative the ‘legacy plan’. Okotoks has successfully integrated Canadian energy efficient technologies with a renewable, unlimited energy source. Did anybody guess what that source is? I know you all did, it’s the Sun. The main idea behind the functionality of this community are the principles surrounding the district heating system. This is designed to store abundant solar energy underground during the summer months and re-distribute this energy to homes in the community for space heating needs during the winter months. Ultimately, this requires less dependance on finite fossil fuels to provide the community with heat. For those that did not attend the tour, there is a vast amount of information regarding the numbers and feasibility of such an ambitious endeavor and I encourage you to find out more about this community. Alright, details.

Naheed Nenshi on PlanIt

Gutted Plan It Mortgages City’s Future

By Naheed Nenshi, for the Calgary HeraldOctober 7, 2009

“I don’t know why you’re so mad,” said the alderman, speaking to some grass-roots citizens. “If it weren’t for groups like yours, we would not have been able to pass Plan It at all.” Despite the last-minute backroom deal, despite shutting out all Calgarians who are not also campaign donors, despite council reverting to its old-school crony ways, we should be happy with the crumbs we got.

I don’t particularly feel like celebrating. In approving a gutted planning document, council mortgaged the future of Calgarians and ensured that our infrastructure costs will increase by at least $2 billion over time.

Continue reading here

UrbanCSA Tours

UrbanCSA is touring various communities and developments around Calgary. The tours are all free with UrbanCSA membership and will be guided by a developer or planner who has expertise in the community or development.

The first community toured will be Garrison Woods . Garrison Woods is arguably the most innovative community in all of Calgary and has won numerous awards including:

Garrison Woods

• Best Community (Calgary Region Home Builders Association)
• Best Innovation (Calgary Region Home Builders Association)
• Award of Excellence – Environmental Design (Alberta Association of Canadian Institute of Planners)
• Comprehensive Planning Award (Real Property Institute of Canada)
• Best Practices Award (Real Property Institute of Canada)

This tour will commence on October 7^th. We will meet around 3:15 inside the Education building lobby (by the U of C Bus Loop). The tour will be given by one of Garrison Woods Planners and the President of Urban Development Advisors Inc. Ken Toews.

The second tour will commence on October 21^st and will be a tour of the Victoria Crossing BRZ (The area by the Drum and Monkey).

The Third Tour will commence on October 28^th and will take place in the redevelopment Bridgeland.

The goal of the tours is for students to learn what is happening around Calgary and what problems do developers and planners face when trying to build innovative developments.

There will be more information posted as the tour dates draw closer.

Developers win compromise in city growth plan

CBC News, September 29th, 2009

The city's Plan It blueprint aims to curb sprawl in the growing metropolis and build density in new developments. (CBC)

Calgary council has made a concession to developers and softened a key density target in the blueprint to guide long-term growth in the city.

Plan It Calgary, a massive planning document to guide development for the next 60 years, aims to prevent urban sprawl by focusing on building up — with condos and townhouses close to public transit stations, schools and retail businesses — rather than building out through single-family homes.

The ambitious plan calls for a network of carpool lanes across Calgary, improved bike paths, amplified public transit and more green spaces, along with a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road.

The original proposal called for a minimum target of 70 residents per hectare in new suburban developments.

However, after a private weekend meeting with developers, Calgary city council agreed to lower that target on Monday to 60 people or jobs per hectare, arguing that it gives builders more flexibility.

Keep reading here

‘Unfortunately, citizen members weren’t present at that negotiation. It was between the industry and the city.’— Ald. Druh Farrell

Plugging the brain drain with Plan It

By Tom Howard, For The Calgary Herald – September 28, 2009

As a University of Calgary student set to graduate in the next year, I will be soon faced with the same predicament that has faced so many of my colleagues before me: to stay in Calgary, or to move elsewhere.

Over the past several years, I have noted a high rate of migration among recent post-secondary graduates to cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. The reason for their departure is generally the same: recent graduates are looking for the exciting cultural scene and vibrant urbanity these cities offer.

As a large number of baby boomers approach retirement age, we face the threat of losing this demographic to cities that can offer more amenable living conditions as well. As Calgary’s extended winter season can sometimes provide a less-than-ideal context to retire in, creating a vibrant and highly livable city must be a high priority.

Read on

Mixer on Wednesday

UrbanCSA is holding its first mixer of the year on Wednesday September 23rd at the Den in the red room. The event starts at 7pm.

All UrbanCSA members are invited for beer and wings!

Calgary softens growth plan in hopes of quieting critics

City hall is aiming to pacify critics of its 60-year growth plan by erasing river crossings from the future Calgary map and softening language around car use and a less sprawling city. Photograph by: Archive, Calgary Herald

By Jason Markusoff and Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald

CALGARY – City hall is aiming to pacify critics of its 60-year growth plan by erasing river crossings from the future Calgary map and softening language around car use and a less sprawling city.

Ahead of a crucial council hearing Monday, city officials modified Plan It Calgary in hopes of tamping down criticism from home builders and developers, as well as some aldermen who agreed the strategy called for radical change to the city’s development.

But initial reaction suggests the conflict hasn’t yet subsided, potentially leading to a tense council debate over Calgary’s future.

The planning department is still drawing industry ire by rejecting calls to do away with Plan It’s long-range targets, including one stating that half of future population growth should occur in already-developed areas, rather than mostly in new suburbs.

“No matter what kind of language there is, the numbers are still in the document,” said Michael Flynn of the Urban Development Institute-Calgary after seeing the new version on Monday.

Click here to continue reading

Some comments already posted on the Calgary Hearld site:

“The public has spoken. At the public hearing, it was clear members of the general public were in favour of this plan. It was pretty much only developers that were opposed, and most of them even were in favour of the vast majority of the direction of the plan, only a few issues with some of the targets, which have been adjusted to be more flexible. Pass the plan and move on with the real job, which is implementing it. More transit, move investment in downtown, inner city communities and TOD sites. Less subsidy for sprawl.”

“Allow people to live on big single family lots on the edge – just make them pay for the true cost of that urban form. We need to ensure that growth is dense and efficiently designed enough within complete communities to ensure that growth can pay for itself and not be a drain on the rest of the city (sustainability).”

“You want to run roads out to the contryside fine, why do my taxes have to go up so rich people can have big houses? stop this sprawl!”

Plan It Op-Ed

If I had $11.2 billion

By James Schwinn, For The Calgary Herald

Take a few minutes to think about what you would do if you had $11.2 billion to spend on this city.

It’s worth thinking about because, in a report published earlier this year, the IBI Group concluded the City of Calgary would save $11.2 billion in infrastructure costs and $130 million per year in operating costs over the next 60 years through the adoption of Plan It Calgary — the city’s long-term vision for the development of the municipality.

How could $11.2 billion make a constructive difference in our community?

As of June 30, the assets reported on the balance sheet of Enmax were $3.6 billion. In other words, the infrastructure cost savings alone identified in the IBI Group’s analysis of Plan It roughly equate to three times the asset base of our community’s principal energy provider.

It’s not unreasonable to contemplate the impact that Plan It savings could have if a portion of those savings were used to accelerate the transition of this truly innovative utility into cleaner, more distributed and more sustainable energy production technologies.

To continue reading click here

James Schwinn is the founder of Aixecar Incorporated. His previous professional experience includes roles as Director and head of the ING/Barings global conduit finance business and a Vice President at Citibank.

Article in FFWD

If You Build It They Will Come

Calgary should follow Danish architect’s people-focused suggestions
Published September 10, 2009  by Jeremy Klaszus in City

You could call it the Field of Dreams approach to city planning: if you build it, they will come.

Specifically, if you build humanly scaled, inviting public spaces in a city, people will want to go to those spaces. If you build quality cycling infrastructure, more people will hop on their bikes. If you build dense but attractive urban living spaces — not imposing towers plunked on the ground — people will want to live there.

That’s what renowned Danish architect Jan Gehl had to say when he stopped in Calgary earlier this month, and his message couldn’t be more timely for a city at a crossroads about its future. Gehl advises cities from New York City to Melbourne, and the thrust of his work is this: Cities should be designed for people, not cars. “To a [large] extent, as architects and planners, we have lost our sense of scale,” he says. “We’ve forgotten that we are basically a walking animal, a five km/h horizontal walking animal.”

read the rest of the story here