Calgary City Council,

The Urban Calgary Students’ Association (UrbanCSA) is a non-profit organization which focuses on the student population in the City of Calgary. UrbanCSA’s objectives are to inform, communicate and act regarding Calgary’s urban enviroment. As an active youth organization, UrbanCSA has followed the developments of the Plan It initiative, studying the plan and reflecting the interests of our members. It is important to notice that, counting with over 70 active members in the University of Calgary from various faculties, academic programs and cultural roots, the organization represents the viewpoints and interests of responsible and active young citizens of Calgary.

On April 2nd, 2009, UrbanCSA hosted an open house at the University of Calgary, where Plan It Calgary was introduced to the student population. Based on the comments and general feedback received by the attendees, and the massive support for the plan displayed by the student population, UrbanCSA prepared an official position which was ratified and endorsed by the members and students. The following document represents UrbanCSA’s position with respect to the Plan It initiative:

April 2nd, 2009

We, the undersigned, would like to express our support for the City’s Plan It initiative. The vision of Calgary espoused by Plan It is a long overdue initiative in accord with the type of city we wish to inhabit in the future. As the generation who stands to inherit the legacy of today’s planning policies, we want to inherit a city unblemished by further sprawl, single-use zoning and automobile dependency. Rather, we desire the kind of stimulating, diverse and sustainable city that can be realized through the implementation of the directives contained within Plan It.

Plan It has been criticized for not conforming to current market demands; we strongly urge the city to consider the malleable nature of market desires and the immutable nature of the suburban sprawl that is likely to continue if this plan is not adopted. Furthermore, we urge the City to take into consideration that the abundance of cheap materials (most notably oil) that made suburban development possible in the past will not be so readily available in the future. Yesterday’s planning ideals are not only undesirable for us, but they are completely unmanageable from a resource standpoint. Do not leave us with a legacy of automobile-reliant suburbs; rather, leave us with the interesting and engaging spaces and diversity proposed by Plan It.

We do not wish for our current and future tax dollars to further subsidize suburban outmigration. A simple trip to buy a litre of milk, pick up children from school or stop at a bank should not always be reliant on resource dependent automobiles and the inhuman scale they require. We do not wish to foot the bill for the damage to the natural environment related to our current patterns of urban growth. We do wish, however, for our tax dollars to subsidize spaces that can accommodate a multiplicity of uses and varying densities. We want higher levels of transit service, and communities where all citizens can walk or ride to the basic services, empowering the public’s ability to subsist through sustainable means. These ideals can exist in healthy, natural environments which stimulate active communities and dynamic public spaces.

It is our opinion that Plan It can steer growth in Calgary towards meeting these objectives. It is also our belief that Plan It is being threatened by the voices of special interest groups who stand to profit from further development on the fringes of the city. These special interest groups do not have our mandate, nor do they represent our interests.

Because of the reasons mentioned above we urge Council to seize this opportunity to stimulate the growth of a more diverse city, where mobility options are not limited by only suburban interests.

Tom Howard
VP Academic – UrbanCSA

Derek Pomreinke
VP Communications – UrbanCSA

Guillermo Enrique Guglietti
President – UrbanCSA

The presented position was endorsed by 108 students of the University of Calgary.