Three years ago, on October 18, 2010, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi swept up 40 per cent of the electorate vote by giving charismatic speeches and proving himself to be a forward-thinking politician. His platform appealed to both those in the academic world and to those in business. His use of Facebook, Twitter and other media tools shaped his first campaign and made him appeal to younger voters unlike any previous mayor.
His first term in office was marked by the development of Calgary’s bike pathways and the revitalization of downtown areas such as the East Village. Nenshi has continued many projects that were approved under Mayor Dave Bronconnier such as the extension of the southwest C-train line and construction of the Peace Bridge. While advocating for more sustainable communities, Nenshi is also following in the footsteps of Bronconnier by increasing the number of acreage levies and, consequentially, the cost of suburban development.
“Mayor Nenshi is absolutely right in trying to change the way municipal government is financed,” says Richard Parker, previous head of the planning department at the City of Calgary. “We have a huge challenge in terms of how municipalities are financed which is why we are now looking at the developer to say that you pay everything.”
Forcing developers to pay for the cost of suburban growth is exactly what Nenshi plans to do, and with the election on Monday Oct. 21, he continues to advocate this as part of his re-election campaign. The Harvard graduate, who seems to have taken Calgary by storm, may be light years ahead of his time. The issue of suburban development subsidization remains a controversial issue that has become a hot topic during the 2013 campaign.
Relentless though he may be, the ultimate decision will come down to city council and the people of Calgary. He already faces resistance from the development industry, particularly developers who risk losing money on undeveloped land. Many citizens of Calgary are also wary that housing prices will continue to soar.
Nenshi’s vision for the future is what he calls balanced development and that means more efficiently designed suburbs and more high-rise condo development in the city centre and downtown communities. He wants suburban communities to have walkable pathways with employment close to homes so that traffic and travel time can be reduced. According to Nenshi, there have been some successful collaborative efforts with the development industry to address these problems.
“The newest neighbourhoods that we have approved for 120,000 people are neighbourhoods that will not have any cul-de-sacs. We are going back to the old grid system which is much more efficient for moving people and goods but also much more efficient for transit. So we are starting to make some real inroads into the design and style of newer suburban developments,” Nenshi says.
To read the full article by Salimah Kassamali in the Gauntlet, click here.
Note: This article is the second half of an article written as part of the Gauntlet’s summer longform project. You can find the first half by clicking here. Stay tuned for design suggestions from Master of Planning students.