Despite its booming growth and the recent announcement of a world-class office tower, downtown Calgary is suffering from a lack of human-scale planning, writes Lisa Rochon.
"Walk around [downtown] Calgary -- dare to abandon your car -- in order to appreciate how mean the streets have become. The city is defined by urban parsimony.
Instead of parks or courtyards designed to allow people to bask in the big Alberta sun, there is a formidable system of one-way streets and towers that come down hard to the edge of the street. It's no wonder only 30,000 people call centre city their home. Since the 1960s, the above-ground system of walkways that connects buildings in the downtown has further undermined the basic fact that any dynamic city requires foot traffic at street level.
...The centre city communities accounted for almost half of all personal and property crimes in Calgary, compared with 23 per cent of Toronto's total crimes that are committed in its downtown. In an oil-rich city like Calgary with a young population of highly educated, hard-working engineers, there isn't a lot of time or interest for those who are left behind. There were 2,597 homeless people enumerated in 2004 by the city-sponsored count of homeless persons. Sweeping the homeless into shelters -- there are 43 such facilities in the downtown -- is hardly the answer.
In boom time, the tendency is for Calgary to go on automatic pilot and build towers. In order to accommodate a flood of people wanting to work and live in the downtown, the projection is for more than 100 30-storey condominium towers and about 20 new 30-storey office towers by 2025. But too many towers will further depersonalize the city centre. Without credible alternatives to the suburbs, such as low-scale dev elopments animated by new public space, cafés andretail, Calgary's downtown will die a slow, heart-stopping death."
FULL STORY: Time to get tough on Cowtown

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie