Bonus: Call to action on July 25th, 2023

Delaplaine Productions

A discussion around urban sprawl in Calgary and its effect on biodiversity and people

The rapid pace of Calgary’s expansion since the 50s raised questions from academics and concerned citizens, who described it as a perfect example of urban sprawl and deemed it unsustainable from the human, economic and environmental point of view. This podcast is a series in 3 episodes that aims at exploring this question, through interviews with experts to discuss the threats associated to this phenomenon from three different points of view: the threats towards Calgary inhabitants, the threats towards biodiversity and the threats towards the cultural heritage of Indigenous people. This podcast was created as part of the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program run by CPAWS.

On Tuesday July 25th, 2023, Calgary’s City Council will vote on amendments as part of bylaw IP2023-0559. These amendments will affect the Municipal Development Plan and several Area Structure Plans, which is the framework used to approve the creation of new communities. Even though the current framework has a lot of shortcomings, the new one is just as bad. The proposed changes are based on the assumptions that the real estate industry needs more public funding, that the growth within the existing established area is not feasible and that new communities have no socio-environmental costs. As we saw in the three episodes of the series, none of this is true.

What can you do?
1) Contact Mayor Jyoti Gondek as well as the councillor for your ward and ask them not to vote the amendments, and on the contrary, implement a moratorium on new communities.

E-mail addresses for Members of City Council
Mayor Jyoti Gondek
Ward 1: Sonya Sharp
Ward 2: Jennifer Wyness
Ward 3: Jasmine Mian
Ward 4: Sean Chu
Ward 5: Raj Dhaliwal
Ward 6: Richard Pootmans
Ward 7: Terry Wong
Ward 8: Courtney Walcott
Ward 9: Gian-Carlo Carra
Ward 10: Andre Chabot
Ward 11: Kourtney Penner
Ward 12: Evan Spencer
Ward 13: Dan McLean
Ward 14: Peter Demong
Find who your Councillor is

2) Make a submission to all members of Council on the website of the City of Calgary to expose your views on the issue

3) Speak at the July 25th public hearing, virtually or in person. You can also register on the website of the City of Calgary. The Calgary Climate Hub will participate, then can give you support and coach you if you are unsure about what to expect. You can contact them directly by email and let them know that you wish to speak and that you would need their help.

Calgary: A Sprawling Obsession is a podcast created as part of the 2022-2023 edition of the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program, managed by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Music credits: