Last month, the TruHome team was excited to launch our Edmonton Building Age Map in partnership with Beta City Yeg and help from many amazing Edmontonians including Wesley Andreas and Trevor Prentice. The launch of this interactive map in the end brought about much debate and excitement, largely due to the conversations being had city wide about Urban Sprawl and the impact it could have on future city budgets.
On March 18, 2016 – Don Iveson wrote his own blog about “Calculating Our Real Costs Of Our Growth” in which he advises about the future potential cost of new communities. According to their calculations, “when [the city of Edmonton considers] the full life cycle of this infrastructure and the delivery of city services to these growth areas, the model shows a revenue shortfall of $1.4 billion over the next 50 years.” To be fair to Don though, he is certainly not stating that growth of this kind is inherently bad, but is rather trying to provoke a deeper conversation about how growth can be paid for.
Based on his question, one has to ask the question as to whether higher density is the answer? Or, whose taxes should be higher – those in the urban regions of the city or those in the suburban regions? These are not easy answers, nor are we trying to advise on an answer. Our goal, is to present more thoughts and ideas to continue to this discussion as to how we can aspire to build better neighbourhoods no matter where they are built.
Yes, higher density needs to be part of the overall conversation, however, many people may not be aware that the newer communities that are being built are more dense then their neighbourhoods of the past (1950’s-1960’s). In fact, previously one hectre acre would say approx. 10 houses, while now you’ll see 20.
The Canadian Home Builders Association – Alberta is also being proactive in doing their own research on economic growth and how it impacts the city of Edmonton. This week, they are exploring Denver, a city similar to Edmonton, who has been proactively seeking alternative housing solutions to combat these very questions and issues. I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Cashman, the Communication Manager last week about Urban Sprawl and their organization. From it came some very insightful and interesting dialogue.
Paul brought up some great points about Edmonton highlighting the importance of balance: “giving choices that people want”. We talked about the fact that Edmonton is unique in the sense that not all jobs are located around the core. Many Edmonton employees work in the suburban areas or even outside in Nisku or Leduc, making the southern most Edmonton neighbours ideal for commutability and raising a family.
We also have discussed the concept that Edmonton is very much a “prairie” city in which many people have grown up and are used to having their own “land”, meaning that not everyone wants to live in a condo type setting. Times are changing though, and the different home ownership options in the Edmonton Real Estate market are definitely highlighting this fact.
Another big part of the equation comes down to affordability. At the end of the day, people are going to go where they can afford to buy the kind of Edmonton real estate they want.
What are your thoughts on Urban Sprawl, and the future of the city of Edmonton’s growth?
Want to learn more about TruHome’s Edmonton Building Age Map? Read more about it in these publications:
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