Urban Outdoorsman
Active Member
So I was recently digging around in the new iteration of the guidebook for great communities and I was curious to hear what others thought.
Here's a link for anyone interested:
https://www.calgary.ca/pda/pd/curre...ommunities.html?redirect=/guidebook#guidebook
I'm no expert in planning jargon, but so far I liked what I saw. There seems to be a strong emphasis on a broader mixture of uses for any given 'urban form categories'. Specifically, I really appreciate the 'neighbourhood connector' category, which essentially allows for slightly higher densities and a broader range of uses. For example, some of the proposals along 24th ave in Banff Trail would fit this description i.e. 4 story building with live/work and small retail.
Something else I noticed is the 'neighbourhood local' category seemed to be more concerned with height and scale over density. Meaning smaller scale 'missing middle' housing types would more easily be accounted for, not just single-family and duplexes.
It's worth checking out the proposed North Hill ARP revision because it uses basically uses the new Guidebook: https://engage.calgary.ca/NorthHill/realize
The proposed plan seems pretty solid, I like the distinction between urban form (uses) and building scale (height).
Could be really cool one day if 20th ave N is built up as a lowrise boulevard.
Anyways those are my initials thoughts, curious to hear what others think, whether it's an improvement, where it falls short, etc.
Here's a link for anyone interested:
https://www.calgary.ca/pda/pd/curre...ommunities.html?redirect=/guidebook#guidebook
I'm no expert in planning jargon, but so far I liked what I saw. There seems to be a strong emphasis on a broader mixture of uses for any given 'urban form categories'. Specifically, I really appreciate the 'neighbourhood connector' category, which essentially allows for slightly higher densities and a broader range of uses. For example, some of the proposals along 24th ave in Banff Trail would fit this description i.e. 4 story building with live/work and small retail.
Something else I noticed is the 'neighbourhood local' category seemed to be more concerned with height and scale over density. Meaning smaller scale 'missing middle' housing types would more easily be accounted for, not just single-family and duplexes.
It's worth checking out the proposed North Hill ARP revision because it uses basically uses the new Guidebook: https://engage.calgary.ca/NorthHill/realize
The proposed plan seems pretty solid, I like the distinction between urban form (uses) and building scale (height).
Could be really cool one day if 20th ave N is built up as a lowrise boulevard.
Anyways those are my initials thoughts, curious to hear what others think, whether it's an improvement, where it falls short, etc.