Blogs are opinion pieces and reflect their author’s views

Over the past 30 years Calgary has doubled in size, from a population of 640,645 in 1985 to

1,230,915 in 2015. During that time the City has had five different mayors, hosted the Winter

Olympics, and expanded the C-Train from 25 platforms to 45. Calgary’s Metropolitan Area has

grown too, with Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks and Cochrane growing into full-fledged cities,

ripe with inter-urban commuters.

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And with changes to provincial legislation in the mid-’90s,

rural Rocky View County and the Municipal District of Foothills are now real competitors for

residential, commercial and industrial development that in the past would have been considered

urban. In this metropolitan system, where people live, their household structure, and their place

of work informs the services they need to conduct their daily lives, and directly impacts the

spatial character of the City and the broader region. In sum, Metropolitan Calgary is increasingly

complex.

Calgary and the broader metropolitan area will continue to grow, even with the current economic

slowdown. Frictions within Calgary, between the various municipalities in the metropolitan

area, and the priorities of other local authorities (such as the School Boards and Alberta Health

Services) will continue to impact the agendas of local politicians and their ability to answer to the

needs of their residents. How resources – whether it is hard infrastructure, affordable housing,

classrooms, or hospital beds – are allocated over space and how these resources are funded,

directly impacts these relationships.