Edmontonians love their neighbourhoods. For generations, neighbourhoods have been the fundamental building block of our city. It is in neighbourhoods where we experience much of what is important to living a rich life. The neighbourhood playground, community league hall, community garden, outdoor rink, parks, tree canopy, pathways and local shops all matter.<\/p>\n
And what is most important is the \u201cvibe\u201d or feeling of a neighbourhood and the casual interaction with others in the neighbourhood. Our neighbourhoods are tightly knit and people always speak with immense pride about the neighbourhood where they live.<\/p>\n
As part of the city\u2019s efforts to overhaul its urban planning system, 129 community plans were repealed. Many of these plans addressed the unique realities of a specific neighbourhood. This was done, we are told, to transition from a bloated complex planning system to a singular unified system.<\/p>\n
Our city has now transitioned to a planning model that groups dozens of diverse neighbourhoods into 15 large districts, aiming to streamline development and foster \u201c15-minute communities\u201d where daily needs are met locally. On paper, it makes sense. In practice, however, it treats vastly different neighbourhoods with a single, sweeping brush.<\/p>\n
For many residents, especially those living inside the Anthony Henday ring road, the city\u2019s macro-level growth strategies City Plan, district plans and the zoning bylaw feel abstract, top-down and disconnected from the realities of residents. The shift to the district plans which city council approved in 2024, have left many feeling like passive spectators in our own neighbourhoods. A one-size-fits-all approach to the district plans ignores different neighbourhood realities. We\u2019ve lost a crucial layer: neighbourhood planning rooted in local context.<\/p>\n
The pendulum has now swung toward citywide policies and blanket zoning tools designed for consistency and speed. Those tools have value. But without living neighbourhood plans to anchor them, they can flatten the very things that make neighbourhoods work.<\/p>\n
When we abandon neighbourhood planning, we lose the nuance.<\/p>\n
It is time to refocus city planning efforts and bring back an active, modernized form of neighbourhood planning.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a call to revert to NIMBYism or halting the construction of missing-middle housing. We need more homes, and the density targets are important if we want to remain affordable. Rather, it is an argument for better execution. Top-down, citywide policies and zoning rules tell us what can be built, but localized neighbourhood planning determines how it fits into the fabric of our lives.<\/p>\n
Through community processes that formally amend the district plan, we can ensure a neighbourhood focus is front and centre in our planning model. This will mean, for example, that nodes, corridors and development at LRT stations take into account the context of where they are located.<\/p>\n
Re-engaging communities at the neighbourhood scale gives citizens a proactive voice in shaping their immediate surroundings, turning an adversarial development process into a collaborative one.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t have to choose between a growing city and a well-planned neighbourhood. We can have both. As city council prepares to review upcoming policies, they should direct the administration to build a framework for localized neighbourhood planning. Let\u2019s ensure that as we build an urban metropolis capable of holding two million people, we don\u2019t lose the local spaces that make us glad to call Edmonton home.<\/p>\n
This is a call to grow smarter. Edmonton can welcome more neighbours, achieve the outcomes of the City Plan, keep life affordable \u2014 while strengthening the identity of the places we love \u2014 if we put neighbourhood plans back at the centre. Citywide policies set the destination. Neighbourhood planning gets us there together.<\/p>\n
Rob Smyth is a former deputy city manager with the City of Edmonton, member of the Edmonton Neighbourhoods United Steering Committee and chair of the Glenora Civics Committee.<\/p>\n
Letters welcome<\/p>\n
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