Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan and Transportation Plan receive Award of Merit from Alberta Professional Planners Institute

The City of Calgary received the Award of Merit for the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) at the annual Alberta Professional Planners Institute (APPI) Conference in Red Deer, Alberta today.

 

“This award symbolizes the provincial leadership role Calgary plays in growing more sustainably:  environmentally, socially and fiscally, says Mary Axworthy, Director of Land Use Planning & Policy for The City.  “Municipal planning has many challenges and opportunities for city planners across Alberta, so being voted by our peers to have created some great plans demonstrates we are headed in the right direction for ensuring Calgary is a great place to be now and in the future.”

The Alberta Professional Planners Institute (APPI) is the professional association of private and public sector planners and academics practicing in Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.    The Award of Merit is selected by a committee of members and aims to celebrate achievements in the planning profession across the member provinces and territories.

Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Transportation Plan (CTP) are a strategic approach to addressing the key issues facing Calgary, including phenomenal pressures for growth and a rapid expansion of population and jobs. The MDP and CTP are Calgary’s long term vision and plans for integrated land use planning and transportation.  Under the new direction of the MDP and CTP Calgary would see more balanced future growth, with half in established communities and half in new greenfield development.  They were approved by City Council in September 2009. 

 

“The business-as-usual approach to planning ,developing and transportation in Calgary (accommodating most new growth on the city’s edge) has proved to be unsustainable,” says Don Mulligan, Director of Transportation Planning for The City.  “Having two integrated plans for Land Use and Transportation allows us to work towards complete communities that are well connected with a variety transportation options, including walking, cycling, transit and automobiles.”

 

The MDP and CTP were created through the Plan It Calgary process.   From 2007 to 2009, over 6,000 Calgarians provided input on how Calgary should grow over the next 60 years, with Calgary forecasted to grow by another 1.3 million people in that timeframe.  The MDP and CTP aligned with the goals and vision of imagineCALGARY, the 100 year sustainability plan and vision for Calgary. 

 

For more information on the Municipal Development Plan, visit www.calgary.ca/mdp.

For more information on the Calgary Transportation Plan, visit www.calgary.ca/ctp.

  

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