By Jeremy Klaszus from FFWD Weekly

CALGARY - On October 15, a city council committee will vote on whether or not to put the brakes on Calgary’s sprawling expansion and steer the city’s growth in a more sustainable direction.

Proponents of the plan — called Plan It Calgary — say it’s a change that’s overdue. The plan would slow urban sprawl and shift much of the city’s growth to existing neighbourhoods, integrating new developments with improved transit, walking and cycling infrastructure. “Right now, 100 per cent of our growth is going to the edges,” says Patricia Gordon, the Plan It project manager. “So we want to see more growth at really strategic places on the inside.”

The seven aldermen on the Land Use, Planning and Transportation Committee will vote on whether or not to approve eight “key directions” laid out in the plan. (Council as a whole would later need to approve the directions before they could be put into action.) The directions include linking land use decisions to transit and increasing mobility choices for Calgarians, as well as balancing growth in established and new communities and building a mix of housing types. “This is about positioning ourselves to be a viable, vibrant sustainable city long into the future, and not a city that will simply be a relic of the oil age,” says Byron Miller, director of the University of Calgary’s urban studies program. He adds that Plan It Calgary isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.