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Habitat for Humanity celebrates completion of six new affordable homes in Bowness

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NEWS RELEASE – Habitat for Humanity recently celebrated the completion of six new homes in Bowness that will provide affordable home ownership opportunities to six Calgary families.

“At Habitat, we know how difficult it is for families to break into the housing market,” said Gerrad Oishi, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta President and CEO. “That’s why we’re committed to working with our community to provide affordable home ownership opportunities for families. We’re so thankful for every sponsor, donor, community partner and volunteer who has stepped up to make affordable home ownership opportunities possible for these six families in Bowness.”

Lori Sigurdson, Minister of Seniors and Housing, was in attendance to bring greetings on behalf of the Government of Alberta, which has been a significant supporter of these homes in Bowness. Deborah Drever, MLA Calgary-Bow was also in attendance.

“That’s the cool thing about Habitat, is that it’s about community – everybody working together to create game-changing opportunities for these families,” said Sigurdson. “Our government is so proud to partner with Habitat for Humanity; we have a shared goal of creating more affordable housing in our province. I’m very proud to work with you and appreciate everything Habitat is doing.”

Every Habitat home is the result of community support. This project has been aided by financial contributions from numerous sponsors, donors and community partners, including the Government of Alberta, the CREB® Charitable Foundation, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) and Hockey Helps the Homeless.

“It is humbling for the foundation to have been a part of this incredible build,” says Aneve MacKay-Lyons, CREB® Charitable Foundation manager. “Our Realtor members are at the forefront of everything we do and it is great to see their hands-on volunteer hours and our donation make a measurable difference to our community and working families.

The CREB® Charitable Foundation donated $50,000 toward these Bowness builds and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) provided a $50,000 matching grant. This is the second collaborative build these three organizations have worked on together.

“We are proud to join forces with the CREB® Charitable Foundation on such a worthwhile project and support the wonderful work of Habitat for Humanity,” said Charlie Ponde, AREF chair. “Congratulations to the families on your new home and all of the memories that it will soon house.”

In addition to financial support, many tradespeople, contractors and suppliers stepped forward to offer donations of building materials and expert labour, along with more than 13,000 volunteer hours.

Susan, mother to Judah and Hope, is a future Habitat homeowner in Bowness. For her family, home ownership brings hope to their lives, knowing that anything is possible.

“My children can have stability in their lives and will have a strong start on their journey towards successful living,” Susan said. “I am excited to dream new dreams with my children – to develop new skills, meet new people and to help and serve others in the same way.”

Each Habitat homeowner has contributed 500 volunteer hours as part of their partnership, and will purchase their homes at Fair Market Value through Habitat’s affordable mortgage, which means no down payment and no interest. Mortgage payments will be geared toward each family’s’ income and will never exceed 30 per cent of their total household income. This gives parents financial flexibility and the ability to build long-term stability for their children.

These six homes in Bowness are one of five Habitat developments in this community. Future developments include a four-plex, scheduled for completion in January 2018, and three five-plexes, scheduled for completion by January 2019.

25th Anniversary celebrations at Friends of Fish Creek Park

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By Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society

Figure 1: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Signature Artwork  – Autumn Colour by Jim Pescottt

So far, 2017 is proving to be a pivotal year. As well as being the 25th anniversary of the Friends, it is also becoming the year where all our learning and relationships of the previous 5 years are coming together.

We launched two special fundraising initiatives to mark our 25th anniversary, the dedication brick program and the signature image program. Our brick program gives donors the opportunity to purchase a brick with their special message or dedication on it. The new pathway to the door of our office in the park will feature these bricks.

Our signature image program features a painting created specially for us by Canadian artist Jim Pescott. This image features the very essence of the park and we have had 25 limited edition art prints made, each one signed and numbered by Jim, which are available for purchase.

AREF funding has supported our work towards building the value we can add to the lives of our community. One area that has seen lots of growth is our wellness program suite. A lot has changed in our city in the past few years and the results of a slow down in the economy are only just starting to become clear. The previous season taught us a lot about the value the community saw in our wellness programs and the ways in which the park can serve as a tool to support both good physical and mental health. During this time, practitioners in wellness have reached out to us to collaborate in further leveraging the natural spaces in the park to support wellbeing.

Our hands on stewardship programs grow in both scope and complexity and we are now delivering riparian restoration activities in the park. In addition to the restoration activities, our invasive species management program continues to grow thanks to our amazing volunteers that have gathered a great deal of knowledge of this subject over the years.

Figure 2: Volunteers lend a hand in the care of Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Visit Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society’s website to keep up to date on our programs and upcoming events.

In Conversation: Neighbourhoods and the Future of the Suburb

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By: Design Talks (d.talks)

In May d.talks hosted “Let’s talk about…neighbourhoods,” a conversation exploring the relationship of built form with the potential for growth. Supported in part by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and open to the public, the discussion fused perspectives on housing, urban design, planning, development and the social fabric of our neighbourhoods.

We wondered what role design might play in creating adaptability. What might the suburb 2.0 look like?

Calgary is a collection of neighbourhoods. What Calgary’s streetcar in the early 1900s and today’s LRT system allow is the opportunity to define neighbourhoods with multiple kinds of mobility in mind. We wondered how urban habitat might evolve and how everyday errands might be done differently in a future suburb.

June Williamson—author of Designing Suburban Futures as well as co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs—showed the significant role design plays in “bettering” existing built form. Jamal Ramjohn, the Manager of Community Planning at The City of Calgary, surveyed the evolution of community form. Over six decades there is a return to rethinking the grid.

The relationship of policy and design was explored. Susanne Schindler, in sharing a multi-year research project called House Housing: An Untimely History of Real Estate, identified how housing alternatives are shaped. And sharing a Zurich cooperative housing example that blends micro-units, cluster-living, mixed income and seniors…what opportunities might allow housing to align with lifestyle changes over time?

Grace Lui, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Brookfield Residential, brought observations on livability indexing and the opportunity to transform single-use institutions like schools or libraries with shared-use alternatives. Urban Sociologist Jyoti Gondek, the Director of the Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, deepened the definition of a suburb. Communities in Calgary’s Northeast are flush with multi-generational families, forcing a re-think on the scale of some single family homes. What if density were defined as persons per unit instead of households per acre?

We heard: design nimbly and revitalize vacancy with alternative uses. Reconnect individuals with community and consider sharing. Today we lease phones and share cars, what will tomorrow’s generation of residents be sharing? A question from the audience asked how backyards might become shared laneway between homes. For now, the future is open with room for alternatives to emerge over time.

For more information on other d.talks events please visit: dtalks.org.

EPL hosts Dr. Tim Beatley & Edmonton joins the Biophilic Cities Network

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By: Edmonton Public Library

The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) was pleased to bring Dr. Tim Beatley to speak about Becoming a Biophilic City as part of our Forward Thinking Speaker Series. The event, held at the Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre on June 2, was supported by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation with a 25th Anniversary grant. Dr. Beatley was the seventh speaker in our series, which began nearly two years ago, and reflects our rich history of taking risks, trying new things and redefining the modern library. Through our Forward Thinking Speaker Series, we bring in a wide variety of thought leaders to challenge and inspire Edmontonians, and to help build a resilient and supportive community.

The enthusiastic response from Edmontonians was apparent, with more than 200 people in attendance. Dr. Beatley, an internationally recognized sustainable city researcher and author, shared examples of Biophilia from around the world and encouraged guests to start incorporating it into their everyday lives in order to further integrate nature in our communities. At the end of Dr. Beatley’s presentation, City of Edmonton Chief Planner Peter Ohm announced Edmonton has passed a resolution to join the Biophilic Cities Network.

We are thrilled those in attendance were reminded we need nature in our lives more than ever today, and how to care about, protect, restore and grow urban nature. We all now better understand how cities become more biophilic, and how important it is for us to tell the stories of the places and people building these urban-nature connections.

EPL is extremely thankful for the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, and their generosity in funding the event with a grant. It wouldn’t have happened without your support!

Feedback from attendees:

“It was interesting; I was glad to learn what a Biophilic city is, and that Edmonton has ‘joined the club.’”

“I’m glad there was a forum for something that is about making our world a better place!”

Click here to learn more about the Biophilic Cities Network.

EPL Twitter

CURB Magazine: Boomtown Edition

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Boomtowns – a familiar concept for Alberta. Rapid growth, while providing economic opportunities for communities, also comes with challenges of sustainability and quality of life. The City-Region Studies Centre is pleased to present its “Boomtowns” issue of Curb Magazine, the second part of its “Place-making in a Growing Economy” project, supported by AREF. This issue of Curb, reaching municipal offices and planning departments across the province, as well as available online and through retail outlets, explores shared challenges facing booming communities and planning and policy strategies to overcome them. Specific topics include the affordability and availability of housing and commercial space, homelessness, regional planning, planning for population and demographic changes, and creating engaging public spaces. This issue features case studies from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Camrose, and Cold Lake, and includes interviews with members of Alberta’s real estate community. A preview version of Curb’s “Boomtowns” issue is available through the AREF online library, and a full version is available through the CRSC website at http://crsc.ualberta.ca/CurbMagazine.aspx.

Download Preview Issue

by Brittany Stares, CRSC

Placemaking Issue by CURB Magazine

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Placemaking has become a popular term in policy circles for making a city, region or community more inviting for residents and investment, both existing and prospective. In growing economies such as Alberta, placemaking can help balance growth pressures with liveability, in addition to attracting new talent. But successful placemaking is complex, requiring the engagement of a wide array of stakeholders and going well beyond the branding and beautification exercises often associated with it. Housing forms and availability, community design, transportation, sustainability, local narratives and governance all weigh into the success of any placemaking initiative.

 The City-Region Studies Centre (CRSC) is pleased to present the first of its two-part “Placemaking in a Growing Economy” project, supported by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation. Delivered through the CRSC’s national publication Curb Magazine, planners, researchers and community members across Canada explore the nature of placemaking generally as well as provide specific lessons for placemakers through discussion of: the complex nature of place-marketing; the dangers of gentrification; bridging the gap between the real estate community and placemaking projects; connecting plans to the community, and more. Curb’s “Placemaking” issue also includes case studies in Canadian placemaking and an interview with the City of Toronto’s Chief Planner, Jennifer Keesmaat.

 Curb Magazine is available through the City-Region Studies Centre (http://www.crsc.ualberta.ca). A complimentary digital copy of “Placemaking” is available in the AREF Resource Library. The “Placemaking in a Growing Economy” project will conclude with an issue of Curb Magazine on “Boomtowns,” due out in spring 2014.

CRSC releases new issue of Curb Magazine – “Suburban Land Use: Strip Malls and Parking Lots”

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By: Brittany Stares, Managing Editor, Curb Magazine

 
Suburban land use poses unique challenges for planners, developers and residents; particularly in those communities that are well-established and have limited space upon which to draw. The sprawl, segregation and dependence on the private automobile that often characterizes the suburbs undermine broader pushes for community-building and sustainability.

The winter issue of Curb Magazine, entitled “Suburban Land Use: Strip Malls and Parking Lots,” explores this topic, with a particular focus on better utilizing space in the suburbs through the re-imagining, retrofitting or redevelopment of existing, outdated sites. Using under-performing strip malls and their associated parking lots as the basis for innovative planning, featured articles highlight the potential – and pathways – for these unloved spaces to reduce sprawl, encourage alternative means of transportation, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate economic, cultural and recreational activity. Contributors include winning and shortlisted entrants from the international ideas competition, “Strip Appeal: Reinventing the Strip Mall” and renowned architect/author, Ellen Dunham-Jones.

Curb Magazine is published by the City-Region Studies Centre (CRSC) at the University of Alberta, and focuses on policy practice and community experience in cities, regions and rural areas. Curb is distributed to municipal offices and planning departments across Canada and the northwestern United States. The CRSC aims to inform public policy by increasing understanding of cultural, political and economic interactions and inter-dependencies within social spaces. It is one of the only centres in North America focusing on regional as well as municipal research.

Curb 3.2, “Suburban Land Use: Strip Malls and Parking Lots,” is available now through the CRSC website (http://www.crsc.ualberta.ca/). This issue has been generously sponsored by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, along with our following issue on stewardship and sustainability in planning.