Thank you for checking out our civics monthly brief that’s specific to planning and development. we will aim to bring you the most relevant information, opportunities and resources to inform your work – and to bring you up to date with what the EFCL is working on for Leagues.
We’re excited to work with Edmontonians to shape the future of our city. Community Leagues and citizens have a right to be involved as partners in planning and development processes and we’re committed to bringing everyone into that process.
THE FRONT PAGE
The Right Housing
As Edmontonians, we care about our neighbours, our communities and our city. We all benefit when we see housing as a basic right and welcome people from all walks of life into our neighbourhoods. Taking this approach requires commitment, leadership, action, trust and care.
For neighbourhoods, affordable housing has a wide range of benefits for families and for communities. However, there remain barriers to building these much needed developments. Communities can be key champions and partners in removing these barriers and working with the City and non-profit partners to make sure that everyone in Edmonton is housed.
The right to housing is often expressed in the term “Housing First.” Housing First challenges the idea that a person needs to meet certain preconditions before being housed and, instead, ensures a person is housed first, cared for by neighbours and given access to the variety of institutional supports that allow for long-term success.
Research and local data show that more than 80 per cent of people provided Housing First have remained housed 12 months after housing. Housing First has proven to be effective not only in Edmonton, but in many cities across North America.
In order to imagine and co-create housing for all. We the EFCL is working to provide you information and resources so that you, as champions in the community, can develop leadership, identify how neighbourhoods could contribute to larger city goals, and identify methods to aid neighbourhood-led development.
Making positive change requires trust, shared exploration, and decision-making if the goal is to produce optimal benefits equitably and in ways that are sensitive, relevant and recognize the unique assets of particular neighbourhoods.
We are excited to work with you in 2022 to #endhomelessnessyeg.
THE MONTHLY BRIEF
The Monthly Brief will provide you with a summary of the conversations and priorities of the EFCL’s Planning and Development Committee.
The PDC is made up of 12 District Representatives from across the City of Edmonton, who are elected to represent their Districts and provide comments from a community perspective when it comes to planning and development policy in Edmonton.
The Planning and Development Committee provides critical input and ensures representation for leagues on city wide planning and transportation matters and supports individual leagues and districts in building rich, engaging, inclusive and generous communities through planning, design and development.
If you are interested in becoming a district representative through your league, apply HERE today.
Item 1. City Plan and what’s in it for Leagues
The City Plan is likely to get a lot of air time in 2022 as our new council members look to bring its vision for our spaces and places to life.
The EFCL and the Planning and Development Committee will be working hard to represent and engage local perspectives. We will be focused on building the communication channels that will allow Leagues to stay informed, engaged and able to dream together about how we will get to our future city.
For Leagues and everyone who lives in Edmonton, engaging with each other on City Plan implementation means coming together to assess our strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities we want to bring forward in imagining new opportunities for the future.
Engaging across Leagues to consider our environmental, social and economic systems is an exciting opportunity to learn, grow, adapt and succeed together.
We will be sharing opportunities to get involved and making sure that you have the information, tools and resources to be engaged every step of the way. Follow the EFCL by subscribing to the Living Local Newsletter or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
Item 2. Infill Roadmap coming to a close
Edmonton City Council’s Urban Planning Committee will be meeting in the new year to hear a final update on the 2018 Infill Roadmap. This final update will detail the progress made on the 25 actions outlined in the outgoing plan and recommendations for actions which may be sustained beyond the end of the program.
The 2021 annual report presented the sixteen actions which have been completed and intentions for the final nine to be completed by the end of 2022. While there has been broad support for the program, up to 50 per cent of those surveyed have cited infrastructure capacity as a major barrier to advancing projects in line with the actions of the roadmap.
With the goal of welcoming more people and new housing into established areas, the city is focusing on this through action 2 – Review Infrastructure Capacity. The goal of the review is to assess the current and anticipated investment needed in central neighbourhoods, key nodes and corridors to accommodate the city’s future growth.
In addition to a review of infrastructure capacity, “the remaining actions reflect the City’s ongoing commitment to excellent service and ambitions to tackle broader issues through major initiatives such as the Zoning Bylaw Renewal and City Plan implementation projects.”
Learn more about the Infill Roadmap
Item 3. Community-Led Projects and Resilient Streets
Leagues across Edmonton have been thinking about how they and their neighbours move around the city. Thinking broadly about safety, security, sustainability and enjoyment has meant an urgent shift to diversify the way we move and the infrastructure that we require to do so effectively.
As a city still tethered to the car for a majority of our daily trips, many of us have experienced near crashes, minor crashes, or have the worst.
In 2015, The city adopted a Vision Zero Strategy to combat this health crisis and in the time since, traffic-related fatalities have decreased by 63 per cent, serious injuries have decreased by 40 per cent and pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries have decreased by 54 per cent. Yet there is still much to do. In 2019, 268 people were seriously injured, and 14 people died due to crashes on our streets.
The EFCL has worked with leagues across Edmonton to champion a city designed for people, not simply cars. These small steps, culminated in our Street Safety Handbook and a better understanding of how citizens can champion concrete changes that result in fewer injuries, fewer lives lost and more attractive and liveable public spaces.
In 2021, the City launched a Safe Mobility Strategy and the Vision Zero Street Labs Program. A program that has worked with leagues across Edmonton to co-create temporary and adaptable measures designed with neighbourhood input to positively change how we move and the way we think about our streets. Many leagues had incredible projects go forward over a challenging 2021. We were inspired to see what residents imagined and executed. Check out Westmounts Street Lab
Learn more or Inquire for 2022.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
