Once upon a time in 1983, the Government of Alberta passed legislation which allowed municipalities to establish Business Improvement Areas.
The next year, a group of local business owners on 17th Avenue came together to sign a petition requesting that the city create a bylaw to make 17th Avenue the first BIA. Not long after, Marda Loop became Calgary’s second BIA, and 13 more would eventually be established in the years to come.
BIAs are a group of businesses within a defined geographical area that work together on local improvements and promote local economic development, and they’re no work of fiction.
Calgary’s BIAs have been thriving for the last 40 years, and to mark this anniversary, Mayor Jyoti Gondek will proclaim October 8 to 14 as BIA Week in Calgary!
Calgary’s most loved neighbourhoods
Picture your favourite neighbourhood. Now picture the street banners, planters, bike racks, decorations, and events that make it so enjoyable.
Along with promoting local businesses, the purpose of a BIA is to beautify, improve, and maintain property and public parking. For example, if you’ve ever enjoyed walking through Inglewood without traffic on car-free Sunday, you can thank the BIA for that.
BIAs are also responsible for iconic festivals and events that have come to be the fabric of their respective neighbourhoods, like Marda Loop’s Marda Gras Street Festival, Greenview’s Tango 2 Echo, Bowness’ Street Festival, Victoria Park’s Night Light, International Avenue’s East Town Get Down, and the 4th Street Lilac Fest.
Along with the aforementioned neighbourhoods, BIAs are also found in the Beltline, Bridgeland, Downtown, Chinatown, Crescent Heights Village, Kensington, and Montgomery on the Bow.
Why BIAs matter
Business owners may find it difficult to have their voices heard, but BIAs allow the collective community to come together to negotiate and advocate for what their neighbourhoods need.
The result is a series of communities throughout the city with reputations as destinations for Calgarians to do business, access services, and explore, shop, eat, and gather with family and friends.
You can celebrate the 40th anniversary of BIAs in Calgary by supporting one of the 6,500 businesses represented by the 15 BIAs in operation today.
And, it doesn’t have to be only through purchases (although, we’ll never have you pass up an excuse to do some shopping) — You can show support by leaving positive online reviews, subscribing to business mailing lists, following social media accounts, and referring friends to your favourite places.
When you support your community, you’re also enhancing local livelihoods. Learn more about Business Improvement Areas and their enduring impact at Calgary.ca/BIA.