White: Does densifying inner-city reduce access to parks, green space?

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I was intrigued by a recent Calgary Herald letter to the editor that questioned if the city was adding more parks to offset the impact of more density being added to inner-city neighbourhoods. The author correctly noted the importance of urban green spaces to humans’ physical and mental well-being. She is not alone in her thinking. The most common comments I hear against more infill housing density is the lack of green spaces, the removal of mature trees and loss of front lawns and loss of the tree canopy.

A quick check with the city of Calgary found that the population of Calgary’s inner-city neighbourhoods on the south side of downtown (in Ward 8) has more than doubled (from about 41,000 in 1961 to about 96,000 today) with plans for more.

Does this mean the Ward 8 parks are twice as busy? Are our inner city parks overused? Maybe — or maybe not? Do we need more parks or just better parks that are more attractive for a diversity of users.

Let’s take a closer look.

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Density versus Green Space

One of the city’s biggest issues these days is how to foster more density in our established communities in an attractive manner. Currently, about 30 per cent of all new home starts in Calgary are in established communities (the goal is 50 per cent) or about 5,000 new homes per year, spread out over more than 50 neighbourhoods.

The infill developments in Calgary’s established neighbourhoods definitely creates more use of existing parks, playgrounds and green spaces. That said, in my 30-plus years wandering Calgary’s established neighbourhoods, I have rarely found the local or regional parks, school sites and playgrounds busy unless there is a special event. In fact, often they are empty. Calgary is blessed with a lot of parks and green spaces.

In fact, the 2023 Canadian City Parks Report states Calgary has 6.7 hectares of park (44 per cent) and green space (56 per cent) for every 1,000 people. That amounts to 10 per cent of the total city area.

This would be much higher if our airport was outside the city limits as it is in many cities, or if one of our major water sources (i.e. Glenmore Reservoir) wasn’t within city limits.

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Calgary’s green space per person is also skewed lower because the city is a major warehouse and distribution centre — areas that have no parks and few trees. In comparison, Vancouver and Toronto’s major warehouse and distribution centres are outside their city limits.

The City of Calgary’s website says we have 5,600 parks and open spaces, 1,000 kilometres of pathways and more than 1,000 playgrounds. Given we have about 200 neighbourhoods, that means roughly 28 parks and/or green spaces for every community.

Given Calgary continues to attract tens of thousands of new residents every year, city council’s strategy to have 50 per cent of new housing via redevelopment of old neighbourhoods and 50 per cent in new ones seems to be a reasonable one as it balances growth internally and externally.

One of the reasons for the push for more density in existing neighbourhoods is so we can preserve the parkland and farmland at the edge of our city, which I suspect more everyone would agree is a good thing. Learn more: ccpr.parkpeople.ca/2023/cities/calgary-2022

My Experience

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I live across the street from a small urban park in West Hillhurst (one of Calgary’s most active infilling communities) where an upgraded playground was installed about seven years ago and a basketball court added a few years later. With each upgrade the park got more and more use. Last summer, a teenager who wanted to work on his soccer skills added a net to the existing goal posts and immediately the playing field got more use. Yes, the park’s use has increased, yet rarely is it used at capacity. Even during COVID, there was plenty of space for everyone.

Today, the basketball players have their space, the young families have their playground space, teens and young adults use the small playing field for various activities and sometimes you see older people just sitting on the benches. This happens mostly in evening and weekends. During the weekdays, the park gets used by more than 30 children attending the daycare on the edge of the park. It is a dynamic shared space, but it is not overused.

New and Improved Parks

To answer the letter to the editor author’s question, “Is the city building more parks?” The answer is “Yes!” The city is adding new parks where possible and upgrading parks to accommodate more uses. There are many good examples in the Beltline, including Barb Scott Park (with a winter ice rink) and the Connaught Dog Park. There have been upgrades to Thompkins Park, Memorial Park and River Park to mention just a few. Murdoch Park in Bridgeland was totally redone with The Bridges’ master plan, while in Mission, Elbow Island Park was added along with upgrades to the pathway along the Elbow River.

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The city and Parks Foundation Calgary have upgraded hundreds of playgrounds and added new elements like pump parks, allowing kids to ride their bikes on a hilly circuit in South Glenmore Park and West Confederation Park. Newer urban villages like East Village, Quarry Park, University District, Currie and West District all come with new park spaces funded by the developers.

Over the past 10 years, the Parks Foundation Calgary supported more than 150 park projects valued at $23 million, impacting more than 50 communities.

Last Word

In my experience, all of Calgary’s more than 50 inner-city neighbourhoods where infilling is causing increased density are well served by parks of various sizes, schoolyards, playgrounds and community association sites, as well as river pathways and escarpment green spaces. I love the vitality new residents (density) add to my community.

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