Experts Encourage Edmontonians to Feel the Winter Love

January 20, 2012

Edmontonians gathered at City Hall to hear from international, national and local experts on how to make a winter city that’s lively, attractive, safe, sustainable and healthy. Presenters included architects from the Danish design firm Gehl Architects and gh3 in Toronto, John Furlong the CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games as well as business, tourism and quality of life experts.

Participants in the evening kick-off event and half-day symposium were encouraged to come up with recommendations for what would help people embrace and engage in winter – input that will be used to help develop Edmonton’s winter city strategy. The City of Edmonton is leading the development of the strategy to transform into Edmonton into a world leading northern city.

“We have such opportunity at our doorsteps,” says Edmonton City Councillor Ben Henderson. “We already have popular winter festivals. We can skate, ski, snowshoe, toboggan, or walk through beautiful winter landscapes – again – right outside our doors. We need to build on this, to celebrate our northern climate and create a city that embraces winter so that Edmonton is known around the world as a great place to live and visit during the winter months.”

John Furlong encouraged participants to appreciate the capacity of the community to build a year-round great city. “Never underestimate the power of you, the public, to push for change and transform your city into a place that reflects your vision of a great city to live in and visit,” Furlong said.

The symposium marked the start of a three month campaign to engage residents, the business community, urban planners and visitors to share ideas on what would make them fall in love with winter in Edmonton. Public consultations, social media and a postcard campaign will be used to gather input until the end of March, 2012.

A think tank made up of 40 community leaders will use this input, consider best practices of successful northern cities and gather advice from local and international ‘winter’ experts to help develop a strategy with recommendations that will go to City Council in fall 2012.

For more information:

Susan Holdsworth

Project Manager

Title	Community Strategies and Development
Telephone	780-496-3664