About Breathe

Project details about Edmonton's Green Network Strategy.

Vision

Edmonton offers an integrated, multifunctional network of parks and open spaces that is renowned as an iconic and defining feature of Alberta’s capital city. The green network supports healthy ecosystems and diverse wildlife habitats, and meets the needs of communities present and future by connecting people with year-round opportunities to learn, commute, recharge, recreate, gather and celebrate. Edmontonians are proud of their green network and enjoy sharing the diverse environmental, economic and quality of life benefits the green network provides.

Project Goal

Breathe is a transformative strategy to make sure that as the city grows, each neighbourhood will be supported by a network of open space as Edmonton continues to grow. The main goal of the Green Network Strategy is to plan and sustain a healthy city by encouraging connection and integration of open space at the site, neighbourhood, city and regional levels.

Parks and open spaces are vital to a community’s health. These spaces provide places for people to play, gather, grow food, learn about nature and celebrate. Citizens share these spaces with wildlife and plants. These spaces are also part of the city’s infrastructure network.

With Edmonton Metro projected to nearly double in population from 1.2 million people to 2.1 million people by 2050, Breathe will guide the planning of the city’s green network to meet the needs of growing communities.

Breathe aligns with strategic goals for the City, in particular improving Edmonton’s livability, preserving and sustaining the environment, transforming urban form and encouraging use of public transit, walking and cycling.

Project Themes

Three overarching themes help to frame how we think about the green network and why it is important to people, the city and the ecological system:

Ecology: Open space protects the environment. By working with our ecosystems, we support natural ecological processes, save our riverbank from erosion and build habitat for animals such as birds, fish and moose, as well as plants and trees.

Wellness: Open space supports health and well-being, and offers places for people to be physically active and recharge mentally.

Celebration: Open space connects people to each other and builds a sense of place. These are key places for communities to thrive, gather and celebrate.

What is Part of the Green Network?

The green network is all of the city’s outdoor land and water that is publicly owned and/or publicly accessible. Some examples of open spaces include:

Parks and plazas, such as Churchill Square, William Hawrelak Park, John Fry Sport Park, Jackie Parker Recreation Area

Main streets, such as Jasper Avenue, Whyte Avenue, and 124th Street

Natural areas, including the River Valley and ravine system, Poplar Lake, Hodgson Wetland, and Pollard Meadows Natural Area

Corridors and linkages, such as Mill Creek Ravine and Wolfwillow Ravine

Green infrastructure, including bioswales (such as at the Ellerslie Fire Station and Mill Woods Park Parking Lot), publicly accessible green roofs, and bioretention / rainwater gardens (Eastgate Drainage Yard and Government House Park)

What is a Network Approach?

A network approach is a land-use planning approach that looks for solutions based on the interactive and interdependent nature of many factors. These factors include how people use the land, development planning, surface and groundwater flows, landforms and slopes, species and habitats, and ecological conservation.

Online	Contact 311 Online

Phone	311
TTY	711

Phone

311

TTY

711

Parking Ban

Vision

Project Goal

Project Themes

What is Part of the Green Network?

What is a Network Approach?

Stay Connected with Breathe

Contact Us

311 Contact Centre