Winter Design

The numbering system connects the goals and activities to the Implementation Plan.

Goals of the Winter Design Pillar

• D1 - Incorporate urban design for winter fun activity, beauty and interest
• D2 - Design our communities for winter safety and comfort        

What We’ve Been Working On

Winter Design Guidelines

Billions of dollars are being spent on development in our city. We’d like to see a full return on investment by ensuring that our new buildings and public spaces are attractive and comfortable year-round. So, we’ve developed winter design guidelines which provide a robust winter lens for all development and redevelopment throughout the city.

The guidelines focus on the public realm, both streetscapes and open spaces, and outline performance expectations, including consideration for comfortable microclimates and vibrancy. We’ve also developed a new policy to accompany the guidelines to ensure they’ll be used.  (Action D1.1)

Integrated Lighting Draft Strategy

Lighting can play a crucial role in making a place more inviting, magical, memorable and joyful. We know that we also have to be mindful of dark sky principles. We started off working on a Creative Lighting Master Plan, but we have evolved our thinking. While the focus of this strategy is still lighting for placemaking, we also know it is about managing darkness and that it also has to work on light efficiency and health. It will be about being more strategic with our creative lighting.

Pilot Project to Light Heritage Buildings

Our city has some beautiful heritage buildings with interesting and attractive architectural features. We’d like to highlight some of those features year-round, so we’ve launched a pilot project to light heritage buildings. This cost-sharing program is intended to provide exterior lighting that enhances or highlights the visual presence of some of Edmonton’s historic resources, adding to our sense of place, identity and pride.