Edmonton’s planning system needs more than just a tune-up. It’s made up of hundreds of small geographic plans, many of them more than 30 years old, that no longer serve our city like they used to. This is why The City Plan introduced a
new planning geography
called districts — so we can plan for the future in a new way.
Since a plan for every neighbourhood isn’t feasible — Edmonton has over 400 neighbourhoods — The City Plan groups collections of diverse neighbourhoods across Edmonton into 15 districts. The District Planning project is about building a plan for each district. District plans support The City Plan by communicating and illustrating how each district is intended to change and densify when Edmonton reaches its 1.25 million population milestone.
When city planning focuses on a broader district level, it helps us be more thoughtful and efficient with our infrastructure like roads, transit and parks. District Planning will describe how the City is supporting more housing, businesses, amenities and transportation options in each district as we welcome more Edmontonians within our city’s current boundaries.
The intention is to move Edmonton towards a city where everyone enjoys access to amenities and services within a 15-minute walk, roll or transit ride from their home. Though, districts are not meant to be self-contained. For some households, 15-minute access could mean visiting nearby districts.
District Planning is not about restricting movement, monitoring people or tracking an individual’s carbon emissions, and nothing will be put in place to do so.