Sunday, September 7, 2025
  • Login
Forbes 40under40
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
Forbes 40under40
No Result
View All Result
Home Money

Leong: Proposed residential rezoning is about offering housing choices

by Riah Marton
in Money
Leong: Proposed residential rezoning is about offering housing choices
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Breadcrumb Trail Links

  1. Opinion
  2. Columnists

Despite what the political rhetoric suggests, upzoning will allow our neighbourhoods to evolve slowly and naturally to enable more housing choices.

Published Apr 15, 2024  •  3 minute read

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Crews work on new homes in the Alpine Park neighbourhood of Calgary on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Brent Calver/Postmedia

Article content

If you’ve been wondering what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith thinks of the issue of blanket rezoning in Calgary, she gave us a hint during her regular radio appearance this past weekend.

Advertisement 2

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Calgary Sun

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account and fewer ads.
  • Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
  • Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
  • Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
  • Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
  • Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
  • Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
  • Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
  • Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

  • Access articles from across Canada with one account.
  • Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
  • Enjoy additional articles per month.
  • Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Sign In or Create an Account

or

Article content

Her main beef related to the federal government inserting itself into civic matters by making upzoning a condition for cities to receive funds for housing. This is one of the cited reasons for a proposed law that would forbid municipalities and universities from signing deals with Ottawa without provincial consent.

Article content

She even expressed sympathy for civic officials now compelled to comply with federal terms in exchange for money for housing.

To be fair, the idea of slowing down growth around a city’s edges and diversifying the housing stock within existing urban footprints is hardly new. The feds appear to have merely hastened cities’ smarter growth objectives.

Leaving the discussion about intergovernmental relations to another day, let’s focus on Smith’s thoughts about housing itself.

opening envelope

Calgary Sun Headline News

Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

Thanks for signing up!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Calgary Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Article content

Advertisement 3

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

People should be able to choose to live in the kind of neighbourhood that suits them, she said.

She stated a preference for mixed-use neighbourhoods due to convenient access to services but added it would be unfair to impose that on everyone.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
This file image shows Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaking at the Small Modular Reactor Summit 2024 at the Westin Airport in northeast Calgary on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. More recently, she shared her thoughts about Calgary’s proposed blanket residential rezoning. Jim Wells/Postmedia

But if we transpose that discussion into older residential-only neighbourhoods, which is what Calgary’s rezoning debate is about, what we mostly have now is a near-total absence of housing choice.

The vast majority of housing in low-density areas of most North American cities, including Calgary, is made up of single-family and sometimes semi-detached homes.

This is because decades years ago, leaders of the time decided this was the ideal way to build cities to accommodate a car-centric life.

Advertisement 4

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

As has been pointed out by others, this goes counter to the people-centric, fiscally sustainable patterns of growth cities had followed for centuries.

Currently, one practical side-effect is this: If someone was interested in the space provided by a single-family house but cared much less for yard work or gardening, the next best choice would likely be an apartment-style home, sometimes in a super-dense, high-rise setting.

There’s not much in between — the missing middle. For anyone in the situation, their housing choices have been unfairly made for them.

Calgary is already doing a great job at building better suburban communities, which offer a mix of single-family homes, semi-detached homes and row houses, none of which are particularly tall or particularly dense.

Advertisement 5

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

There’s no risk of that stopping, with city council having previously approved more greenfield development than city bureaucrats had recommended.

But mindful of the financial perils of endless expansion, cities are finally facing up to the fact post-Second World War-style suburban growth is fiscally unsustainable.

And while we will still need to grow at the edges, it would also be prudent to allow older neighbourhoods to develop naturally and gently over time, providing more housing options without having to continually stretch civic resources to accommodate ever-growing city limits.

Calgary suburban neighbourhoods
Suburban homes dominate the Calgary landscape on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Brent Calver/Postmedia

Upzoning is not about transforming our cities overnight, despite what the political rhetoric on both sides would suggest, but about allowing them to evolve slowly, naturally.

Advertisement 6

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

To borrow from the premier’s verbiage, it’s about giving people more choice in housing type and location.

The following bears repeating: With Calgary’s proposed rezoning, there are limits on building height and minimum suite sizes. Apartment buildings are off the table completely. Parks are to be untouched. And there remains oversight for development that’s especially stringent for townhomes, according to the city’s documentation.

Nothing happens unless a homeowner chooses to building something to replace what’s already there, or sells to someone who wants to do likewise. Nothing is being imposed here.

By allowing low-density housing to be potentially replaced by slightly less low-density housing, blanket rezoning is nowhere near the dramatic change described even by Calgary itself.

Frankly, there would be less controversy if the city had more accurately and realistically framed what it planned to do.

Now, with just about a week before a public hearing on rezoning, Calgary officials find themselves waging a battle for public opinion partly of their own making.

rleong@postmedia.com

Recommended from Editorial

Article content

Share this article in your social network

Tags: ChoicesHousingLeongOfferingProposedresidentialrezoning
Riah Marton

Riah Marton

I'm Riah Marton, a dynamic journalist for Forbes40under40. I specialize in profiling emerging leaders and innovators, bringing their stories to life with compelling storytelling and keen analysis. I am dedicated to spotlighting tomorrow's influential figures.

Next Post
BNP Paribas to become top investor in Belgian insurer Ageas

BNP Paribas to become top investor in Belgian insurer Ageas

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Forbes 40under40 stands as a distinguished platform revered for its commitment to honoring and applauding the remarkable achievements of exceptional individuals who have yet to reach the age of 40. This esteemed initiative serves as a beacon of inspiration, spotlighting trailblazers across various industries and domains, showcasing their innovation, leadership, and impact on a global scale.

 
 
 
 

NEWS

  • Forbes Magazine
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Money
  • Leadership
  • Real Estate
  • Lifestyle
Instagram Facebook Youtube

© 2025 Forbes 40under40. All Rights Reserved.

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle

© 2024 Forbes 40under40. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In