Bridging Implementation Gaps: Building Complete Communities Around Light Rail Stations in Calgary
Date
2013-10-08
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Abstract
This study examines challenges associated with the implementation of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Station Area Communities (SAC) in Calgary, Canada. It defines the Community Planning Process (CPP) as a cycle with five stages: Vision, Plans, Implementation, Evaluation and Feedback where the communication of Evaluation outcomes (Feedback) loops back to inform the next cycle and improve future physical and functional outcomes. The research takes a two-pronged approach: (1) SWOT Analysis of Calgary’s municipal practice within the CPP with respect to TOD which includes a review of the literature, a review of Calgary’s city-level TOD policy and interviews with key informants to assess implementation gaps; and (2) Development and implementation of a TOD Community Evaluation Framework (CEF) which is informed by a review of the literature, a review of Calgary’s local-level TOD policy and participant observation in order to determine the level of success of TOD SACs. The CEF defines five evaluation categories: Intensity, Key Elements, Pedestrian Focus, Mix of Uses and Place and was used to analyze three Calgary SACs: Bridgeland, Sunnyside and Westbrook. Within Calgary’s municipal practice, it was found that community evaluation and feedback are often overlooked altogether. At the local level, Intensity, Mix of Uses and Place categories score consistently lower across the case study communities. It is recommended that the City implement a community evaluation system that provides feedback to decision makers within the CPP and that implementation efforts focus on attracting residents and jobs while encouraging mixed use projects and place-making efforts.
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Urban and Regional Planning
Citation
Archibald, J. (2013). Bridging Implementation Gaps: Building Complete Communities Around Light Rail Stations in Calgary (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25163