Major Research Papers

ANNUAL REPORT EXPLORING THE HOUSING ATTRACTION USING SPACE SYNTAX TECHNIQUE: A CASE OF EDMONTON
Anuradha Kanchani
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BOLSTERING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH HEALTH-FOCUSED CLIMATE ADAPTATION: MOVING FROM TALK TO ACTION IN WESTERN CANADIAN COMMUNITIES
Desiree Rose
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CHANGES OBSERVED IN THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND PHENOMENON DUE TO AN INCREASE IN THE TREE CANOPY
Param Shah
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CONNECTING POLICY TO PRACTICE: FACTORS AFFECTING SUBURBAN TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY OF EDMONTON
Georgina Campos
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INVESTIGATING THE SENSE OF BELONGING AMONG RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA: A CASE OF IRANIAN-ZOROASTRIAN AND INDIAN-ZOROASTRIAN IMMIGRANTS
Nooshin Firoozbakhsh
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INVISIBLE CITY: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF URBAN IDENTITY FORMATION IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
Sean Sedgwick
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PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF UTILITY SCALE SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN EDMONTON
James Chin
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RESILIENT PEOPLE, RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: BUILDING URBAN CLIMATE RESILIENCE THROUGH CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Roya Karimi-Boushehri
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SUPPORTING ALTERNATIVE HOUSING MODELS IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Molly Thomas
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TOWARDS A CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FRAMEWORK FOR HEATWAVES THROUGH OPEN SPACE TRANSFORMATION AT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SCALE IN ALBERTA
Zahra Azarm
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URBAN RESILIENCE THROUGH ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: AN ASSESSMENT OF GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Nickolas Zazula
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ADAPTIVE CAPACITY FOR HERITAGE RESOURCE ADAPTATION: A CASE STUDY OF VICTORIA BC 
Sean Adams
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ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN HEAT ISLANDS AND TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTS: A CASE OF EDMONTON, CANADA
Ghazal Lotfi
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COMMUNITY BUILDING THROUGH SPORTS: EXAMINING HOW SPORTING FACILITIES CAN BECOME MORE THAN A VENUE
Connor Pope
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COMPARING CANADIAN HERITAGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY CONSIDERING TORONTO, WINNIPEG AND VANCOUVER
Jared Althouse
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ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUES AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION IN URBAN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM FIVE CANADIAN COMMUNITIES
Nicklas Baran
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EDMONTON METROPOLITAN REGION BOARD: A SUCCESSFUL METROPOLITAN REGIONAL GOVERNANCE MODEL?
Jason Hanlun Li
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GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS OF WOMEN'S TRANSPORTATION BEHAVIOUR AND NEEDS WITHIN GLOBAL NORTH LITERATURE, CANADIAN HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL SURVEYS AND CITY OF TORONTO TRANSPORTATION TOMORROW SURVEY RESULTS
Priyanka Babbar
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IMPACTS OF LOSS OF VEGETATION COVER ON URBAN HEAT ISLAND; A CASE STUDY OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Arfa Rizwan
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THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGING YOUTH TO PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING
Shirley Wu
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MUNICIPAL FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GROWTH: AN ASSESSMENT OF RESIDENTIAL 
Robert Casault
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NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: HOW THE CITY OF EDMONTON FOSTERS AGE-FRIENDLINESS
Rose Marie Christina Paonessa
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REPRESENTATION AND DECISION-MAKING IN EDMONTON'S COMMUNITY LEAGUES: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY
Elisabeth Hill
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THE RIGHT TO BE WARM: EMERGING WINTER CITY DESIGN INITIATIVE'S IMPACT ON EQUITABLE PUBLIC SPACES
Nicole Cronkhite
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ROLLING WITH THE RIVER: THE INTERSECTION OF SOCIAL VULNERABILITY AND FLOOD MITIGATION PLANNING IN PORT ALBERNI, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Katrina Villeneuve
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ROOM TO GROW: EXPLORING INTERSTITIALITY THROUGH THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN URBAN GARDEN
Emily Proskiw
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SITE SELECTION OF FIELD HOSPITALS DURING EMERGENCIES
Shohreh Zarezadeh Kheibari
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STREET INTERFACE DURING PANDEMIC: THE ROLE AND PARTICIPATION OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS ON THE STREETS IN EDMONTON
Bhavya Nileshbhai Mistry
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ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE ADAPTATION POLICY AND PLANNING: A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY
Sarah Kehler
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ASSESSING PUBLIC OPEN SPACE DESIGN TO SUPPORT SEISMIC RESILIENCE: A CASE STUDY ON ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Spencer Aiken
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DEFENSIBLE SPACE AS A WILDLAND FIRE MITIGATION STRATEGY IN JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA
Jake Muffly
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EVALUATING MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION: CASE STUDIES FROM SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA
Jordan Rea
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EXPLORING THE STATUS OF STREET VENDING IN EDMONTON: IMPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING AND PLACE
Maria Suarez
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GENTRIFICATION RELATED DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS SURROUNDING LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT STATIONS IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Jesse Willem Pieter Tjepkema
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GROWING RESILIENT: THE POTENTIAL OF URBAN AGRICULTURE FOR IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY DURING EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY
Tara Slater
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IMPROVING THE APPROACH TO WINTER SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE IN WINTER CITIES: A CASE STUDY OF EDMONTON
Fiona Mcgill
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INTEGRATING PUBLIC TRANSIT & SHARED MICROMOBILITY PAYMENTS TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION EQUITY IN SEATTLE, WA
Kirsten Beale
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IS BALANCE POSSIBLE IN A BOOMTOWN ECONOMY? BARRIERS TO CLIMATE ACTION IN RESOURCE-BASED COMMUNITIES
Seghan MacDonald
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PLANNERS' PERSPECTIVE ON THE CO-CREATION OF NEIGHBOURHOOD CLIMATE ACTION STRATEGIES IN EDMONTON
Shirley Lie
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PROPERTY VALUE AND LAND USE IMPACTS OF CALGARY'S RAPID TRANSIT NETWORK EXPANSION: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS
Cherise Roberts
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SOCIAL CAPITAL AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ON A NEIGHBOURHOOD SCALE: A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF EDMONTON
Jaclyn Winkler
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TENSIONS IN TACTICAL URBANISM: THE ROLE OF URBAN PLANNERS AND CITIZENS
Sara Haidey
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Coastal regions are first in line for the big change because of rising sea -level.
Adaptation is widely accepted as essential for managing sea-level rise impacts on coastal areas.
However, a critical discourse exists on the suitability and applicability of adaptation options and
their transferability among different coastal zones. Incorporating adaptation to climate change
into coastal park management could be vital in the sustainable provision of the natural
ecosystem. Therefore, this research investigates the significance of the coastal parks as one of
the adaptation methods in buffing communities against climate extremes. A potential design is
developed in response to the sea-level impacts and storm events, based on site analysis
conducted at the study area- the Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia. This research mostly
encourages naturalization method also called as ecosystem-based adaptation. The research
reviews literature on coastal adaptation options (defend, accommodate, and retreat) to manage
coastal regions. Similarly, best practices using naturalization approach is studied to identify
favoured strategies at the study area. While naturalization method is mostly emphasized, at
critical locations, soft techniques is incorporated to enhance the resilient capacity of the park.
Hence, this research focus on how a design initiative could contribute to the coastal
environment’s protection; the suitability, acceptability, and transferability of different adaptation
options in the context of site.

Keywords: Sea Level Rise, Storm Surge, Coastal Communities, Coastal Park, Climate
Adaptation

Broad overview of the cultural plans of five North American cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Austin, Port-
land and Seattle) and attempts to summarize and compare the similar approaches of municipal sup-
port and facilitation of arts and culture industries in each location, concluding with an assessment for
these recommendations in reference to the Edmonton context.

Key words:
1. Document reviewing cultural planning processes and tools used in North America;
2. Document assessing cultural planning activities applied to the Edmonton, Alberta context.

Municipal annexation or boundary extension is a legal process in which municipalities re-
adjust their boundaries, usually by acquiring land and population from adjoining smaller munici-
pality or a county (Rabin, 2003). It is a common tool used by provinces or municipalities for rea-
sons such as land needed for future growth, service delivery of a rural or unincorporated land with
adjacent municipality, or to increase tax base. Between 2001 and 2016, Canada has observed about 929 annexations, out of which British Columbia observed about twenty three percent (212) of
those annexations, and Alberta observed about twenty two percent (210) of those annexations
(Agrawal, 2018). The focus of this research is on Alberta and British Columbia with an agenda of
doing a comparative analysis of five rural communities to understand the reasons behind municipal
boundary adjustments and to assess if municipalities in the two provinces have similar or different
reasons for annexations. The research is conducted with a qualitative lens by studying government
documents and interviewing municipal officials to answer the research question. There were sev-
eral factors identified behind the boundary extensions in the two provinces, however, the promi-
nent three factors that were identified are to facilitate future growth and development, to increase
the tax base, and to service communities in the fringe.

Keywords: Municipal Annexation; Municipal Boundary Change; Municipal Boundary Ex-
tension; Municipal Boundary Adjustment; Local Government Change; Alberta; British Columbia

The effects of increasing temperatures and changing rates of precipitation due to climate
change are creating uncertainties in forest resiliency (Wang et al., 2019). The Municipality of
Jasper and Jasper National Park are currently experiencing the impacts of climate change and are
at risk of a major forest fire. As the climate is changing, traditional methods of forest
management are no longer adequate (Mahony et al., 2018). Therefore, planners and industry
professionals need to work together to form effective policies and strategic frameworks on
climate change adaptation to preserve the future of forest ecosystems. A key document, policy,
and media scan was utilized to determine how embedded climate change adaptation is within the
Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park’s planning policies and documents. A modified
adaptation readiness framework was applied to explore the level of readiness within the
Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park. Preliminary recommendations for the
Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park were created that allow for further research
within the area.
Keywords: climate change, adaptation, forest fires, Jasper National Park

The cost of energy and homelessness are generally seen as two distinct problems. Despite
extensive research on different factors leading to homelessness in Northwest Territories,
little attention has been paid to know if there is a link between the cost of energy and
homelessness. Agrawal (2019), in his study, hypothesized that the cost of energy is
contributing to homelessness in Tłı̨ chǫ region in N.W.T. Therefore, taking the lead from
the Agrawal’s (2019) study, this study explores the relation between the cost of energy and
homelessness across N.W.T. to understand if the cost of energy leads to homelessness in
N.W.T. The study also aims to know if the cost of energy is high in N.W.T., if yes, what
are the reasons for it. It also aims to understand if there are existing challenges in reducing
the cost of energy and what are the tried and future alternative renewable sources of energy
to reduce the cost of energy in N.W.T. The literature reviewed for this research makes it
clear that homelessness in N.W.T. is prevalent, especially in isolated and rural Indigenous
communities. The literature has covered historical, structural and systemic discrimination.
However, the focus of this research is on energy as another, more immediate and practical
dimension, contributing to homelessness. The study finds that a high cost of energy can
lead to homelessness in public housing if the low-income households or individuals lack
financial management skills, and the decision making is not based on the priorities of whether
to spend the finances on paying the electricity bills or on the other luxuries. The study also
finds that the transportation and the lack of economies of scale for small energy generation
in small isolated communities are significant reasons for the high cost of energy. Challenges
in reducing the cost of energy are enormous such as vast geography and remoteness of the
Territories, harsh climate, non-connectivity to the North American Power grid and the delay
in getting approvals for the renewable energy projects. To reduce the cost of energy, the
Territorial government in concert with N.W.T. Power corporation and a not for profit agency
such as Arctic Energy Alliance are investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind,
hydro and biomass.

Key Words: Homelessness; Transportation; Indigenous; Affordable Housing; Cost of Energy

This study investigated how community arts-based initiatives are valued in area
revitalization, by the people most impacted by them: community residents, area artists, City of
Edmonton officials and local business owners. Using a case study approach this research
explores both how community arts-based initiatives are valued and why they are valued, in
revitalization efforts within the Alberta Avenue area of Edmonton, Alberta. Since 2005, the
Alberta Avenue area has been formally undergoing revitalization attempts through various
means including planning and project implementation by the City of Edmonton with its Avenue
Initiative Strategy, as well as through informal measures developed and implemented by
community members themselves. Part of these revitalization efforts have been fostered by
community art-based area initiatives, such as art festivals, art displays and artist spaces, many
supported through the non-profit agency, Arts on the Ave. This study explored what community
arts-based initiatives have been undertaken, the value placed on these initiatives and how they
have contributed to neighbourhood revitalization. This qualitative case study was accomplished
through conducting key informant interviews and a document analysis. Semi- structured
interviews took place with an area artist, local business owner, neighbourhood resident and two
City of Edmonton officials totaling five (N=5) interviews. Findings included the placement of
value on the arts for revitalization as a positive rebranding, place-making and inclusion tool. The
presence of artists also was valued for its potential to protect against potential gentrification in
the area. Yet, although the arts are valued, there still remains the issue of systemic problems (e.g.
poverty, drugs, sex trade) that appear to be somewhat beyond the capabilities for the arts and
revitalization efforts to solve, although the arts-based initiatives do appear to be valued for
having some mitigating potential.

Keywords: Arts-based initiatives, revitalization, urban planning, place-making, branding

Biophilic urbanism is gaining prominence as a way to enhance citizen’s experience
within the built environment through the integration of natural elements. As issues surrounding
climate change continue to rise and with increasing urbanization globally, there is an urgent need
for countries around the world to address and plan for a sustainable future. Linking various
disciplines together, biophilic urbanism offers a unique opportunity for cities to address growing
concerns around rapid urbanization, climate change, and environmental degradation.
Green roofs are one element of biophilic urbanism to address the above concerns and are
a way for cities to promote environmentally responsible behaviour. Implementation of green
roofs globally have become an innovative solution among cities in order to combat stormwater
runoff, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and the urban heat island effect. On top of that,
an array of studies has shown a positive relationship between biophilic urbanism and green roofs
and the well-being of a city's citizens.
This report follows the understanding that as Edmonton continues to grow towards a
population of over two million, there is an immediate need to adapt holistic and alternative
planning frameworks in order to mitigate the negative impacts associated with rapid urbanization
and the growing concerns of climate change. There is a need to redefine the specific policies,
strategies, and initiative associated with sustainability and resiliency for The City of Edmonton.

Therefore, the key objectives of this report include:
1. Outlining the key benefits of green roofs in terms of both livability and
sustainability, and
2. Exploring three cases studies to identify effective policies and lessons learned for
the implementation of a strategy to encourage green roofs that could be used by
The City of Edmonton.
Using background information found in academic and grey literature and through three
case studies reviews of Chicago, Toronto, and Washington–all highlighting the successful
implementation of green roofs through their prevailing policies and initiatives–this report finds
that through City Administration, mandated green roofs have been successful in mitigating
harmful effects surrounding rapid urbanization, climate change, and environmental degradation.
On the basis of the overall findings, this report concludes with an overview of related City of
Edmonton documents, strategies and policies, and lessons learned for The City of Edmonton.

Chinatowns existed in the inner core of North American cities as sites of historical
resistance and resilience that transformed with suburbanization. As a result, while some
Chinatowns remained, many others disappeared or were relocated during revitalization projects.
Edmonton’s Chinatown is currently the site of various revitalization and redevelopment projects.
In 2017, the Chinatown Strategy was published by the City as a guideline to rejuvenate the
area’s economy. Currently the site of cultural associations and ethnic businesses, Edmonton’s
Chinatown is also the locale of many social service agencies. This project explores the urban
planning process in Edmonton’s Chinatown through a comparative analysis between the 1979
Chinatown Plan and 2017 Chinatown Strategy as well as key actor interviews. Using a strategic
planning framework, this study aims to better understand how Chinatown has been and
continues to be shaped by planning practices and policies, specifically pertaining to
placemaking and community engagement.

Key words: Urban planning, Chinatown, community engagement, placemaking, social service
agencies

Water bodies have important national significance in terms of the role they play in the economy
of the country, the identity of its citizens, and the natural heritage value they embody. They are a
vulnerable and irreplaceable resource without which communities cannot last; therefore it is
important to take them into full consideration in planning practices and policy making processes.
Water bodies are under mounting stress as a result of human activities along with changing
climatic patterns. The Athabasca River is experiencing a huge amount of water consumption
because of oil sands extraction and production. Climate change is also affecting the water supply
in this river, with climate warming, rising air temperature and flow decline that is increasing
water depletion. The government of Alberta has been aware of areas of concern within the
province and in the Athabasca River Basin such as climate change, rapid development, and fast
pace energy production and has been constantly taking steps to address these issues; however,
heavy emphasis is still on research and data gathering and it seems the whole Athabasca basin
protection process is slower than expected in both theoretical- research- and practical - action.
This qualitative research involved a review of strategic policy and practices and a literature scan
through snowball sampling. Results can be generalizable to other similar bodies of water directly
affected by mining and other extraction industries. This research draws the attention of
policymakers to the issues associated with water management in the Athabasca River Basin in
the face of climate change and rapid oil sands development. It also informs them on the
importance of this area, and provides a further understanding of current policy practices in
Alberta regarding the protection of rivers and other bodies of water directly affected by mining
industries. This study seeks to provide effective protection policies regarding the Athabasca
River. The intention is to demonstrate the gaps within water management policies and practices
in the province that are necessary to be taken into account to further improve sustainability of
water resources that are essential for human livelihood.

Keywords: Athabasca River, water bodies, Oil sands mining industry, climate change, policy &
practices

Charlottetown is characterized by extensive and distinct built heritage, which is highly valued by residents and significantly contributes to the local economy. Although policies for heritage conservation are in place, increasing climate instabilities are becoming significant threats to heritage that require attention. This study will attempt to uncover how effectively current planning policy is addressing the impacts of climate change on heritage and identify current challenges and potential opportunities for heritage policy improvement. This study will employ a mixed-methods research approach; the first phase of the study will involve content analysis of local heritage planning documents, followed by semi-structured key-actor interviews with local planning practitioners, other professionals (manages, elected officials, heritage officers) and stakeholders (heritage building owners, heritage organization leaders) with relevant knowledge and experience with climate change, planning, and heritage in Charlottetown. This study will contribute to scholarship and planning through exploring the challenges of climate change planning for heritage in Canadian coastal communities. Furthermore, this research will fill a gap in academic literature by addressing climate change impacts on heritage in North America from a planning policy perspective.

Keywords: climate change, urban planning, heritage, coastal communities, Prince Edward Island

This research project focuses on the connections between long term perspective and the development of strategies for land use and spatial organization in the Town of Banff, Alberta. Using Evolutionary Governance Theory as a theoretical framework, this project analyzes the historical and present day policies to identify long term perspectives. These perspectives, as found in the research, have been a part of the community and deeply rooted in history or more recently, they are much newer and are emerging. Using interviews with key actors in the Town as a method to steer towards new policies and plans, a series of long term perspectives were identified along with the complex interconnections within the multilevel governance structure that frames land use decision making in the Town of Banff. By drawing connections through a contextual analysis, path mapping, governance mapping, and historical mapping, connections between long term perspectives and the development of strategies are identified and discussed.

Keywords: Banff, Long term perspective, strategy, community planning, spatial planning, governance

Immigrants are increasingly the source of population growth in Canada. This population growth puts a great demand on various services, particularly transportation. This underlines the necessity of acquiring information regarding the way immigrants move within cities. This study will attempt to investigate the travel time budgets of immigrants in Canada across five modes of transportation, namely, driving an automobile, riding as a passenger in an automobile, riding on bus/metro/LRT, bicycling, or walking. This study will be accomplished through a quantitative research method where based on a deeper analysis of the data set and with regard to the outcome variable (travel time per day), the appropriate specification for regressions will be chosen among one of the following methods: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regression (ZINB), Binary Logistic regression, or Multinomial Logistic regression (MNL). This study will use the 2015 Statistics Canada's General Social Survey on Time Use in order to construct statistical models. This study will provide insight into the travel behaviour of immigrants in Canada and will contribute to achieving the information that is integral to improving transit infrastructure. It will help planners to shape the future travel behaviour of immigrants that will lead to a more sustainable transportation as well as a better quality of life for communities.

Keywords: Immigrants, transportation, travel time budgets, transportation behaviour

There is ongoing conflict between promotion of resource development and the need to protect wildlife habitat in Nunavut, Canada. This arises from the overlap of mineral potential with important habitat such as caribou calving grounds.The goal of this paper is to identify opportunities to balance these conflicts in the Nunavut planning context, with a focus on mitigating effects to caribou. This is achieved through a review of relevant literature and a document analysis of similar jurisdictions' planning documents. The following planning opportunities are highlighted for the Nunavut planning context: plan review protocol, incorporating ecological frameworks, utilizing scenario analyses, and working with smaller planning regions. This research synthesizes the findings and enables policy makers to make more informed decisions during the land use planning process.

Keywords: land use plan, caribou, resource development, Nunavut

How do public engagement processes affect urban redesign projects and the actors that are involved in them? This research addressed this question with a case study that analyzed the context and the narratives of facilitators and participants of the public engagement process of the Imagine Jasper Avenue (IJA) project in Edmonton, AB. The IJA project used a contemporary approach to urban redesign by dedicating two years of public engagement and applying complete streets guidelines in the streetscape redesign of Edmonton's premier main street. This research's main contribution is an analytical framework of public engagement processes for urban redesign projects. The framework presented will allow urban planners to comprehend the complexities of public engagement during its design, implementation and evaluation. Thereby providing urban planners with a better understanding of the variations of urban redesign states and methods to analyze their public engagement process.

Keywords: public engagement process, urban redesign, urban narratives,analytical framework

Canada is experiencing an increase in its senior population. The increase in the number of people
over 64 years is mainly due to baby boomers having reached age 65 in 2011. In addition to baby
boomers getting old, this trend is also due to higher life expectancy and lower fertility rate across
the country. This dramatic demographic change will present new challenges for planners and
policymakers in planning and organizing programs and services. If we are to focus on enhancing
seniors’ ability to maintain active lifestyles, remain engaged in their communities, and gain access
to information about services and benefits available to them, we need a better understanding of
which programs exist. This Supervised Research Project examines senior-specific transportation
programs and services offered by the Government of Canada, the six most populous Census
Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), the six most senior-concentrated CMAs, as well as the provinces in
which the CMAs are located. This research provides transferable best practice that other cities
can follow or consider when developing public policies, strategies, action plans, programs, and
services related to the ageing population.

Keywords: Seniors, Transportation, Programs and Services, Public Sector, Metropolitan Areas

In theory, a community’s strategies derive from its long-term perspective, supporting the
achievement of the particular goals and desires that structure that perspective. And yet, as
Evolutionary Governance Theory has outlined, communities are complex, and governance is
never as straightforward and systematic as one may assume. Utilizing key actor interviews and
document analysis, this research project discusses the relationship long-term perspectives have to
the development strategies carried out at the community level and evaluate the consequences of
this relationship. Flagstaff United, a project to amalgamate nine municipalities in Flagstaff
County, is the case study for this research. Such a site presents a unique look at multiple
communities as they come to terms with the challenges of the future and attempt to construct a
new path forward. This case study reveals that long-term perspective can result from strategy as
an unintended byproduct of short-term efforts. This research contributes to the broad field of
governance theory and will provide important insights for planners and policy makers in regard
to community strategy formation and implementation.

Keywords: Governance; Evolutionary Governance Theory; Strategy; Long-term perspective;
Amalgamation

Vacant storefronts are a significant issue in the urban core of many North American cities, which
undermine vibrancy, walkability and safety. They reflect the disinvestment and loss of retail
activity that has accompanied suburbanization. The City of Edmonton has devoted considerable
resources to address the decline of central areas; however, commercial vacancies remain
widespread. In this research, I developed a process for activating empty storefronts in Edmonton
with arts-based activities. I focused on two centrally-located study areas and developed an
inventory of empty storefronts in each. I also interviewed local stakeholders to consider how to
connect local artists with underused spaces. This collaboration may in turn foster more coordinated
efforts to address urban decay and improve communities. My research seeks to develop a
framework that will allow artists and communities to activate empty storefront spaces in a more
autonomous and efficient manner in the future. This report presents the findings from the first
stage of a two stage research project, with further analysis and process development occurring
throughout Spring 2019.
Keywords: Urban core, empty storefronts, art, activation, Edmonton

Coastal communities around the globe are dealing with the impacts of climate change. More
importantly, these impacts have physical, social, and economic implications on the community.
Coastal communities can become resilient to these climate events through climate adaptation;
adapting to such weather events can offer the community stability. The use of planning tools can
ensure that adaptation is integrated and enforced throughout local communities. With the
growing concern of climate change, it is pertinent to uncover how coastal communities can
effectively use their planning tools to integrate climate adaptation measures. The objective of this
research is to gain insight into effective climate adaptation planning using planning tools, in
order to uncover opportunities for climate adaptation integration into planning policy in Comox
Valley Regional District (CVRD), Canada. This study applies a qualitative, case study
methodology in which lessons learned from various secondary case studies help identify and
inform future opportunities for the primary case study. This qualitative approach was completed by reviewing planning documents of the secondary case studies to identify trends of or lessons
learned about effective climate adaptation integration. For this research, the primary case study is
CVRD while the secondary case studies are City of North Vancouver, Canada, City of
Melbourne, Australia, and City of Wellington, New Zealand. There is little scholarship that uses
coastal communities on Vancouver Island as a case study. This research contributes to academia
by designating CVRD as the primary case study and filling the gap in literature. It also
contributes to planning practice by identifying opportunities for future incorporation of climate
adaptation in planning policy for CVRD, as well as lessons learned that can apply to coastal communities in general.

Key Words
Coastal, Adaptation, Planning, Integration, Planning Tools, Planning Instruments, Comox Valley
Regional District, Resilience

Canada’s legalization of non-medicinal or recreational cannabis in the late fall of 2018 presented
a challenge for Canadian municipalities to incorporate cannabis-related uses into their land
use/zoning bylaws. This study qualitatively explores the experiences of and regulations
employed by 10 municipalities in the Canadian province of Alberta addressing recreational
cannabis land uses in the wake of federal legalization. Content analysis methodology of
municipal documents, news articles, and key informant interviews were used to explore how
urban and rural municipalities were addressing legalization through local land use bylaws. The
findings suggest that, in general, local governments are employing a precautionary stance on
cannabis land uses, particularly with respect to cannabis retail stores. Related to other
comparably controversial land uses, such as liquor stores and adult (nudity-oriented)
entertainment establishments, cannabis retail stores are treated most similarly to liquor stores, but
the two uses are not always managed by the same regulatory mechanisms. This research
contributes to a thin body of existing literature on legalized recreational cannabis land use
strategies in Canada, as well as on the bylaw formation process in general. Moreover, this
research provides insight on formulating cannabis land use regulations for planners and
policymakers in places where legalization is on the horizon.

Keywords: cannabis, marijuana, bylaw formation, zoning, Canada

Annexation is the most common method of adjusting municipal boundaries, and can have intense
implications for municipal finance. Many academics have attempted to draw conclusions about
the relationship between annexation and fiscal solvency – however, results are often contradictory
or inconclusive. This study seeks to provide another viewpoint - that of metropolitan and non-
metropolitan municipalities within Alberta, Canada, a province with an abundance of rural area
available for annexing. Multiple linear regression is used to estimate the relationship between
percent change in land area and percent change in per capita expenditures across a sample of 242
municipalities in Alberta. The results support the assertion that annexation is associated with
reductions in per capita expenditures. One implication of this finding is that municipalities may
continue to annex additional land to ameliorate deteriorating fiscal situations, thereby facilitating
sprawling development patterns. This project forms a part of the study “Municipal Annexation in
Alberta,” funded by the Alberta Land Institute and led by Principal Investigator Dr. Sandeep
Agrawal and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Amrita Singh.

Key words: Municipal annexation; municipal finance; regression analysis

Climate change impacts are adversely affecting infrastructure in Canada’s northern coastal
communities. These effects are particularly acute in the Town of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada,
but there is little academic information on how Churchill plans to adapt climate change impacts
from an infrastructure and planning perspective. Recent weather events have shown how
exposed Churchill’s lifelines, the Hudson Bay Railway and The Port of Churchill, currently are
to climate change. A key document, policy, and media scan was utilized to assess how embedded
climate adaptation is within the Town’s infrastructure and planning processes. A modified
adaptation readiness framework was then applied to the most relevant documents to explore how
effective Churchill’s climate adaptation and planning policies are in protecting vital
infrastructure from climate change impacts. Preliminary goals and recommendations for
Churchill’s climate change and infrastructure adaptation policies were created that allow the
opportunity for future research within Churchill and other sub-Arctic communities.

Keywords: Adaptation readiness; Hudson Bay Railway; land use planning; sub-Arctic

While considerable research has examined the influence of the urban built environment on
wellbeing, less scholarship has focused on the campus context. Like urban environments, the
campus built environment can influence the health, behaviour, mood, and general wellbeing of
students. At the same time, campuses are their own unique form and thus need to be analysed in
their own way. Through a literature review, this research project identifies the elements of the
campus built environment that may contribute to student wellbeing, including urban design
qualities, considerations of safety and accessibility, and winter design strategies. These are
synthesized into a set of evaluation criteria. Using the University of Alberta North Campus as a
case study, the evaluation criteria are used to assess Main Quad. The study concludes with a
discussion of key design interventions and policy recommendations.

Keywords: urban design qualities, winter city design, campus planning, student wellbeing

The purpose of this report was to examine the City of Calgary’s efforts to revitalize the Rivers
District, which is a large area of land strategically located adjacent to Calgary’s central business
district, and bordered by the Bow and Elbow Rivers. This evaluation was conducted through the
utilization of an established set of planning principles, which are: securing the quality of the
environment, redevelopments are part of the existing urban landscape, the historic identity gives
character, mixed-use is a priority, and public access is a prerequisite. These principles were
expanded upon through a literature review and then applied to Calgary’s Rivers District Master
Plan. The report found that the RDMP, while possessing a number of policy directions that align
to and achieve these principles, does require a number of other considerations to be incorporated
within the report, such as incorporating more aspects of green building technology and design,
softening the hard edges of the site to better connect with the site’s surrounding context,
reflecting on and showcasing the site’s Indigenous history, establishing policies to encourage a
strong mix of housing types and neighbourhood demographics, and ensuring that the public
realm is socially inclusive.

Key words: Calgary, Riverfront, Redevelopment, Principles, Evaluation

This research explores the challenges and opportunities facing high-density
mixed-use development in Edmonton, Alberta. It is focused on the city’s zoning
bylaw and explores its effectiveness in managing the tension between what
developers want to build and what planners feel should be built. The research
examines how mixed-use is unique compared to other forms of development and
questions how zoning could be written to ensure the overall regulatory process
functions efficiently. The subject was investigated through 25 interviews with
residents, private developers, financiers, urban planners, and City Councilors. It was
found that mixed-use projects are similar to single-use projects in many ways, but
have an added layer of complexity that increases the challenges in every
development. This makes mixed-use projects particularly challenging to develop
using Edmonton’s standard zones and results in the proliferation of Direct Control
zoning.

Keywords: zoning; land use; urban development; mixed-use; density

In 2007 the government of Alberta officially recognized that the province was losing
valuable agricultural land to unsustainable development patters. To address this situation,
the government re-instated regional planning in the province through three different policy
approaches: regional plans, conservation tools and regional boards. These regional
planning policies have been in place for more than ten years, and research shows that
Alberta is still experiencing a rapid conversion of agricultural land to developed uses. This
research uses a qualitative design based on a policy analysis framework to better
understand the role and impacts of these policies on agricultural land management in
Alberta. Findings show that there are factors of the context in which these policies operate
that hinder planning processes at the regional level. Moreover, regional boards have
demonstrated the greatest potential to influence land use decisions at the local level,
therefore is the policy approach that is most likely to enable agricultural land protection in
practice.
Key words: regional planning, agricultural land protection, regional plans, conservation
tools, regional boards, Alberta

In the face of increasing urbanization and densification of cities, there is a resulting loss
of green space. Urban green spaces provide many environmental, social and health benefits to
city residents. Large-scale parks are not always a viable option for providing green spaces in the
city due to their land requirements and therefore are not equally accessible to all city residents.
However, the effective planning of small-scale parks can improve the quality of life and
livability of dense urban settings by improving residents’ accessibility to natural areas. In order
to fully understand the long-term benefits of small-scale urban parks, a comprehensive
examination or the current literature will be completed. A comprehensive understanding of how
to plan for, and design, successful small public urban parks that will provide these benefits will
be useful for urban planners. This study provides a systematic review of existing scholarly
research on small public urban parks. It is focused on peer-reviewed articles in the global context
but is restricted to English publications. This systematic review indicates that the academic
research done on small public urban parks to date is limited. The literature to date focuses on two
main areas, the potential for small-scale parks to mitigate Urban Heat Island effects, and to
provide spaces for socialization and mental restoration. No studies focusing on economic
impacts or benefits were found. More research is required on all aspects of small-scale parks,
particularly on their economic implications.

Keywords: Small public urban parks, green space, benefits, systematic review