The Feel Good Factor
How urban biodiversity improves our well-being and why that matters even more during COVID-19.
City Profile
Calgary
Calgary
- With 152 off-leash areas, Calgary has the second highest total number and the third highest when population is factored in, at 12 per 100,000 people.
- Calgary is one of 19% of cities with a standalone biodiversity strategy.
- At nearly $1.7 million, Calgary pulled in the second highest amount in outside funding for parks.
- Through a collaborative effort that involved different city departments as well as artists and biologists, Calgary opened the unique Dale Hodges Park in 2019, also serving as a stormwater treatment facility.
- Calgary led public engagement in summer 2019 to gauge support for a potential pilot project to allow alcohol consumption at certain park picnic sites.
- Through the Creating Coventry project, the city teamed up with a community association in the Coventry Hills area to engage residents about local park and playground improvements, publishing a report following the process.
2020 Data
6.6
ha parkland per 1000 people
8412 ha of total parkland
55%
of total parkland is natural area
4630 total ha
25%
of parkland is environmentally significant/protected
2100 total ha
10%
of total city land is parkland
84,820 ha of total city area
152
Dog parks
56
Community gardens/urban farms
2
Parkland provision goal (ha per 1000 people)
Distance to park: 450m or a 5 minute walk
3.4
volunteers per 1000 people
4300 total
7
community park groups
Yes
Policy to waive permit fees for groups with financial need?
Community park group program
$64¹
Parks operating budget per person
$81,657,970 total
$33,417,788¹
Total parks capital budget
$1,695,000
Total philanthropy/sponsorships
Yes
Provincially legislated tools available for parkland development
10% of development site or cash-in-lieu
¹Budget numbers reported last year were from 2018.
Parks Master Plans
Environmental Strategies
Inclusion Strategies
Related Calgary Stories
Deepening the Conservation Conversation
How we can both deepen the conversation about biodiversity and broaden it to include more people.
Connecting the dots
Why habitat corridors are important for urban biodiversity and what cities are doing to make sure parks large and small are connected.
Take me out to the dog park
How cities are dealing with the high demand for—and high controversy around—dog parks.
The New Wave of Parks
Leading examples of projects that use creative measures to expand parkland
Don’t just tick the box—think outside of it
Why community engagement requires going deeper—and broader—to provide meaningful opportunities for people to see themselves reflected.
Power to the People
Park groups of all types are delivering outsize impacts for their communities through collaborative programming—but they need support in order to thrive.
Feed them and they will come
How creative community groups and city support are growing connections through food in parks.
Accessibility Beyond Design
Cities and communities are using creative programming, training, and tech-based interventions to make parks inclusive for people of all abilities.
Don't See your City on the List?
Twenty-seven cities participated in this year's report and we hope more will join us next year.
Learn how to participate in 2021