In Focus: Reviving our Downtown

A collaboration on city-building research to breathe life back into Calgary’s core

Photograph by Rick Collins

During the past two years, office vacancy rates in downtown Calgary hit a new high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as more companies shift to a hybrid post-pandemic work environment, downtown continues to see less foot traffic.

The City of Calgary and the University of Calgary, through an ongoing, strategic partnership, aim to shift this paradigm by finding innovative solutions for economic recovery, downtown reinvention and impactful investment to transform underutilized public and private space. It’s part of Urban Alliance Calgary, whose mission is to enable research and education that will help improve the overall quality of life for Calgarians.

The City is also partnering with the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape on the Civic Commons Catalyst Initiative. It uses big-data, design-at-scale approaches and an interdisciplinary collaboration to unlock and sustain new future visions for downtown.

EXTRA CREDIT

Go deeper into the research and projects done through Urban Alliance Calgary.

The City of Calgary invests $350,000 in UCalgary Civic Commons Catalyst.

Can an old LRT car inspire a renaissance in Downtown West? A vision emerges.

You May Also Like
Read More

A Prescription for Female Fitness

Physical fitness is important in every decade of our lives, but new research shows it may be the optimal prescription — particularly for women — to delay the onset of dementia.
Rural landscape in Rwanda
Read More

‘I Don’t Tell You My Story to Make You Feel Sorry for Me’

April 7, 2024, marks 30 years since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It’s a milestone that reminds survivor Dr. Régine Uwibereyeho King, PhD, of the commitment she made to help others and stem violence through courageous storytelling.