Blatchford and the Big Decision
City building is a complex interplay of culture, market forces, and geography. A lot of it happens organically – but from time to time, cities face big, city-building decisions that alter their shape and their future. Closing the airport was one of those decisions – and it’s unlocked opportunity to build higher in the City’s core, and enabled us to consolidate activity at the International airport for the better.
But we have another one of those big decisions before us concerning our vision and implementation of the Blatchford redevelopment project.
In a speech I gave last month to a symposium jointly put on by the Urban Development Institute and the City of Edmonton, I said we only get one chance to do this right. I truly believe that.
Contained within the reports coming before council on June 10 is a scenario that offers an exciting glimpse of what Blatchford can be: a district energy system that uses waste energy to heat water, high-performing buildings, room for urban agriculture, and walkable streets connected to shops, services and our growing LRT network. It’s the kind of idyllic place many people talk about when asked to describe their vision for a great neighbourhood.
There is – and will continue to be – pressure on the City to maximize profit at the expense of the core Blatchford vision. I don’t think it’s an either/or proposition. I believe we can build one of this continent’s most sustainable communities and do it in a fiscally responsible way. But in many ways, true city building — the work that makes cities great — requires us to broadly understand the word “value.” Part of this means setting an example for how sustainable development can be practically implemented, moving us beyond something we only talk wistfully about. It also means supporting the urban shift our city is making by offering Blatchford’s 30,000 residents a great quality of life, through purposeful and deliberate design. From my perspective, that’s the value we
should be seeking.
Some of the grief Edmonton has endured for poor urban design over the last 50 years can be countered with a project of Blatchford’s scale. This is a story we can share with the world; as good of a reputation-smasher as we’re ever going to see.
But it all starts with a big decision. What kind of city do we really want to build?
9 thoughts on “Blatchford and the Big Decision”
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Blatchford is the best bet our city has at breaking its currently poor reputation within Canada. If this project doesn’t go through as planned, I will personnally start a campaign to have the decision reversed whether that be through a petition of some kind or a protest. I will, as a proud Edmontonian, live to see this project go through in all of its glory.
YES! This makes complete sense! Finally a visionary at the helm.
Developers have proven again and again that their first concern is profit and not the population or sustainability (except for a few exceptions). This is a plan I can really get behind and as sad as I was to see the old airport go, I’m just as excited to see the new neighbourhood develop.
I have two concerns, however. There are only two main roads leading south from Blatchford, 109th steet and 124th street. 116 street runs through a residential area. What are the plans to move people to the downtown core? LRT and bike trails and??? more street development?
In my opinion it is also important to preserve the historical aspects of Blatchford field. In ten or twenty years how many Edmontonians will remember the historical importance that Edmonton and the Blatchford Field played in the development of the north and in the Second World War? How does the city plan on preserving this part of our heritage? Hopefully on site and not down in the river valley. Our city is relatively new but it’s important to preserve and honour the history we do have.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment and for reading this in its entirety.
S.Box
My hometown is already starting to feel different the past few years. There were new LRT stations to the Southern Terminus of The Original ‘Capital’ Line as well as negotiations in place for more line(s) to come. I was impressed, having moved to Vancouver for a period of time because Edmonton felt tired as a place. While more adroit signs of gentrification can result in unfortunate demographic changes and other community disturbances, the farther-reaching implications inherent in structural changes such as increased rapid-transit development & the Blatchford communities’ numerous ‘hi-tech’ or ‘sustainable’ initiatives are far more positive in all aspects of their character.
I really do wish the detractors screaming foul at only the expenses necessary to build projects such as Blatchford are proven wrong over time, & that this new community will in fact give Edmontonians a better alternative in which to live well. Mt only reservation is that the particular types of buildings will cater only to the already-privileged like what ultimately happened at The Olympic Village on the banks of False Creek in Vancouver.
As someone who left Edmonton due to the architectural blandness of it and terrible infrastructure and planning, I welcome this new project whole heartedly.
The city of Edmonton is building this project, not a private company looking for profit. If Edmonton makes money from the project, great! But this is a public project, our goal should be to break even. The profit we will realize is the dividends from increases in tax revenue, land values, and efficiencies in providing services. Those numbers will make the project pay for itself. But if you cheapen the project for the sake of making a quick buck then tax revenue, land values, and efficiencies will also diminish.
Edmonton is situated in the middle of nowhere. Almost every other province and territory in Canada have a better collection of lakes than Alberta does. Edmonton is the most northern city with a population over a million – this isn’t something to brag about, there is nothing of significance (besides resources) north of us. Edmontonians have a long drive to the mountains compared to Calgarians. The only city of significance near us unfortunately is Calgary which is kicking our butt in almost every category I can think of. Vancouver has excellent scenery and architecture making it almost impossible to compete with.
What cities can Edmonton look up to? Las Vegas, and Dubai. Why? Because they are also in the middle of nowhere but have created something that make people want to go there. The Ghermezian knew the position Edmonton is in when they built West Edmonton Mall, and that mall remains one of the few things Edmonton has that no other city had; until recently, other cities would still kill to have it. Dubai built an oasis in the middle of the desert from scratch to secure their future after oil is gone. So far, it looks like their investment is paying off, they already have one of the top 10 busiest airports in the world. If it wasn’t for gambling, Las Vegas would be a sh*t town in the middle of the desert. Edmonton needs to stop being a sh*t town in the middle of the frozen prairies.
Edmontonians need an urban outdoor oasis that we can enjoy year round. I want to see people boating on the lake in rowboats, canoes, rafts etc. I want to see the lake lit up at night like a swimming pool in summer, glowing ice in the winter giving much needed light to compensate for our short winter days. I want to see a large hill to the north, as tall as the river valley is deep (we might not have enough space but as close as we can) so people can have a wonderful view our great city. I want a great aviation museum commemorating our past. Blatchford should be beautiful enough to have wedding photos taken there, it should be Edmonton’s Dubai.
The nearsightedness coming from Edmonton’s administration needs to stop. I am getting sick and tired of administration telling everyone that it’s their way, or the highway. We need to remind city council that they have the licence to fire administration if necessary. City administration needs realize that they there to serve Edmontonians, it’s our home after all, lets be proud of where we live.
The Blatchford neighbourhood design that they have approved is not very good at all. It fails to inter-connect with the surrounding neighbourhoods very well. And it fails Edmonton as a whole in that there could be some real opportunities for Transit Oriented Development that the City is not designing properly. Greyhound Bus Lines is looking for a new terminal location as we speak. This is a perfect opportunity to design a transit hub consisting of Greyhound, VIA Rail, Edmonton LRT, a park and ride and a new 121 Street interchange on the Yellowhead to be built as one unit to serve local and regional needs. Also an east-west Low Floor LRT/streetcar could run along 118 Ave all the way from Abbotsford to NAIT, to Blatchford and westword beyond to further enhance the transit hub. Now that would be a vision that City, businesses and residents could all benefit from.