Loving Calgary: Civic Affairs

Love Calgary because we’re making civic engagement fun.

What kind of city do you want to live in? What are you passionate about changing, preserving or making better? Cheri Macaulay, a co-founder of CivicCamp, wants to know.

CivicCamp, both an event and a group of engaged socially astute individuals, was hatched during a meeting at a local coffee shop, when Macaulay and her friends decided it was time to see what type of city Calgarians wanted to live in.

“We planned a conference to take a look at how we would build this city for ourselves and for our children,” Macaulay says. Word spread, and 160 people showed up for the event on April 18, 2009, where they batted around ideas on everything from the design of public spaces and transit, to the population density of communities. The group then zeroed in on 10 topics and, ever so subtly, a social movement grew.

The move has been seen as a shift in attitude were new transplants to Calgary, as well as those rooted in the city, no longer view it strictly as a great place to move to for work, but also as a great place to call home. “We really need to get engaged if we want a certain kind of city. We need to speak up for it, and take action,”
Macaulay says.

CivicCamp initially chose two local initiatives to dive into headfirst: Plan It Calgary, the long-term land-use plan developed by the City of Calgary; and Bow River Flow, a one-day festival of human-powered transportation along Memorial Drive, which was inaugurated last August.

A second CivicCamp conference was held in October, with plans to reconvene twice a year. In the meantime, Civic “campers” can be seen rallying at events, standing up for initiatives, and even showing up at city council and, gasp, making them listen to what Calgarians are saying.

Love Calgary because we’re the youngest city in Canada. As of the 2006 census, our median age is 35.7 compared to 40 for the rest of the country.

Love Calgary because our downtown streets are safer

Hanging out and living downtown got a whole lot safer this past year, thanks to 72 police officers walking the beat in District 1, which encompasses the downtown core and the surrounding areas of Inglewood, Ramsay, the Beltline, East Village, Mission and Lower Mount Royal.

The area recorded a 17-percent reduction in crimes against people and a 28-percent decrease in property crime for the first eight months of 2009. The officers on the streets concentrated on high-crime areas, and dealing with gang activity in and around bars and nightclubs.

“That’s a huge success,” says Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson. “We’re hearing from people that they have really noticed a difference in the reduction of the kind of flagrant activity around things like drug trafficking, and the unsavoury characters that go along with that.”

Right now, the downtown officers patrol the beat 24/7, no matter the weather. Stay tuned for reports of soaring takeout revenues of Tim Hortons coffee.

Love Calgary because we’re involved in making the city look better

Go head, detractors, call Calgary architecturally dull. The truth is, we have a burgeoning architecture scene — one poised to transform the face of our city.

In the past year, that realization sparked a number of open-ended forums bringing together citizens and architectural types to discuss how to transform the city’s architectural landscape. This included the U of C’s environmental design faculty’s popular lecture series, Design Matters (ucalgary.ca.evds) and Calgary Arts Development’s fun forum. Known as Pechu Kucha, which is Japanese for “the sound of chit chat” — this format lets speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each and then sit the hell down. “You get a big scope of ideas in one night, which can be a catalyst for change,” says Karen Ball, director of community investment with Calgary Arts Development.

And one of those areas that needs change is space for all the city’s artists to thrive. “So much is happening here in the way of the arts that the lack of creative space is actually a strain on the sector,” says Ball. So far two Pechu Kucha events have been held on the topics “Creative Spacemaking” and “How We Live Together.” And two more are planned in the next six months.

Love Calgary because our mayor knows how to get others to show us the money

Mayor Dave Bronconnier has a special talent: he’s quite good at asking others for money. In fact, no other mayor in history is likely as good at cajoling money from other levels of government. Over the past few years, Bronconnier’s money-grabbing routine has netted a provincial fuel tax-sharing agreement, as well as a $1.4-billion municipal sustainability initiative that promises to give Calgary $3.3 billion “no strings attached” over the next seven years. Say what you will about Bronconnier’s track record as a politician, but from a strictly financial standpoint, this guy knows how to bring home the bacon.

Love Calgary because our cops look cool

Police officers on patrol in Calgary’s downtown streets got a new tool this past year to strike fear into the heart of criminals — rough and rugged-looking cowboy hats. The City of Calgary approved plan to outfit all of its 72 beat officers in the core with cowboy-style Stetsons, a move that was instantly applauded by tourism officials for furthering Calgary’s “western image."