The Pulse: Nov. 6, 2024

With the next municipal election less than one year away, Edmonton is reckoning with an expected population of two million by as early as 2060 and a need to create housing to meet this demand. But how should Edmonton build to respond while keeping housing anywhere close to financially accessible? Out or in?

Growing out means sprawl, a practice of developing housing on undeveloped land at the edge of a city rather than adding it to existing areas. Sprawl has long offered Canadian home buyers the promise of driving until you qualify, meaning trading a longer car commute for a lower sale price.

"How far out can you go to find a house that you can qualify for a mortgage? That's essentially the idea, and generally, land on the outside of cities is less expensive than land in the centre of cities," Damian Collins, the leader of the Collins Lab for Urban Excellence, which is part of the Community Housing Canada research project at the University of Alberta, told Taproot. "So there's some truth to that."

Most Edmontonians live in housing located in a suburb that was once at or near the city's edge. Research shows that similar to Edmonton, 78.4% of Canadians are technically suburbanites. The Edmonton section of the Canadian Suburbs Atlas interactive map shows that the Edmonton region's more than 1.4 million residents live across different types of neighbourhoods, with 7.3% (102,882) living in the "active core," 12.1% (171,379) living in "transit suburbs," and the remaining 80% living in "auto suburbs" and "exurbs," which require a car to live comfortably.

Experts told Taproot there are trade-offs with how we build to meet future growth. Building housing through sprawl can lead to lower sticker prices for buyers but to higher living costs and higher overall property taxes. Growing through infill, conversely, can be more affordable overall, especially for taxpayers, but not all buyers will be satisfied — and sticker prices are often higher.

The City of Edmonton has shaped its planning to aim for half of new housing to be built inside the existing city, and half in greenfield sprawl.

Experts suggest getting the mix right is challenging.

• The City of Edmonton has reduced its middle management positions by 6.4% since 2020 and added 349 new frontline positions, according to a council memo obtained by Postmedia. The reduction follows a 2020 audit that found the City's supervisor positions were increasing at a rate faster than frontline roles. "I know the efforts the administration has made are producing results," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told Postmedia, adding city council will "continue to challenge our administration to find efficiencies."
• A fatality inquiry has called for significant reforms in Alberta's regulation of combative sports following the death of fighter Tim Hague, who died from a brain hemorrhage after a 2017 boxing match in Edmonton. Justice Carrie Sharpe's report recommends that the province take over the sanctioning of combative sports from municipal bodies, implement universal suspension periods, and improve fighter safety protocols, including mandatory medical checks and concussion spotters at events. The City of Edmonton said it is reviewing the recommendations and expects to release a formal response to the inquiry by March.
• The Jasper Place Wellness Centre medical clinic in west Edmonton will reopen with $4.8 million in provincial funding, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced. The clinic will provide primary care and wraparound services to unhoused and marginalized individuals. The centre is one of four Alberta community health clinics to receive funding. Radius Community Health & Healing, also in Edmonton, will receive $7 million.
• Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi was among other civic leaders who gathered in Ottawa last week to advocate for increased federal funding for public transit. Sohi spoke to CBC Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly about the need for more transit funding, not only in capital projects but also in the daily operations.
• NiGiNan Housing Ventures announced plans to expand its facilities on Fort Road in Edmonton with a new 14-plex supportive housing project, funded by the National Indigenous Community Housing Inc. (NICHI). The project will provide housing for 56 people and is part of more than $22 million in funding distributed by NICHI across Alberta.
• The 2024 BILD Alberta Awards celebrated excellence in Alberta's building industry with 41 categories recognizing achievements in construction, renovation, and community development. Edmonton firms achieved nine awards, while Calgary companies took 26 awards. Jayman BUILT won two Pinnacle Awards for Multi-family and Large Volume Builder.
• The provincial and federal governments have launched a $110,000 public awareness campaign encouraging Albertans to report rat sightings to maintain the province's rat-free status, a distinction maintained for more than 70 years through vigilant control efforts. The campaign, run by the Alberta Invasive Species Council, is funded by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and aims to educate the public on the importance of preventing rat infestations.
• The Alberta government has introduced new legislation that would add two new provincial electoral divisions to accommodate population growth, increasing the number of seats in the legislature from 87 to 89. Bill 31 also proposes changes to how electoral boundaries are determined, allowing for divisions that may cross municipal boundaries.
• St. Albert city council voted 5-2 against leaving regional development agency Edmonton Global during its meeting on Nov. 5. Remaining with Edmonton Global could increase St. Albert's annual fees by 23%, making the city the second-largest contributor after Edmonton.

This is one of 12 interviews conducted with various Edmontonians about their experience with the housing system. It has been edited for clarity and length. Read more about why and how Taproot embarked on this series.

Bernice Westfall is a resident of Pioneer Place, a seniors' residence run by Operation Friendship Seniors Society at which subsidized rents are set at 30% of the resident's income. She was raised on a farm southeast of Edmonton, farmed with her husband near New Norway, and operated an ATB agency in Ferintosh for 20 years.

Can you tell us a bit about your living situation now?

It's a bachelor suite, that's what I qualified for, and coming from a house to a place where it's got your kitchen, your living room, and your bedroom all in one, it was a shock, but it forced me to prioritize. I had to downsize, and that was hard because of the memories, you know. Everything still hurts. Twelve years I've been in here now, and when I look back, there was good times, there was sad times, there was hard times, but that's what makes your life. Everybody in here has a different story, and you make it work, you know, and you move forward instead of looking back.

But you started out your life in the country?

The first farm was out by Rolly View. My dad, he loved cattle, and we had milk cows. Us kids, after school was out, we all went out and we all helped. Seven of us, and we all worked hard, and it didn't matter, even in the wintertime you went out, you did the chores. I just loved being out there, and the freedom. Running around chasing the calves, or picking rocks, it was hard work, but it was still fun. When you were threshing, Mom would bring the meal out to the field and we'd sit and have a break, and everybody ate together.

Then when I got married, I moved to New Norway, and we had hogs, 1,500 or 2,500 hogs. (My husband) worked off the farm, too. He'd say, "Are you OK to feed the hogs?" So, it was feeding, grinding, helping him sort them. With the grain farm, then it was driving the truck and hauling the grain. I would never trade it, you know, with everything that's happened, I would not trade growing up on the farm.

This is one of 12 interviews conducted with various Edmontonians about their experience with the housing system. It has been edited for clarity and length. Read more about why and how Taproot embarked on this series.

Bruce Bremner is on income support in lodgings provided through the Jasper Place Wellness Centre's Bridge Healing program after an accident in January 2024 that resulted in infection. He was raised in Northern Alberta, worked on railroad construction, and maintained a career on service rigs for 25 years.

Can you tell us a bit about how you got here?

Last December, I was chasing cans, bottle-picking, right? So I jump over a fence and I get this cut here, and my leg just blew up. All the poison went into my bone. I ended up doing intravenous therapy for about three months. I never thought of that, you know. I thought I'd be killed by a truck or an angry boyfriend or something, not my little cut.

The doctor lined me up with the social worker, and they lined me up with Jasper Place (Wellness Centre) and Bridge Healing. I was staying at the Herb Jamieson. I told him there's no way I'll be staying over there clean. I appreciate what they're doing, but you've got to stay stoned and drunk just to tolerate those people there, because otherwise you'll go squirrelly. The social workers lined me up with Bridge Healing, and in my words, they gave me the ball and it's in my court. And I'm just going to run with it as much as I can, I guess.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Alberta Health Services i4 Conference online
• Aging Boldly Seniors Expo starting at 10am at the Devon Community Centre
• Art Buffet starting at 12pm at MacEwan University
• Navigating Seniors Housing starting at 12pm online
• Visiting Authors Series Featuring Marilyn Dumont starting at 2pm at MacEwan University
• Good Talk Collective Event starting at 6:30pm at Creative Hive
• Until Nov. 7: Western Sponsorship Congress Alberta Forum at Evario Events Centre
• Until Nov. 7: Safety Foundations: Constructing a Culture of Excellence at River Cree Resort and Casino
• Until Nov. 9: Farmfair International at Edmonton EXPO Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Nov. 21: An Evening of Presentations at Road 55 Studio
• Nov. 23: Housing Cures Homelessness at the Alberta Legislature Grounds
• Nov. 25: Rose Campaign Launch at NAIT Productivity and Innovation Centre

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.