What will density mean for Calgary

Posted by on Friday, October 23rd, 2015 at 9:24am.

Could the City of Calgary’s new develop plan push home prices higher?

A public policy group thinks so and says that’s not a good thing. 

Plus, the plan will make getting around town very difficult.

A Univeristy of Calgary urban economist has studied Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan and he thinks people who want to live close to their work place will have to pay more for their home or more in rent. Plus they’ll actually spend more time commuting.

Richard Arnott, who recently released a report on his findings through the policy group, was commenting on the City’s call for creating high density communities.  He says that low density may not be a bad thing after all. 

Arnott believes an appropriate level of density in urban areas can strike a balance between lifestyle and affordable housing options.

In response, a councilor with the City of Calgary believes achieving that good balance in urban areas has more to do with work and play, rather than work and home prices.

Ward Sutherland says current developments approved by the City are mixed-use areas and were given the green light because of that work/play balance.  Jobs are created in these areas due to office and retail space in the same communities as residential developments.

Even though the goal of the city’s development plan is to create high-density housing, some believe that urban designers haven’t sufficiently planned for it.

Marcel Latouche of the Institute for Public Sector Accountability believes excessive rules about urban planning will be a deterrent to innovation.  Calgarians want shorter drives and shorter trips on transit, but if the City puts up too many barriers in the form of rules and regulations that might not happen.

The study of the Municipal Development Plan undertaken by the U of C policy group is based on predictions that by 2070, Calgary’s population will double.

It seems crazy to think that these days, Calgary home prices could rise higher and unbearably so.

Despite crippling energy prices, home prices seem to be holding steady.  Inventory may remain tight as people may be holding back from selling, waiting to see how the market will play out.  Tight inventory means prices will hold or even rise.

It would appear that house prices may not fall as rapidly as they escalate in Calgary.

But the shoe might drop as thousands of job losses in our city have to impact the real estate market in a big way.  More than the 6% slide Calgary experienced this month over last.

Old-fashioned supply and demand may dictate the current state of Calgary’s housing market until family finances and the current job situation factory into a more rapid decline if Calgary home prices, if there is one.

Current market conditions aside, the city must look long term and is moving forward with the municipal development plan which will dictate urban development between 2015 and 2070.  Urban watchdogs will continue to monitor what the city is doing to create densification in the inner city and the radial neighbourhoods around it.

Predictions have been made for Calgary’s growth based on past trends, which has included down turns in the oil patch and the ebbs and flows of population growth because of it.

 

 

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