Reurbanization in Calgary: An urban design proposal and guidelines for a mixed use, transit-oriented development

The purpose of this research study was to develop a land use programming method and guidelines for the design of a transit oriented, mixed use site in Calgary. A review of the literature in the areas of reurbanization, job/housing balance, sustainable development, neotraditional town planning and residential design guidelines provided a basis for the development of the methodology.;The research method included the following steps: key informant interviews, site selection criteria, site analysis, land use program and an urban design proposal for a Calgary site. The intent of the key informant interviews was to elicit an interdisciplinary perspective on the policy and design principles underlying mixed use development in Calgary. An inner city shopping centre was selected as the test site for the urban design proposal. The land use programming method was adapted from the Reurbanisation Guidelines for Metropolitan Toronto (Berridge et al, 1991) and is based on job/housing balance objectives. Guidelines were developed for urban and regional form, land use and site design. The guidelines were used to evaluate the urban design proposal for the test site and could be used in the future to design or evaluate other urban design proposals.;In conclusion it is noted that the future success of reurbanization is dependent on the development of supportive municipal policy and regional growth management strategies. Recommendations for policy reform and future research are proposed. Key among these is the recommendation for a revision to the municipal hierarchy of plans to include a comprehensive reurbanization management plan.