Part 1 of 2
Katie Soles, president and owner of Soles and Company, and Susan Holdsworth, strategic planner for the City of Edmonton, share what has been learned about a winter strategy for Edmonton.
Katie Soles introduces how the City of Edmonton developed a winter city strategy. How people view winter is more about attitude than latitude. They started with a think tank that involved festival organizers, architects, risk assessment, community leaders and municipal councillors. They looked at four hubs: Urban Design, Hospitality and Tourism, Marketing and Public Life and Livability. People wanted a focus on local assets and marketed first to local people. Attitude change: It's starts first with the meteorologists and the ways they describe upcoming weather events. People wanted this initiative to last. This presentation includes a video on how Edmonton winter facts don't match up with our perceptions. Four distinct seasons, -30C usually only for 4 days of the year, and there are no ants and mosquitos in the winter. Lars Gemzoe, an architect from Copenhagen, Denmark, talks about daily life in a winter city. Blankets are now a regular feature at outdoor cafes in Copenhagen as people extend their use later in the day and now later in the season. A culture of walking has emerged and it now extends into the winter season. Bicycling is now a regular commute for one-third of the population (70% continue cycling in the winter) and winter snow clearing focuses first on bike paths before roads.
The details of the consultation strategy can be viewed here.
The Edmonton Winter City strategy is here.
Katie Soles and Susan Holdsworth's presentation was part of the Alberta Professional Planners Institute's annual conference in Jasper, Alberta, October 2013.
