Edmonton’s Capital City Downtown (CCD) Plan has been recognized with a 2011 Emerald Award for environmental excellence. The City of Edmonton selected DIALOG to lead a team of consultants in the development of the Plan, which focuses on the development of four key pillars – Policies, Zoning, Implementation, and Catalyst Projects. At the same time overarching goals include preserving and sustaining Edmonton’s environment, improving livability, transforming the urban form, shifting transportation modes, ensuring financial stability, and diversifying the economy.
Awarded annually by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, the awards program recognizes the excellent environmental initiatives undertaken each year by large and small corporations, individuals, not-for-profit associations, community groups and governments. The awards were handed out on Wednesday June 15 as part of a gala ceremony at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton.
The CCD Plan was designed to enable Edmonton to become more sustainable, vibrant, and accessible. It contains initiatives to reinvigorate the downtown area in an effort to both improve the quality of life of Edmontonians and curb auto-oriented land-intensive suburban development. The Plan proposes to make Edmonton more pedestrian friendly thanks to more sidewalks, and the encouragement of alternative forms of transportation such as bicycling and public transit. New zoning laws will reduce parking requirements for new development in key areas and restrict the creation of non-accessory surface parking lots in an effort to limit some of impacts of automobiles on the downtown.
“Edmonton’s Capital City Downtown Plan was a collaborative effort of many stakeholders including businesses, community groups, developers and the City,” explained Tom Sutherland, project lead and principal with DIALOG. “It’s wonderful to see their efforts recognized by this award.”