[Bunk]

I think at fault with regard to reactions of communities to development and density is lack of certainty that comes from our very outdated Area Redevelopment Plans. Of the 32, over half of them are over 20 years old. They don't define clearly where density will go or won't go. As such, when a development comes in, the community fears that the same thing may go everywhere. Once you develop that community vision and provide certainty, communities relax.

In suburbs, actually the densities have reached a point where they become much more sustainable and efficient to serve. I think the current challenges still lie with the lay-out of the streets, how that density is deployed and the accessibility of local recreational and commercial amenities within communities. For instance, the way new suburbs have been designed makes it very, very inefficient to run transit service. Higher density hubs of apartments are located peripherally, rather than centrally within the community near transit, etc. But, these things are all improving too - a good example is the Keystone area, recently approved. In terms of housing mix, Mattamy's "Cityscape" development introduces some pretty innovative new housing types to Calgary.