Edmonton is a beautiful, prosperous, rapidly growing city with an intelligent population, great natural resources, diverse economic opportunities, a great quality of life, and a bright future. But all of that can change in a heartbeat without a well thought out plan for sustainable development. Sustainable development means meeting a community’s needs and goals for human and environmental development without doing damage to its natural systems and so depleting its natural resources as to imperil the long-term needs of the area for short-term economic or social gains.

 

Edmonton is fortunate. As the city continues to develop and grow one of the strongest economies in Canada, it has a plan and an organization in place to ensure they are not sacrificing their future on the altar of economic growth. Instead, Edmonton has a well-researched plan and intelligent, experienced advocates with a clear vision of what they want the city to become both in the long and short term. This plan takes into consideration Edmonton’s citizens, natural resources, environmental needs, and its social development and business interests.

Facilitating Growth

This forward-thinking organization has wisely concentrated its time, energy, and resources to make sure the city’s urban growth and its attractiveness as a destination for businesses and industries is not haphazard and ultimately destructive. For a city or a region, sustainable development requires never losing sight of the intrinsic needs of the citizens they serve, properly utilizing its natural resources, yet facilitating aggressive growth. The fact that Edmonton has been able to execute such a well thought out plan bodes well for the future of this city.

History is littered with examples of cities that overplayed their hands, failed their citizens, squandered their natural resources, and imperiled the environment with thoughtless economic and social growth. There are hundreds of poisoned streams and rivers and vast expanses of overused, ruthlessly exploited land that make these truths evident. Failure to use enlightened stewardship of this planet’s natural resources and protect the air, land, and sea from the rages of pollution and unchecked exploitation has brought the long term future and quality of life for coming generations into question.

Sustainable Development

Part of the reason Edmonton appears poised to be a top tier city for years to come is because of its commitment to sustainable growth. This means considering the present and future needs of its citizens, visualizing, anticipating, and taking steps to prevent potential environmental issues, and understanding the needs of the businesses and industries they hope to attract and keep in the city. All of these are important if the city is to continue to prosper and maintain it social, economic, and environmental vibrancy well into the future.

Sustainable development requires working with regional partners, investing in the personal and professional growth of citizens, creating proper infrastructure, and having a clear and doable vision of what the city can become. The leadership in Edmonton has done all these things and in doing so has seemed to ensure a prosperous present and a bright future. The key is to continue to focus on proper planning and execution of the city’s developmental needs. This includes the expansion of Edmonton’s economic opportunities and urban growth while keeping an eye on the region’s environmental issues.

Edmonton is on a path leading to sustainable development. Its continued commitment to green growth, land development regulations, transformational projects, construction safety, and timely response to the needs of its residents and corporate citizens, and accountability to all stakeholders should keep it an excellent model for sustainable development well into the future. This will also make its vision of an attractive, healthy, vibrant, safe, city a reality.