November 19, 2012

Office of the Councillors
2nd Floor, City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB  T5J 2R7

RE: Growth Coordination Strategy

Dear Mayor Mandel and City Council,

Edmonton’s NextGen Steering Committee requests that Executive Committee consider postponing item 6.15, Growth Coordination Strategy, to the next Executive Committee meeting. This will allow for sufficient time to review and comment on the new draft Growth Coordination Strategy which wasn’t released until November 15, 2012.

Over the course of developing this strategy NextGen has made several attempts to provide input as the outcomes of Edmonton’s Growth Coordination will have a substantial impact on future Edmontonians. To date, there has not been a clear or meaningful way for NextGen to engage its membership and provide this necessary feedback. We are hopeful that through Council’s review of this strategy and the creation of the implementation plan, NextGen is incorporated into the public engagement of this strategy.

We are aware that two drafts of the Growth Coordination Strategy have been made available for public review. The first in May 2012 and the current report which was released just last week.  We have done an initial review of the current draft and have noted that there are substantial differences between the two documents. Some of the most concerning deletions from the new draft include strategies and actions to promote infill development and create new sustainable communities.

Future growth of the city including, competing infrastructure demands, will greatly impact our generation. As such, we feel strongly that our input and consultation is crucial in the development of a Growth Coordination Strategy and subsequent implementation plans.  The Growth Coordination strategy must take a holistic approach to managing sustainable growth in Edmonton, including the management of infill development to meet the targets set out in the Municipal Development Plan.

It is our hope that you will allow NextGen and the community adequate time to review and provide feedback on the draft strategy prior to it returning to Executive Committee.  We would like to thank you for your time and consideration of our request.  If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact us at tegan.martindrysdale@redmontonnextgen.ca and brian.murray@edmontonnextgen.ca.

Best Regards,

Tegan Martin-Drysdale

Edmonton’s NextGen Committee

Community Co-Chair

Brian Murray

Edmonton’s NextGen Committee

Civic Co-Chair

cc: Gary Klassen, General Manager, Sustainable Development
Peter Ohm, Manager, Urban Planning and Environment, Sustainable Development
Kathy Barnhart, Manager, Community and Social Development, Community Services

Note for our Edmonton NextGen website readers: For more information on the Growth Coordination Strategy and to read the November 2012 draft, visit http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/urban_planning_and_design/growth-coordination-strategy.aspx.

12 year old Alixx Tanner has been able to do what many of us aim to do: understand the larger environmental impacts of her daily decisions.

In a science fair project on penguins, the Grade 7 Nellie McClung student looked outside of her immediate world to see how her decisions affect the environment, specifically penguin habitats. The population of these adorable waddling birds are declining at an alarming rate.

This blog is a small peak into Alixx’s world and how she views it.

(more…)

Another Earth Day, another avalanche of press releases and sales flyers. Sometimes it feels like ‘green’ has become another hokey sales pitch for gadgets you don’t need, doesn’t it? However, Earth Day is more than just an opportunity to get a great deal on a rain barrel at the hardware store. It’s a chance to rethink how our everyday actions have an impact, not just on the planet, but closer to home.

Want to make your impact on the planet and your community a positive one? Try slowing your life down.

 
(more…)

Historically, the decision to purchase local was an easy one. You would never have to make a point to do so, and in fact would have to deliberately seek out an alternative. Unfortunately, in current market conditions it is often cheaper to buy goods produced afar despite the added cost of packaging, transportation, etc.. Despite this, support for locally owned businesses is growing as

more and more people are discovering the intrinsic value in spending their money somewhere besides the major chains.

When talking about the environment, it’s easy to get caught up on green initiatives. While these are certainly important, now more than ever, we wanted to focus on the urban environment, the city we live in, and ways in which we can develop and improve it.
 
(more…)

April’s NextGen Speaks Out! theme will be environment

 
April is traditionally when we start seeing the grass start greening and life starting to poke out of the ground. April also touts national events such as Earth Hour (technically held March 31st but close enough) and Earth Day (April 22). Local events start gearing up and the city starts their Capital City Clean-up Programs.

There is a perception that you have to live in the cold and the dark to be green but in reality environmental issues and solutions aren’t just about being green and don’t have to require a hardcore committment. Caring about our environment can really mean simple and small changes to your day to day behaviour. This means a little something different to each of us and that is okay because the collaborative effort is what makes a difference. The simple changes you could consider could mean taking transit, recycling, installing a compost area or solar panels, shopping at a farmer’s market or a local establishment, planting a garden, participating in clean-up events and much much more.

This month we’ll be bringing your posts that expand on those options. They might expose you to new information that you hadn’t heard about before or inspire you to make a small change to your own routine or encourage you to suggest solutions to others.

We also want you to engage in discussion. Come on nextgener’s we know you have opinions and thoughts on these themes too. We’d love for you to comment, start a discussion, and share these posts with your networks.

Check back weekly as we will be adding new NextGen Speaks Out! posts regularly. We’re looking forward to it and hope you do too!

Disclaimer
NextGen Speaks Out, our guest blogging series, is envisioned as a hub for information and discussion. NextGen is a non-political, non-denominational organization focused on giving all nextgeners a voice. NextGen does not represent the opinions expressed by the individual columnists.