Alberta
Population: 1,283,177¹
- Calgary has the most hectares of parkland per population of cities over 500,000 with 7 hectares per thousand people.
- Calgary is one of 28% of cities with a biodiversity strategy.
- Of cities that reported private funding (e.g, sponsorships, philanthropy) in 2020, Calgary was second with nearly $1.4 million raised.
- To help people get outdoors safely in winter, Calgary implemented a new firepit program with free 2-hour bookings and free firewood. Starting out with 14 new firepits, the city added 55 more over the next two months to keep up with demand, resulting in over 2000 bookings.
- In partnership with Arts and Culture, Calgary Parks led Lantern Walks, lighting up one-kilometre pathways in three different parks with tealight candles, including firepits and pop-up entertainment on route.
- Calgary became the first city in Canada to offer ice bikes at Bowness Park, a park that also contains a new skating trail and a crokicurl rink.
7.0
ha parkland per 1000 people
8932 ha of total parkland
53%
of total parkland is natural area
4776 total ha
25%
of parkland is environmentally significant/protected
2217 total ha
11%
of total city land is parkland
84 820 ha of total city area
158
dog parks
59
Community gardens/urban farms
Mixed
Parkland provision goal (distance to park / ha per 1000 people)
450 m 5 minute walk 2 ha / 1,000
3.1
2volunteers / 1000 people
3968 total
4
3community park groups
No
4Policy to waive permit fees for groups with financial need?
$65
Parks operating budget per person
$83,261,232 total
$36,191,691
Total parks capital budget
$1,395,000
Total philanthropy/sponsorships
10%
Provincially legislated tools available for parkland dedication, acquisition and/or development
of the development site or cash-in-lieu
¹2019 data ²Reduced due to COVID-19 related program cancellations. ³Additional groups exist, but the total number is not available. ⁴Fees waived informally on a case-by-case basis.
