Climate change meets housing crisis: Calgary, Canmore, and Banff mayors talk sustainable building

In a room where the climate crisis meets housing emergencies — the mayors of Calgary, Canmore and Banff spoke to planners and developers about the challenges ahead. 

On Monday, a symposium on "building for sustainability" was held in Canmore, where industry experts met to discuss climate-aware designs for new builds or retrofits on buildings, and how this connects to urban design and land use planning. 

"All of us are very interested in working with each other and working with other orders of government … that is a really good signal for our province," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who spoke at the event. 

Ian O'Donnell, the executive director of Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association (BOWDA), one of the co-organizers of the event, said there are a lot of competing pressures for rapidly growing communities to provide housing options that are both low cost and environmentally friendly. 

"We need to balance the sustainability and aspirational goals of our community with the practicality and pragmatism of actually getting things built and done so in a constructive manner," said O'Donnell. 

"Ultimately, that's one of the things I'm hoping to take away from this."

Gareth Thompson is the executive director of the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, who partnered with BOWDA to host the symposium. He said the two organizations may be an unlikely pair, but that they share a common interest in building green. 

"In Banff and Canmore, one third of all the greenhouse gas emissions are connected with buildings and typically the space heating for buildings," said Thompson.

"I think there's a palpable feeling in the room that there's a climate crisis and that we need to do what we can to make carbon-friendly buildings of the future."

Thompson added that the pace of development throughout the Bow Valley doesn't show signs of slowing down. Two major developments that would almost double Canmore's population were recently approved by a provincial tribunal, after the town's council appealed the decision for them to move forward.

Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said reducing emissions from buildings is top of mind for the town. 

"If I had a magic wand, I would have the building code more stringent than the one that has been approved by the province so that we can actually require certain levels of build that are better for our environment," said Krausert. 

"What I think has to be done is we need to look at the absolute biggest priorities and in Canmore, [that's] affordability and housing, all while there is a climate crisis going on. But I think we can deal with all of those in the same conversation."

Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno said the town is facing overcrowding, and because of its park boundaries, will have to consider redevelopment of some of its jurisdiction. 

"We"re really hearing from the community that they are desperate for us to do all we can to address our housing unavailability and un-affordability." 

"When we go to redevelop, we want to make sure that it's to the highest, most efficient use of that space … we want to ensure that we are building as efficiently as possible for our community."

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city's housing strategy and sustainability initiatives are focused on the city as a whole. 

"It's not just housing on its own, it's not just transit on its own, it's making sure things are intertwined to allow people to have a good quality of life that will also deliver on our climate targets."