Revitalizing Downtown Calgary

Image source: Radio-Canada / Lounan Charpentier

DOWNTOWN MATTERS TO ALL CALGARIANS

Downtown is Calgary’s economic engine and cultural hub. When our core isn’t thriving, the whole city feels the impact. Office vacancies, missing amenities, and quiet streets have left the core struggling for a decade.

DOWNTOWN AS A COMPLETE COMMUNITY

Conversations with people across all the downtown neighbourhoods show people want to live in a place that is safe, active, and practical. They need the basics: clean sidewalks, trees and parks, cultural events, and better places to walk, bike, and gather. As we work to have more people living in the centre of our city, we need to ensure the amenities are in place to allow people to enjoy living there like they would in any other neighbourhood.

BRINGING LIFE BACK TO CALGARY’S DOWNTOWN

A downtown with housing, services, culture, and safe streets benefits the whole city. It strengthens Calgary’s economy, attracts investment, and broadens the tax base. Most importantly, it makes downtown a place people choose to live and spend time in, not just pass through.

REVITALIZATION PRIORITIES

✅ Invest in parks, trees, recreation, and public facilities so downtown supports residents, not just workers.

✅ Advocate for the Green Line to be built properly underground through downtown Calgary, and continue the line’s construction to the Ward 7 communities north of the river.

✅ Cut permitting barriers and support artists, non-profits, and small businesses that bring sidewalks and storefronts to life.

✅ Simplify licensing to help local shops, cafés, and services thrive.

✅ Encourage projects that combine housing, services, and recreation so daily needs are close at hand.

✅ Improve crossings, widen sidewalks, and calm traffic to make walking downtown safer and easier.

✅ Upgrade and expand pathway connections — especially in the West End — to make Calgary’s rivers a key downtown feature.

✅ Convert vacant city-owned into spaces for cultural, youth, and educational programming that fill gaps in the community.