Redeveloped Prairie Winds Park is a vital community hub in northeast Calgary

Wander into Prairie Winds Park in northeast Calgary any summer day and you'll see children enjoying the wading pool, families playing cricket or having a picnic, and people on the tennis courts. In the winter, people are out tobogganing, skating and enjoying the great outdoors in the popular regional park.

Prairie Winds Park opened in 1990, but recently underwent a complete redevelopment, says Michelle Wong, who worked on the project as capital lead for Calgary Parks.

Calgary's Genesis Centre earns its name

The word genesis means a beginning or origin. When it comes to this definition, the Genesis Centre in northeast Calgary was aptly named. Opened in January of 2012, the centre filled a longstanding void in sport, recreation, wellness and cultural services for residents.

Hub living is the name of the game when it comes to new-neighbourhood design in northwest Calgary

When discussing the current trend of building Calgary residential communities around "hubs" (also known as "activity centres" or "nodes"), the phrase "back to the future" seems apt.

"It's about concentrating uses and activities in one area ... It's how settlements and civilizations have been developing forever," said Beverly Sandalack, associate dean and professor of landscape architecture and planning in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design.

"It fell out of favour post-World War II with the over-reliance on the car, but, except for this 50-year aberration, main streets have always been the centre of community activity and business."

Bringing people together sets new rec centre apart

Building a community and building a sense of community are two different things. The City of Calgary understands that distinction, and the new Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge is a prime example.

As construction of new neighbourhoods proceeds at a frantic pace, the City is doing its best to make these collections of houses feel like home. That's why it committed $480 million to develop four recreation centres in freshly built suburbs. One of those projects, approved in 2012 and set to open in January of 2018, is the new recreational facility in the northwest community of Rocky Ridge.

A new Symons Valley Ranch Market rises from the ashes

A project is underway to redesign and rebuild the Symons Valley Ranch Market, after a devastating fire roared through the historic building and iconic grounds in late January of this year.

"The market had become a real gathering point for the community," said Ken Aylesworth, the market's managing partner.

Chestermere Lake's evolution from slough to city centrepiece

When Jen Peddlesden and her family moved to Chestermere Lake 40 years ago, people told her she was crazy.

At that time, what is now a 2.65-square-kilometre waterway was merely a "slough, just a place to put a boat," and was primarily a backyard playground for nearby Forest Lawn residents or the Calgary Yacht Club, which has been headquartered there since 1933.

Trends shaping the city's short- and long-term development

Absent a crystal ball, the future of housing in Calgary is very much up in the air. At the same time, there are some notable trends that offer clues to what's on the horizon for the curious, the concerned and those who just like to plan ahead.

"I think the findings from the 2016 census highlight changes in the Calgary housing market," said Rylan Graham, a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary.

"We saw significant growth in many of the inner-city neighborhoods developed pre-World War II, and at the periphery of the city through new greenfield development. These areas are where most of the population growth occurred from 2011-2016."

City of Calgary Main Streets initiative aims to revitalize streetscapes and bring communities together

In late September, a throng of Bridgeland residents turned out for the first annual community-organized passeggiata, visiting cultural and business stops along the neighbourhood's main thoroughfare, ending in celebration at the street's General Square.

This passeggiata — a leisurely promenade or stroll in the Italian tradition — and other activities like it are exactly what the City of Calgary's Main Streets initiative is designed to encourage across 24 different city streets.