Calgary's new $550-million arena will be a catalyst for future private investment in East Victoria Park as part of the massive Rivers District master plan, according to the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC).

That master plan, which underwent intensive community engagement, envisions four million square feet of mixed-use development and more than 8,000 new residents within 500 acres on the east side of Calgary's downtown.

Experts tout prevalence in today's homebuying decisions

Walkability has evolved from a buzzword to an influential part of home purchasing decisions in Calgary, say real estate experts.

And to meet growing demand for improved accessibility, developers and planners need to start now by designing communities of tomorrow through a more pedestrian-friendly lens.

"(Walkability) is important to our customers," said Brookfield Residential development manager Tara Steell. "We're hearing from them and using best practices to create communities with master-planned communities. We have the ability to influence that and try to get people out of their cars."

They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and the same could apply to historic buildings. In the wake of the Enoch Sales House fire and demolition, heritage groups and individual Calgarians have called for more to be done to preserve the city's historic structures.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, a wave of new golf course development swept across Canada, with many of these courses serving as centrepieces for residential communities. Since then, that growth has slowed as golf's popularity has waned. Some of those courses are now closing, opening prime real estate that, in many cases, is being redeveloped into new subdivisions.

The result has been a boon for builders and homebuyers, as land becomes available for new residential development within desirable, well-established communities. However, it has also created resentment among long-time residents of these neighbourhoods, who originally purchased their homes with the golf course as a major selling point.

While many homeowners cross their fingers that a flood to match 2013 never comes again, the City of Calgary has been crossing t's and dotting i's on a plan to protect those who would be affected in a worst-case scenario.

Five years after the tragic deaths of Kaiti Perras, Josh Hunter, Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong and Zackariah Rathwell at a university party in Brentwood, their families are coming together to build a garden that honours their memories.

Calgary's Chinatown is small but unique, blessed with the iconic Centre Street Bridge, a vibrant cultural centre, a prime location along the Bow River and a history stretching back more than 100 years.

It will also have the first cultural plan for any neighbourhood in Canada – perhaps in North America – that will help inform Chinatown's new local area plan, a plan last updated more than three decades ago.

Calgary's parks offer something for just about everyone, including people who love to stay fit.

The City currently has 22 parks with permanent outdoor fitness equipment, and a pilot project last summer saw temporary equipment set up in three additional communities on a rotating basis.

The master-planned vision for Calgary's East Village revitalization, launched in the mid-2000s, is becoming a living, breathing reality, now more than ever.

Alain Dupere has lived in East Village since 2011. He's watching the transformation happen one day at a time, observing the changes while he walks to and from work. Dupere, who is also president of the East Village Neighbourhood Association, says that although the area is still under construction, its vibrancy is increasing as more buildings become move-in ready and amenities continue to pop up.

"It's a great place to live and to visit. Anyone can use the amenities in our neighbourhood," he said. "It's becoming a destination for the greater Calgary (area) and beyond, and that's a nice thing."

Some might believe that the excitement around this developing community, and the desire to live and work there, are new phenomena. But according to Harry Sanders, Calgary's former historian laureate, it's not far off from the activities of the space over a century ago, when non-indigenous people first arrived in the area often referred to as the "birthplace of Calgary."

Saving the planet is a good thing, but if you can put some green in your jeans at the same time, all the better. As interest in homes with environmentally friendly features grows among buyers and sellers, the popularity of green designations for REALTORS® is also on the rise.