As anyone who has recently spent time in any of the city's 8,000 hectares of green space can attest, Calgarians are eager to get outside.

Driven by the long-awaited arrival of summer and the need for closer-to-home recreation options due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of Calgary's parks is on the rise.

The lands that became northwest Calgary's Mount Pleasant community were annexed by the City in 1910, making it one of Calgary's older neighbourhoods. When development began in the area in 1912, Calgary's population numbered fewer than 50,000 people.

Calgary's urban parks offer nearby residents a slice of the great outdoors in the heart of the city

At the beginning of July last year, John and Ildi Arlette took their first-ever walk through Confederation Park.

By the end of that month, they had bought a home in Mount Pleasant sitting near the crescent-shaped green space that stretches across 162 hectares – including eight hectares of wetlands – in northwest Calgary.

"We were on a date night and someone had told me about Confederation Park," said John Arlette. "Ildi is from Ontario and I realized I hadn't shown her much of Calgary – I hadn't even been to the park myself."

After that visit, the Arlettes sold their home in Signal Hill, becoming both inner-city – and park-side living – devotees.

When looking for a good place to raise a family, it's tough to argue with the medley of character and convenience offered up by the Northwest communities of Capitol Hill and Mount Pleasant.

Sitting on the northern side of 16 Ave. and bordered by Second and 19 streets N.W., the two historic communities have long provided Calgarians with an idyllic place to raise a family.