On the north side of the Bow River, the inner-city communities of Bridgeland and Renfrew are attracting young, vibrant buyers in droves thanks to their funky vibe and smorgasbord of cool restaurants, coffee shops and eclectic boutiques. Here you can find local clothing designs, loads of vinyl and good local eats. Many of the venues pair up unlikely offerings, making the vibe even quirkier. Enjoy an old-fashioned shave while sipping on a vodka martini at barbershop/cocktail lounge Cannibale, or grab one of the best coffees in town at Lukes Drug Mart.

Parks are especially important in densely developed downtown

"Quality, not quantity" is how City of Calgary parks manager Keath Parker characterizes green spaces in Calgary's downtown core, an area that's not only home to tall office towers, but residential neighbourhoods as well, including the Beltline (Connaught and Victoria Park), East Village and Eau Claire.

Parker explains it wasn't until the mid-1960s that the province's Municipal Government Act (MGA) gave municipalities the authority to take up to 10 per cent of a development for open public space. Residential neighbourhoods developed prior to that tend not to have as much green space as those created after the MGA.

However, Calgary's downtown is still far from a cold, concrete jungle. In fact, there are 24 parks in the downtown area covering roughly 65 hectares of open green space, according to the City.

Zoey Duncan is what you might call an engaged citizen. Having showcased her unique commentary on Calgary life through social media and blog zoeywrites.com, it didn't come as a major surprise when she was chosen as the East Village's first resident ambassador.

Having now added the ability to survey city life from high above, CREB®Now caught up with Duncan to find out what's going on in and around Calgary's "oldest newest neighbourhood."

CREB®Now: ?How exactly did you come to have a rent-free condo in the East Village for a year?

Duncan: The Calgary Municipal Land Corp. (the brains behind East Village) began a competition earlier this year in search of an East Village resident ambassador – someone who could see the revitalized neighbourhood through the eyes of a resident and share it with the rest of the world.

First breaking ground in 2008, the reviltalization of Calgary's "newest, oldest" community is now beginning to come to completion. Recently welcoming the area's first new occupant, the area is eventually expected to welcome more than 11,000 Calgarians to what was once one of the city's most notorious neighbourhoods.

CREB®Now takes a look at the rebirth of the neighbourhood, how it came to be, and what it will become.

History

The site of Calgary's first Northwest Mounted Police detachment, which would later become Fort Calgary, East Village was originally the centre of a then-fledgling Calgary. Later falling into decline, the area would be largely neglected, with the city's medical officer declaring it "skid row" in 1941. With various revitalization projects failing to take hold, the community would remain a blight on the city until the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation's (CMLC) revitalization project began in 2008.