With an eye to the future, the City of Calgary is developing a plan to have more Calgarians living in mixed and mulit-unit dwellings. Calgary's current development strategy is no longer viable with increasing traffic congestion and energy and utility delivery costs. Currently, Calgary's population density (1436/km2) is one of the lowest in Canada and North America and is ranked lower than Las Vegas (1604/km2) for population density, a city that is often cited as an example of unsustainable development. To bring Calgary more in line with other Canadian cities such as Toronto (3,972/km2) and Vancouver (5,335/km2) "Plan It Calgary" has been developed as a strategy for growth, for the next 60 years. The plan emphasises increasing population density in current Calgary communities and areas around current transit infrastructure. As well, the plan calls for no new major road development and for the development of significant transit infrastructure around the city. If the plan is approved and implemented, the city and its citizens will stand to save billions of dollars in the future but Calgarians are used to a single-family style of living and the multiple vehicle trips that accompany this type of living. The challenge will be to convince Calgarians to give up their vehicles and backyards in favour of public transit and balconies.
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