Urban Design

Urban design

Making Calgary a livable, attractive, memorable and functional city.

The City of Calgary encourages the use of great urban design across the entire planning continuum, and has a group of urban designers, within the Urban Design + Open Space team, to provide guidance and achieve design excellence.

Urban design involves the arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, transportation systems, and services to entire neighbourhoods and the ​​city itself. It brings together the many elements and areas of expertise involved in great place-making – land use planning, transportation planning, architecture, landscape design, public art, engineering among others. The effective coordination of these specialties results in the creation of distinctive and cherished places.

To learn more about urban design in the City of Calgary, choose one of the following topics:

  • Great urban design

    Learn more about the elements of great urban design and the City of Calgary’s guidelines on various urban design-related topics.

  • Urban design review process

    Learn more about the City of Calgary’s urban design review processes within development applications.

  • Mayor's Urban Design Awards (MUDA)

    Learn more about the biennial awards that recognize high-quality urban design and architecture projects.

References

Why urban design matters

Great urban design is essential to making a livable, attractive, memorable and functional city. Prioritizing urban design excellence is a critical consideration in overall city-shaping and in building a legacy of quality public and private developments for future generations. It is reflected in the goals of the Municipal Development Plan which influence and inform the development review process. 

Contact us

For more information regarding City of Calgary Urban Design please contact:

urbandesign@calgary.ca 

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This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

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