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Final Draft Aurora Area Structure Plan

Open for feedback on Tuesday April 22, 2025

Upcoming information sessions

Please see below for details about a Phase 3 information session to chat with project staff about the final Draft Plan.

Online feedback form

Open April 22 - May 6, 2025

Tuesday April 29, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In-person Engagement Session

Drop-In anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the East Entrance of the Vivo Centre, 11950 Country Village Link NE Calgary, AB T3K 6E.

REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED for this session. Drop in anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 1, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Online session

Advance registration is required. Click here to register.

Engagement overview

Feedback received in Phase 2, alongside other key considerations such as context, professional expertise, policies and regulations and Council directive, informed the final Draft Aurora ASP that is being presented for review in Phase 3: REFINE.

You can now review the detailed Phase 2 What We Heard Report and the detailed Engagement Summary.


Summary of feedback

  • Green space

    What we heard:

    Preserve natural habitats and wildlife; maintain recreational and off-leash areas.

    What we did:

    A large part (minimum of 37%) of the plan area will remain as parks and open space.

    Priority for any new parkland (Municipal Reserve) is for school sites and preservation of cultural resources.

    Existing off-leash area in the south-eastern portion of the plan area will remain.

  • Housing

    What we heard:

    Support affordable, diverse housing options, address concerns about traffic and green space loss.

    What we did:

    We’ve included policies that encourage building non-market housing, i.e. affordable, social and emergency housing, throughout the Plan Area except areas reserved for parks and open space.

  • Connectivity

    What we heard:

    Easy access to green spaces, residential areas, and amenities by car, foot, and transit.

    What we did:

    We’ve included a primary road network, open space network, a local transit network and pedestrian network.

  • Pathways

    What we heard:

    Extend the multi-use pathway system for walking, jogging, and wheeling.

    What we did:

    We added an urban cycling network that is connected to the recreational pathway system in West Nose Creek Park, Nose Creek Valley, and adjacent communities.

  • Small business

    What we heard:

    Encourage small businesses over large retail chains and industrial developments.

    What we did:

    We included an Urban Main Street at the centre of the community. This area is ideal for small scale restaurants, patios and shops. Community uses such as schools, Community Association buildings are also located on this street.

Highlights of the final Draft ASP

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    Housing

    • City land will be used to increase housing supply.
    • This plan will support the development of 5,500 new dwellings.

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    Preservation of green space

    • 37% of the draft Plan remains parkland (West Nose Creek & Environmental Reserve). With additional lands to be added for parks at of future the Outline Plan phase.
    • The final Draft Plan promotes better access to the existing West Nose Creek Park and central wetland all while also gaining new neighbourhood parks and schools

  • Timeline item 3 - complete

    Transit

    • Three future LRT transit stations within walking distance from neighbourhoods within the Plan Area.
    • Two existing rapid bus routes on Harvest Hills and 96 Avenue N.E.

  • Timeline item 4 - complete

    Place-keeping and cultural landscapes

    • Traditional Knowledge informs this Plan.
    • New spaces for Indigenous Peoples and Calgarians to practice ceremony and, connect with the landscape and educate future generations.
    • Planning for continued engagement with First Nations for future development in this area.

  • Timeline item 5 - complete

    Public spaces

    • A large urban main street at the heart of the community.
    • New opportunities for Local shops and restaurants.
    • Walkways, plazas, boardwalks, entry features, crosswalks and escarpment viewing platforms in key locations.

Land Use Concept

Land Use Concept

Vision & core ideas

Vision:

The Aurora Area Structure Plan is a new transit oriented residential community in Northern Calgary.

With an easy walk to transit, and a diversity of housing forms, Aurora is desirable and accessible to all Calgarians. The new neighbourhood has an abundance of parks, regional pathways, sidewalks and unique streets making it easy and fun to walk, cycle and play outdoors. The area’s significance to Indigenous Peoples is celebrated and reflected in the community’s place names, urban design and public art.


Core ideas

Capitalize on investment in higher-order transit infrastructure and a robust pathway network to provide increased mobility choices for citizens, promote a vibrant and connected community, and provide more opportunities to live, work, and play within proximity to transit and active transportation routes.

Enhance housing diversity and sustainability by offering a variety of housing options that support affordable home ownership and rental opportunities, ensuring that residents of all ages can continue to live within the community.

Encourage sustainable design solutions by developing a climate resilient community that minimizes energy and resource use, and incorporates green building methods and alternative energy solutions, such as district energy, to reduce emissions.

Ensure the continued celebration of the Plan Area by incorporating historical matters of significance in the design of the community and its streets to facilitate greater connections between residents, their community, and the environment and exploring opportunities for Reconcili-Action.

Protect, connect, and enhance the ecological network to ensure biodiversity is conserved, ecosystem services are maintained, and to create a resilient, sustainable community that celebrates the rich history of the Plan Area.

Indigenous perspectives

Traditional knowledge shared with The City has helped to shape certain elements of the Plan. While more engagement is to happen at subsequent phases, so far this is what we heard from Elders, Traditional Knowledge Keepers and First Nations Consultation offices.

Knowledge shared with The City

Explanation

The Aurora lands are part of the collective memory of Indigenous Peoples

To the Blackfoot Peoples, the lands we know as Aurora are not historical, but a living landscape of their ancestors. In 2001, Chief Peter Strikes with a Gun from Piikani Nation expressed his interest in preserving significant sites near the confluence of Nose Creek and West Nose Creek inside the Aurora Area Structure Plan boundary.

The Aurora Lands are part of the Old North Trail

The Old North Trail is well known to Blackfoot Peoples and is thought of as the ancient route of the ‘great tribe’ who came from the distant North (arctic) to the South (Mexico) thousands of years ago. Natosiiniipa (Brings Down the Sun) and others said, that that all tribes have, ever since, continued to follow their ancestors on this trail.

Aurora is associated with Akokatsin (Sundance)

Akokatsin is an important ritual for Blackfoot and many of the Treaty 7 First Nations, as it deepens spiritual knowledge, and strengthens connections between community members. This ceremony is performed at strategic locations, using plants, tools and landscape features from the surrounding environment.