Greener growth: Proactive planning preserves natural lands while developing new subdivisions

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When Fred Duke stands near the horse corral of his 40-acre ranch, he can see the tidy backyards of new homes in a southeast Edmonton subdivision, with 50th Street marking the line between rural and urban.

"An old German couple lived there," said Duke, gesturing toward a Walmart less than a kilometre north of the property he has lived at for nearly 50 years. "They just lived on that quarter-section and milked a few cows, had chickens and a little bit of grain."

A lot has changed in 50 years. Mill Woods was in its infancy and the now thriving community of Beaumont hadjust 400 people. Even Duke's ranch is now part of the recently approved Meltwater neighbourhood located southeast of Ellerslie Road and 50th Street.

Another thing that has changed is the city's determination to balance neighbourhood development with the preservation of natural lands.

Follow the Emerald Crescent

Consider the Emerald Crescent, a 10-kilometre stretch of parks, natural areas and school sites, linked by trails, constructed wetlands and wildlife passages to form a connected network of open space. Meltwater is one of the eight neighbourhoods that the Emerald Crescent passes through.

"A lot of times when we're planning growth, we wait for industry the development industry or proponents to come forward with a plan. And we work through that plan with them," said Paul Foster, general supervisor with the city's Urban Growth and Open Space Strategy Team.

But in this case, the city acted early. It purchased about 32 hectares of land that was home to the most valuable wetlands and created an area structure plan that works around that landscape.

In some ways, the Emerald Crescent is like a small river valley, tucked away in the city's southeast.

"We're essentially preserving this and creating another ravine-type amenity for people in this area that don't have easy access to our ravine system elsewhere in the city," Foster told CBC News.

Emerald Crescent is a major feature of the Decoteau area, a rural space that is expected over the next 25 years or so to become home to another 75,000 people in five new neighbourhoods.

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Two neighbourhood structure plans have now been approved by the city, Meltwater, and Decoteau North.

The city was aware of the area's ecological significance. It's home to Edmonton's largest wetland complex that is, a set of wetlands that are dependent on each other.

This complex is connected to the Beaver Hills Biosphere and drains into the Irvine Creek and Blackmud Creek watersheds. Ultimately, it feeds into the North Saskatchewan River.

"The Emerald Crescent and what we're trying to achieve in Decoteau goes a long way," Foster said.

"There's a lot of elements [in the new city plan] in trying to be greener as we go as a city, reducing our GHG emissions, getting to a net-zero carbon. Maintaining the ecological the existing natural features is a great step in achieving that."

The city also wants to create more usable spaces, by getting away from single-use park spaces and exploring the ideas of multifunctional open spaces that provide both activities for people and environmental benefits.

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'That's a lot of houses'

Duke has been riding his horses here for decades, and he still teaches a few students out of his large riding arena which now overlooks the Walker neighbourhood.

It makes him happy to know that the city plans to preserve the wetlands that back onto his land property that, despite the many offers he's had over the years, he has no intention of selling.

"Forty acres. That's a lot of houses," he said.

"I tell them to get lost. Everybody thinks I'm crazy and I probably am,"

Foster, meanwhile, is excited to see how the careful planning of today will create a better future for people who will eventually live in this corner of the city.

"I think it's aspirational what we're doing here," he said. "But I also think it's achievable,"

"I think we can really have a fantastic neighbourhood ecological system that respects the biodiversity of the area."