GETTING SCHOOLED
Let’s utilize empty space
I may be opening a can of worms, but every time I walk by a school site with a vast expanse of land devoted to playground and playing fields I wonder, “Is this the best use of the site?” The spaces are empty or near empty most weekends and evenings during the school year and in July and August. What a waste.
Recently, I introduced the idea of “school site redevelopment” in a blog about Altadore as a potential model 21st century community given they have a huge school site with two schools, two playgrounds and a huge area for playing fields that are underutilized.
Don’t get me wrong — I am all for kids and families having easy access to green spaces to play and picnic, but how much space do we need?
When I walk by the 1920 Cliff Bungalow School, the first thing I notice is how small the school and playgrounds are.
It fits into the neighbourhood, almost like a house and with two side yards. I can’t help but wonder if this is the model we should be seriously considering for future elementary and junior high schools.
When I walk around my nearby neighbourhoods of Hillhurst, West Hillhurst and Parkdale, all I see are huge spaces taken up by school sites, which would make ideal sites for diversifying our predominately single-family communities. The sites are all within walking, cycling or easy transit to downtown, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre and SAIT. It is “live, work, play” heaven.
SCHOOL- ORIENTED VILLAGES
Call me radical, but why can’t school sites accommodate other uses? Instead of one-storey schools, we could create two, maybe three, four-storey buildings around the periphery of the block with an interior green space.
I envision the school on the ground floor with the upper floors being affordable housing for young teachers and seniors, maybe artists’ live/work spaces.
Perhaps even some town houses with enough space for young families.
The upper floors would also accommodate a diversity of professional services — medical, fitness, legal, accounting.
Other ground floor uses would include daycare, after-school care, cafe or bistro and other convenience retail to create a small village.
The buildings could be modular (think sea containers), allowing classrooms to be added or subtracted based on need or being replaced with residential, retail or office spaces.
Imagine a school-oriented village that evolves with the community as it ages and then rejuvenates. Transit Oriented Development is all the rage in Calgary with plans for Brentwood, Westbrook and Anderson Stations — why not school-oriented development?
EDMONTON KICKS OUR BUTT
A quick check of the situation in Edmonton and I found out its mayor posted a paper in October 2014 titled “The Important Role of Surplus School Sites.” The city’s website has lots of information on how that city is pushing forward with the redevelopment of several school sites. In contrast, it is hard to find much about what is happening with surplus school sites in Calgary.
What I love about the Edmonton model — and think it would be applicable to Calgary — is that it focuses on first homebuyers. A key issue facing Calgary’s established communities is lack of moderately priced homes for young families who don’t have $200,000-plus family incomes. They simply can’t afford duplexes and fourplexes starting at $750,000, nor can they live in the 600-square-foot $300,000 condos, or the 1,200-square-foot bungalows in need of $100,000plus renovations.
CONSTIPATION OF CONSULTATION
I expect it is the same people who are protesting any changes to their community that are the same ones who also protest the closing of schools because of lack of enrolment.
They are likely the ones who protest against the conversion of old 600-square-foot cottage homes on inner city lots into mini-mansions, duplexes and fourplexes or, heaven forbid, a developer gets a chance to buy three or four contiguous lots to build a small apartment or condo.
It seems to me the loud minority all too often dominates the urban renewal debates of our cities.
I am all for public engagement but at some point we need to limit the debate, demonstrate some leadership and well-informed decision-making. We will never please everyone.
WHY WAIT?
Many of Calgary’s schools built in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s are at the end of their life span. As the school boards don’t have money to bring them up to modern standards, now is a great time to be creative and work with the private sector to look at how school sites could be reconfigured to allow for new development, which would also result in new schools.
The goal would be to surround the school with compatible activities that would create 7/12 (seven days a week, 12 months of the year).
Imagine a school-oriented village with animated sidewalks, streets, parks, patios, playgrounds and playing fields. Let’s be proactive and not wait until the schools fall apart or are closed.
SACRED COWS?
If we want to have vibrant inner-city communities, we are wise to let them evolve slowly over decades, but every once in a while we have to make a quantum leap.
For the past three decades, many of Calgary’s inner city communities have been slowly diversifying their housing inventory with infill projects.
It makes sense that the next big discussion must be on how to redevelopment their school sites to enhance the entire community.
They can’t be sacred cows.