University of Calgary students presented their visions for what the Nose Creek Valley in the north part of Calgary could look like.
The U of C School of Architecture Planning and Landscape Master’s students were challenged to create concepts for a Nose Creek urban park system this semester.
Diba Mohebzadeh is one of the students involved.
“I come from an architectural and planning background, so I didn’t have any idea about the importance of open spaces and valleys. Learning about all of that and the history of Nose Creek and being able to use my background information has taught me that anything is possible, and there should be a need for open spaces and preservation of a valley such as Nose Creek,” Mohebzadeh said.
“That valley needs to be preserved because it is supposed to connect to the rest of the walking and biking trails, and the open spaces within the city.”
The theme of her work is co-existence. She said the the valley is better off left for wildlife and recreation, and that there’s better locations for industrial use.
“Development there is unnecessary because we have a lot of land within Calgary. We can develop Manchester. There’s so many other areas — the southern part of the city can be developed as well,” Mohebzadeh said.
The founder of Save Nose Creek is hoping the students’ work captures the imagination of elected officials in Calgary, Airdrie Rocky View County, as well as the area MLAs and MPs.
“Even one of these concepts coming together could change the outlook of Nose Creek,” said Andrew Yule on Friday.
“We are looking for this to be a provincial or national urban park, so we are looking to get a champion from those levels of government. We are trying to connect communities. We are trying to have an inter-municipal park system, so everybody is keenly interested in our success.”
Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian was at the event in northeast Calgary showcasing the students’ ideas.
“I think it’s awesome that we have young people in our community that are speaking about how to make our community spaces better,” Mian said on Friday. “Any time you can deliver more green space for your community — I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to do that. I think some of the logistical challenges in this area are that much of this land is privately owned.”
Last year, Calgary city council approved an application to rezone a series of properties along Nose Creek.
The application asked for additional uses for the plots.
It was submitted by Urban Systems on behalf of landowner Melcor and involved four properties within the Stoney Industrial Area.
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