In 2023, Calgary city council passed one of the most divisive and sweeping planning changes in our history: blanket rezoning. With one vote, decades of established planning practices were overturned. For the first time, every single-family lot in the city could be redeveloped into multiplexes, rowhouses or townhouses — regardless of context or community input.

The decision didn’t come quietly. Council held months of public engagement sessions, where nearly two-thirds of speakers opposed the measure — 458 against, 227 in favour and 51 neutral. Stephen Shawcross, a seasoned planner, and I were among those opposed. We presented The Unassailable Case Against Blanket Rezoning to council — a study that laid out the risks to affordability, community character and infrastructure.

This position w

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