Be Calgary: Let’s eradicate our inferiority complex?
Too often I here “Why can’t Calgary be more like Vancouver, Seattle, Austin, Montreal, Copenhagen and/or Barcelona?” Pick a city. And yes, I too am guilty of producing blogs that compare Calgary to other cities, but in my defence I do it mostly to show how Calgary is on par or better other cities. Too often, I feel Calgarians don’t appreciate what our city has or don’t know what our city has to offer.
I often wonder, “Does this need to compare ourselves to other cities emanate from Calgary’s “inferiority complex?”
I have often championed the idea Calgary needs to look inward, not outward to find its unique sense of place. As the contrarian that I am, I have championed the idea Calgary needs to “embrace the +15 walkway” as its most unique urban design feature, rather than apologize for it. With a little imagination and cooperation, It could be an amazing maze of cafes, live music venues, pop-up boutiques and art galleries, speakeasies, cocktail lounges and even nightclub.
I have also tried to champion rebranding Calgary as “The City of Parks & Pathways,” as a means expressing Calgary’s sense of place. Who wouldn’t want to live, work and play a city with 5,000+ parks and 1,000+ km of outdoor and indoor pathways. Surely that is the way to attract entrepreneurs from around the world to move to Calgary, be they in their 20s, 30s or 40s.
Recently I sent an email to Alex Sarian the new President & CEO of Art Commons (who moved here from New York City less than a year ago) to get his feedback on my idea of how Calgary might utilize the +15 system to create a unique sense of place - like New York City’s High Line meets Nashville’s Broadway - to which he wrote.
Sarian says…
Of all the cities I’ve lived in, worked in and visited, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a city with an inferiority complex quite like Calgary’s.
It’s almost as if every bold decision Calgary has made in recent history is to try to prove itself to others, instead of as an attempt to discover itself.
And you hit the nail on the head in your piece. Perhaps that’s why we have all these wonderful things, but still lack a unique, cohesive identity—because we’re always trying to prove others wrong, instead of trying to find what’s right for us.
In no other city have I seen so much time spent on comparing itself to others. I’d be willing to bet that as soon as we stop comparing ourselves to others, and start to make bold choices for ourselves, then the true Calgary will reveal itself to us.
And I’d be willing to bet that then, and only then, will the world start paying attention to who we are—and not because we’re beating out chests with pride and/or calling for attention, but because we’ll have something so authentically unique that people won’t be able to look away.
If our city can learn that lesson, there’s no stopping us. And that really excites me.
Sarian, a thirty something, who has lived in Toronto, Bueno Aires and New York City, and travelled the world, is a huge Calgary fan. He left New York City, fully knowing Calgary was struggling, but when he saw our new Library and world-class food scene (before COVID) he was all in.
Calgary desperately needs new young champions, I truly hope Sarian will be one. And, I hope he can fast track the evolution of Arts Commons into a mega popular year-round entertainment hub that includes Olympic Plaza, Calgary Telus Convention Centre, Glenbow and Stephen Avenue. God knows we have been trying to do that for 40+ years.
Last Word
As a frontier city Calgary has struggled for over a century to become recognized as a major Canadian and international city. We have never been willing to sit back and just be the little city on the edge of the prairies and the mountains. We have always aspired to play with the big boys.
Early on, Calgary struggled with Edmonton to become Alberta’s major city, which we still do today. Throughout the early 20th century we also struggled with Winnipeg (even though Winnipeg was three times our size in 1950) to become the major distribution centre for the prairies. Later in the 20th Century we tried to compete with Vancouver (twice our size) as Western Canada’s major financial and corporate center. And, Calgary has always compared itself to Houston and Dallas (five times our size), as one of North American’s major oil and gas headquarters.
It seems to be part of Calgary’s DNA to want to compare our city to other cities, rather than to just BE CALGARY!
Be that oil & gas or tech start-ups, be that the Stampede or one of many other cultural festivals (think Pride Parade or Nagar Kirtan Parade), be that urban living in the Beltline or suburban living in Bridlewood. Be that skiing/biking at Canada Olympic Park, floating down the Bow or Elbow Rivers or a family hike in Fish Creek or Nose Hill Park.
Perhaps that should be our new brand: BE CALGARY!
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