Rebranding Calgary: The City of Parks & Pathways!”
For decades, various Calgary politicians and community leaders have said Calgary needs to have a new brand/moniker, believing “The Stampede City” brand no longer has the broad appeal it once had with locals and visitors.
Link: Chamber says Calgary needs a rebrand to attract workers, reflect diversity
Is it a rebranding - or just a new marketing slogan, tagline or nickname that Calgary Economic Development, Tourism Calgary and Calgary Chamber of Commerce want to use to promote the city? A brand is something that is strongly embraced and valued by its citizens, something that is part of the city’s DNA. It is organic, not something contrived by a consultant based on market research. It captures the essence of the City’s unique sense of place.
Central Memorial Park dates back to 1912 and includes the Memorial Park Library. (Photo Credit: Peak Aerials)
Downtown’s Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall at noon hour from on of the 86 Plus 15 pedestrian bridge that create a 16-km indoor walkway connection 100+ office, shopping, hotel and residential towers.
Calgary Is No Longer A One Horse Town
Over the past 30+ years, Calgary has evolved into a diverse modern cosmopolitan city. And while the Stampede remains a major part of the City’s image, we only offer the “Stampede Experience” for 10 days of the year. Calgary has been widely known as “Canada’s Energy Capital” for the past 50+ years. And while most of its citizens take pride in the oil patch, more and more Calgary as seen as the “dirty fossil fuel capital of the world” nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, the perception of Calgary by many outsiders still is - and may well always - be that of a redneck, frontier town, rather than an ethnically diverse, contemporary, cosmopolitan city.
Indeed, Calgary is no longer a one horse town. While the Stampede is our largest festival, Calgary boasts a diversity of festivals year-round and while oil and gas is our major economic engine, Calgary is now a major inland port and has a growing tech sector.
Many people are surprised to learn that Calgary is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada.
Church picnic Grand Trunk Park.
Brand vs Slogan?
Calgary, like many cities in the 21st century, has hired brand consultants to try and create a better brand…with no success. Partly because they are slogans that don’t really make sense.
Over the past 10+ years, the consulting process has created two unsuccessful slogans - “The Heart of the New West” in 2010 and then “Be Part of the Energy” in 2015. In both cases, there was an obvious attempt to try and build on the City’s desire to be seen as a vibrant, major city, perhaps the capital city of the prairies or an international energy centre. In the end, the brands were confusing and too ambiguous.
What is the New West? Is that an urban cowboy or in some way a reference to Calgary’s western heritage and hospitality? What do we mean by “energy” – fossil fuels, street life, nightlife, entrepreneurship?
I think it’s time to move away from focusing on western culture (whatever that is) and the energy sector. It’s time to look at what Calgary has to offer from a different perspective, one that is more inclusive and all-encompassing.
It is time to begin to slowly foster a new image / identity of our city - one that resonates with most everyone and has some longevity. One that is easily understood and will attract people of all ages to want to live and visit the city (or maybe even move here). And of course, be authentic and believable.
Something that reflects the city’s collective 21st century aspirations and provides a framework for the city’s ongoing city building.
Fish Creek Provincial Park (Photo Credit: Peak Aerials)
Nose Hill Park (photo credit: Peak Aerials)
Spruce Meadows (Photo credit: Peak Aerials)
Canada Olympic Park (Photo Credit: Peak Aerials)
Shaw Millennium Park
Stampede Park (photo credit: Peak Aerials)
Weaselhead Flats (Photo Credit: Peak Aerials)
The 127-acre Heritage Park Historical Village is Canada’s largest living history museum. It includes a historical Main Street, farm, a recreated town square, a passenger train, Gasoline Alley Museum (extensive collection of antique cars and memorabilia) and a half-sized replica of the S.S. Moyie paddle wheeler on the Glenmore Reservoir.
My Vote? “Calgary: The City of Parks & Pathways!”
Hear me out. Calgary boasts 7,000+ parks and green spaces (the City of Calgary manages 5,600 parks). The City’s website says “99.5% of Calgarians live within a 5-minute walk to a park”, which surely is one of the main reasons Calgary is widely considered to be one of top 10 most liveable cities in the world. And has been for decades. Sure, there are other factors like roads, transit, hospitals, schools, recreation, festivals, arts, housing affordability and employment opportunities that make Calgary a great place to live, but I think it is the accessibility to abundant parks and pathways that really make our city a great place to live for everyone.
When I think of parks and pathways, I think not only of them as beautiful places but also of all the activities that take place there - from skiing to skating, from cycling to walking, from rodeos to show jumping, from festivals to picnics, from baseball to cricket.
Nose Hill and Fish Creek Parks (the latter Provincial Park within the boundaries of the city) are two of the largest city parks in the world, significantly larger than Vancouver’s Stanley Park and New York City’s Central Park. Home to 100+ off-leash dog parks, Calgary is the arguably the “dog park capital of North America.” Prince’s Island has been called one of the best urban festival sites by many of its performers. Rotary Challenger Park is a model for inclusiveness where persons with disabilities can play next to their able-bodied peers.
Calgary has some unique parks, including Stampede Park which is currently getting a mega makeover. There is also Canada Olympic Park, which offers unique activities from night skiing in the winter to zip-lining in the summer. Shaw Millennium Park has one of the largest public skate parks in the world. Spruce Meadows is one of the top three equestrian parks in the world. (Recently, Spruce Meadow’s Christmas Market was ranked as the fourth best in the world. Why travel to Europe?)
Calgary also has several innovative urban parks in its downtown that are built on top of underground parkades and one is on the rooftop of six level parkade. There are also three downtown Bow River island parks that are home to various festivals and the Calgary Zoo, which happens to be Canada’s second largest.
As for pathways, Calgary boasts 1,000+ km of pathways across the city, including the Rotary Mattamy Greenway, a 138-km contiguous pathway that circles the city connecting 55 communities. The downtown’s 86 Plus 15 bridges connect 100+ office, hotel, shopping, cultural and residential towers to create a unique 16-km indoor pathway that could be Calgary’s equivalent to New York City’s High Line (if only it was embraced by city politicians and planners).
In the middle of Calgary’s City Centre is the Bow River Promenade, where one can easily walk to the river to skip some stones or fly fish which is indeed a rarity. Or to be able to wander Stephen Avenue, a pedestrian mall lined with 100+ year-old buildings next to modern skyscrapers is also somewhat unique.
Furthermore, Calgary is the gateway to several of Canada’s world-famous National Parks – Banff, Jasper, Waterton and Yoho. And three of Alberta’s most popular Provincial Parks – Kananaskis, Glenbow Ranch and Dinosaur - are easy day trips from the city.
Few cities can boast the easy access to parks that are part of their citizen’s everyday lives, as is the case for Calgary.
Don Mulligan responded, “An additional point in support of your idea. The City of Calgary's annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey consistently shows parks and pathways to be the most important facilities, and rated by citizens at the highest level of satisfaction. The satisfaction level is typically in the high 90s (out of 100) and over the last few decades has almost always been THE HIGHEST priority and satisfaction rating of all the major facilities and services provided by The City of Calgary. Real pride, by almost all citizens, is a critical factor in the support, adoption and widespread use of a city's slogan.”
Nose Hill Park is 11 square kilometres in December 1779 well-know Hudson Bay Company trader, Peter Fidler record an excursion to the hill. It has been indigenous people for centuries. This is the Siksikaitsitapi Circle.
One of the many Bow River gravel beaches.
Every neighbourhood in Calgary has its own collection of parks and pathways.
Calgary’s extensive +15 indoor walkway could easily become a major tourist attraction like the alleys of Melbourne or the High Line in New York City. It is full of cafes, shops, parks, seating areas and public art. It offers a unique perspective on the urban landscape and Calgary brilliant blue skies.
Politically Correct
Branding Calgary as the “City of Parks and Pathways” also reinforces the City’s commitment to addressing climate change, given parks are mostly trees and grass, key to creating a healthy today and into the future. Parks and pathways are associated with walking, cycling and other activities which align nicely with good human health and a healthy planet.
From an economic development perspective, establishing Calgary as a city with abundant parks and pathways would make it very attractive to young talent, as well as established entrepreneurs with families. After all, Calgary is also home to 2,000+ playgrounds (city, school community association sites) – or about 10 for every neighbourhood.
From a tourism perspective, the moniker “Calgary: The City of Parks & Pathways” has broad year-round appeal needed to capture the imagination of more tourists - regionally, nationally and internationally.
Who wouldn’t want to visit a city with urban parks bigger than Vancouver’s or New York City’s?
Who wouldn’t want to visit a city that is the gateway to several National Parks?
Who wouldn’t want to visit a city with night skiing in the winter and floating on a glacier- fed river in the summer?
Who wouldn’t want to visit in the summer to experience the 10 days of Stampede or perhaps one of the six major outdoor and/or eight major indoor tournaments at Spruce Meadows?
Who wouldn’t want to visit a city where there is a diversity of festivals in one of our parks almost every weekend from June through September?
Riverside Park’s promenade attracts thousands of dog owners everyday even in the winter.
Last Word
Calgary will always be the “Stampede City.” While discussing this idea with colleagues, one shared with me that when he and a friend were backpacking in New Zealand and people asked where they were from and they said Calgary, everyone’s immediate reaction was “the city with the Stampede.”
As stated earlier, the problem is Calgary is only the Stampede City for 10 days of the year. While New Orleans is famous for the Marda Gras which lasts for 14 days, however, it offers a year-round party experience. Austin has branded itself as the “Live Music Capital of the World” which is true as you can go to Austin anytime and enjoy live music in 250 venues. The same is true for Nashville “The Country Music Capital.” New York is known “as the city that never sleeps” because of its diverse nightlife – theatre, dance, concerts, nightclubs, festival and special events - year-round.
And yes, while other cities have many parks and pathways, I think there are very few with the abundance and diversity of parks and pathways Calgary has to offer - from mountains to grasslands, from suburban to urban, from riverfront to heritage storefronts and from majestic national parks to intimate pocket parks.
For this reason, I vote for “The City of Parks & Pathways” as Calgary’s new brand/moniker/identity.
I’d love to get your thoughts. Let me know what you think by leaving a message or email me at rwhiteyyc@gmail.com
For more information on Calgary parks and pathways click on these links:
Calgary’s SoBow Trail: One of the best river banks in North America!