Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
designers but the neighborhood will remind you of the picturesque streets of small town
Canada where every home has a unique personality of its own. (Carma
n.d.
)
There seems little doubt that this puffed-up description represents anything but true
historical authenticity, given its excessively diverse and somewhat confused set of
reference points that would be difficult to articulate in the TND code for McKenzie
Towne. Indeed the description may well be more in the mind of the promoter than
in any the reality. The attempt to create differences can be seen in many examples,
such as in the central green with what looks like a nineteenth century gazebo in
Prestwick, surrounded by town houses evoking a Georgian flair, or the many con-
crete garden walls in Elgin that have patches in them, presumably to give the im-
pression of historical wear and tear. In addition, Elgin's nodal place identity is based
on a created 'ruin' of what appear to be cloistered walls, built with a distinctive
Prairie limestone on top of a hill constructed out of local landfill, which is this area's
distinctive or symbolic centre. It is hard not to interpret the historical reference as a
post-modern pastiche, since castles, not cloistered abbeys or convents, are usually
on hills in Europe. Nevertheless, whatever its distorted historical reference, it does
provide a distinctive local open space, with a playground alongside, and a treed
'wild' area behind that connects to a lake. Mackenzie Towne also scores over con-
ventional suburbs in its attempt to re-create an old town street in its core, with var-
ied western designs, and with several residences for seniors, including assisted care
living units, although it is a pity that apartments were not added above the shops.
However at the end of the street is a large Sobeys supermarket and car park, together
with several additional commercial buildings and their parking spaces, making this
part little different to older suburban developments. Yet there is much to admire in
the range of housing types, green spaces, lakes and walkable areas, providing im-
portant and welcome advances on typical late twentieth century suburban designs.
Also, the addition of several residential homes for senior citizens shows an attempt
to make it a community for many age ranges, unlike the majority of suburban areas
in the city. However there is little employment in the community, so commuting is
still high; the first school only opened over a decade after its first residents moved
in, which means walkability to school for children was absent for over a decade.
The presence of a new large shopping centre built by other developers right on its
northern boundary threatens the viability of local stores. Yet Mackenzie Towne is
still an advance on previous suburban designs in the city.
Another award-winning TND development in Calgary is Garrison Woods, an
infill TND development built on the site of a 65 ha redundant Canadian Forces base
in the inner city (CHMC). It was developed by the federal government's Canada
Lands Company in 2003 in collaboration with a local developer, architectural con-
sultant, and the City of Calgary planners. Given its name, there has been a deliberate
attempt to label streets with names of major battles in which the Canadian military
fought, and with artefacts in green spaces linked to military themes. These pro-
vide actual, not invented historical references, given that military units previously
based in the garrison fought in major World War I battlefields, from the Somme to
Vimy. Since this development of 1600 housing units is only a few minutes' drive
from the urban core, it has locational advantages compared to newer suburban TND
