In this episode of In Development, we explore how public and active transportation interact with infill development (and vice versa!) Our guests Daniel Witte and Shannon Lohner bring important insights from their work with Edmonton Transit Riders and Paths for People, respectively. Get ready to learn about everything from how transportation modalities are financed in Edmonton to how they're implemented in policy in this information-packed episode.

Shannon Lohner is the former Chair of Paths for People, a local non-profit focused on making Edmonton a safer place to walk, roll, and cycle. Paths for People focuses on community engagement and programming, and advocating to Edmonton's municipal government for improvements to local active transportation infrastructure. Shannon currently works at the University of Alberta, where she will also begin her studies as an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning in Fall 2025.

Daniel Witte has been the Chair of Edmonton Transit Riders since the organization’s inception in May 2024. Having recently completed a degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta, he is interested in how public transportation can be used as a city building tool and make Edmonton a more equitable and vibrant place. In his time with Edmonton Transit Riders the organization has been involved in a push to improve the Canadian Public Transit Fund, maintain funding for Alberta’s low income transit passes, and most recently a campaign to improve transit priority measures on 101st Street. Daniel loves being out in his community, volunteering, and meeting all the people invested in making Edmonton a more livable and friendly city.

In this episode, our hosts chat with Lisa Drury from the City of Edmonton about the new Priority Growth Area (PGA) rezoning project. We dive into how the project came about, the selection process for areas being rezoned and how the public was engaged during its development. This episode provides a great opportunity to learn the nuances of the proposal before it goes to public hearing on May 20th, 2025.

More information & the ability to leave comments or request a chat with a planner can be found on the City’s website here:

edmonton.ca/PriorityGrowthAreaRezoning

Lisa Drury is a Senior Planner at the City of Edmonton with over ten years of municipal experience. After graduating with a Master of Science in Planning at the University of Toronto, Lisa worked in several municipalities in Alberta and Ontario. She began her career working in long range policy planning and transitioned to working in current planning prior to coming to the City of Edmonton. She enjoys exploring the City, playing sports, learning new skills and getting involved in her community.

In this episode, we reconnect with Alkarim Devani to talk about how Edmonton and Calgary are faring when it comes to pushing for a better policy and regulatory environment with regard to infill development. We learn more about mddl, an expert organization in middle housing whose mission is to build capacity from top to bottom for "missing middle" and reduce barriers to delivering this kind of development. We glean insights from Alkarim on how to tell the positive story of infill and work across communities to push for better.

Alkarim Devani is co-founder of RNDSQR, where his passion for design and innovation drives his vision of redefining what it means to be a developer. Alkarim’s work building RNDSQR has garnered national and international recognition and is a frequent guest lecturer at The University of California, Berkeley, and The University of Calgary. In addition, Alkarim is a dedicated and active member of the community and development industry. He regularly contributes his time to numerous volunteer organizations as well as several industry-led boards and communities including D.Talks and Calgary Housing Company. Alkarim’s work has gained a multitude of media attention and frequently been the recipient of The Canadian Architecture Awards, MUDA Awards, American Architecture Prize, and the BILD Awards. Alkarim transitions into the next stage of his career with mddl to use his in-depth experience with middle housing to help scale the delivery of housing across Canada.

In this episode, we dive into what goes into operating that great local coffee shop that often features prominently in many visions of local redevelopment. Antonio Gomez and Peter West both operate coffee shops in Edmonton, but also have backgrounds in design and planning respectively. We chat about how community connects within coffee shops and how design and planning intersects with successful local commercial spaces across Edmonton.

Antonio Gomez, born and raised in Mexico, is a seasoned designer and entrepreneur. He completed his university studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) branch in Michoacan, living and working in his home country until 2011. In that year, Antonio immigrated to Canada where he a few years later established Space Squared, a design studio specializing in residential design, where he currently serves as the head designer. In addition to his work at Space Squared, Antonio is a proud co-creator, designer, and co-owner of Boxcar, a coffee shop located in the Calder community in northern Edmonton. The coffee shop occupies a small residential building, which was also designed by Antonio, reflecting his integrated approach to design and community.

Peter West is a former urban planner turned entrepreneur and is the owner of Coffee Bureau with his wife Cristiane. After years spent serving coffee in Edmonton and Toronto, Peter felt compelled to create a small but impactful cafe in an effort to marry a desire for better urbanism and a better coffee shop experience downtown. Today Peter and Cris operate a location on Jasper Avenue as well as a new shop on 123 Street and 102 Avenue.

Join us for a special year-end episode of In Development as we reflect on 2024 and look ahead to 2025. In this engaging and competitive episode, our new podcast host Stephen challenges our existing hosts to a heart-pounding elimination challenge to find out which one of them will remain in the new year. Topics include...

• Edmonton’s new Zoning Bylaw
• The Housing Accelerator Fund
• District Plans and Priority Growth Areas
• The Infill Infrastructure Fund
• More!

Don’t miss this festive, informative, and entertaining look at the year that was.

Happy holidays from the In-Development team! We’ll see you in 2025!

This episode features two passionate Edmontonians, Jay Downton and Erin Murray-Green, who are involved with River Valley Company and River Valley Hospitality. These ventures focus on creating community-oriented amenities in Edmonton’s river valley, including the beloved Little Brick Café and Umpreheville Block. Jay and his team are helping to build a more vibrant and accessible river valley experience through redeveloping commercial sites into unique destinations.

Jay Downton is a passionate Edmontonian and entrepreneur dedicated to enhancing the Edmonton community. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Nation Network, a global sports media network, and serves as the President of Oodle Noodle, a staple in the Edmonton food scene. Jay’s deep connection to Edmonton and its iconic river valley inspired him to co-found River Valley Company and River Valley Hospitality.

Erin Murray-Green is a design enthusiast and a maker at heart. She started her design career in the realm of industrial design and furniture making, then pivoted to architecture and tackling creative challenges at a greater scale. As an architect, she has a meticulous approach to design that is grounded in a solid understanding of site context, community and desired outcomes.

This episode’s guests visit us virtually from Calgary for a discussion all about building missing middle housing across Alberta. Studio North’s Matt Kennedy discusses building missing middle housing in the mountains and translates lessons learned from this context to apply across the province. Matt shares more about the Astor project in Banff, which exemplifies how to balance design excellence with affordability and meet the needs of a local community.

Check out the Aster project here: https://www.studionorth.ca/banff-aster-affordable-housing

See the sneak peak of the Aster documentary: The Aster Banff - Affordable Housing Project - Documentary Trailer

Matthew's career began with a passion for craftsmanship, starting as an apprentice finishing carpenter during his high school years. He honed his skills and pursued higher education at Dalhousie University, where he earned a Master's in Architecture. Matthew sees how architecture influences human experiences. His focus goes beyond aesthetics; he aims to design spaces that bring delight, beauty utility to enhance daily life. Presently, Matthew is intent on merging construction knowledge with architectural innovation to produce efficient, affordable, and beautifully crafted buildings. His goal is to create environments that positively impact the lives of the individuals and families who inhabit them, underscoring the profound effect of architecture on our well-being.

The guests on this episode of In-Development are familiar faces! Mariah Samji and Sean Sedgwick join forces to talk about the past, present, and future of IDEA. As Mariah moves on from her role as Executive Director of IDEA, she discusses the legacy and impact the organization has had on the City as well as herself personally. Sean shares what drew him to IDEA and what he hopes the organization can do moving forward. Together, they stew on the challenges, opportunities and future outlook of infill development in Edmonton.

Mariah Samji served as the Executive Director of the Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA) from 2017 to 2024. Driven by a passion for creating inclusive spaces for everyone, she pursued a career in city planning. During her time at IDEA, Mariah worked with the infill community to establish the Builders Education Program, launched IDEA’s annual Infill Symposium, organized numerous events to connect and educate people to make infill easier, started a podcast on redevelopment, contributed to reducing unnecessary infrastructure costs, and collaborated with local experts to implement policy changes that positioned Edmonton as a leader in infill development across Canada.

Sean Sedgwick is the new Executive Director of the Infill Development in Edmonton Association. Sean’s fascination with urban infrastructure and development led him to turn his passion for urbanism from a hobby to a career with the Masters in Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of Alberta. Sean's experience includes a number of years spent working in technology service and support helping to educate and mentor clients and coworkers. He also has a diverse academic background bridging the studies of space and human behaviour, and a personal passion for music and graphic design. He is thrilled to bring these passions to IDEA and put them to use in service of building a better Edmonton.