Why
is imagineCALGARY looking at a 100 year vision?
Why isn’t
it using a more tangible time frame?
Thinking ahead 100 years instead of the usual 20 or 30 years allows
us the freedom of very creative thinking. By thinking 100 years
from now, we are in effect turning the kaleidoscope and allowing
ourselves to think freely about what we want for the future. In
this perspective, we can look beyond current politics, infrastructure
and other constraints that we face today. For example, a 100 year
timeframe forces us to think beyond our current health care system,
our houses and sewers. We’re also able to assess mega trends
that will affect our community, such as demographic changes, resource
scarcity, technological transformations and climate change. We
can also think about accommodating pressures such as population
growth and increasing complexities of cities and the systems that
support them. We have more complex issues and much more sophisticated
technology today which allow us to plan ahead many decades.
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How will a vision, a collection of words on a piece of paper,
help create the future?
The vision and the strategies created through imagineCALGARY will
be the collective map to create the community itself. Most cities
that initiate a process like this are already in crisis. While
Calgary is not in a crisis, it is at a crossroads of sorts with
the population exceeding 1,000,000. This is the perfect time to evaluate
what we have and what we need to create to sustain quality of life
into the future. Many City plans and community partner plans are
being updated to include imagineCALGARY targets and strategies.
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What is the
imagineCALGARY Plan?
The imagineCALGARY Plan is the final document that
was produced at the end of the imagineCALGARY engagement process.
It contains the final 100-year vision, all of the 30-year Targets
and Goals as well as strategies for accomplishing these Goals.
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Who are the Partners?
Partners are organizations
within Calgary that have chosen to endorse the vision of the imagineCALGARY
Plan. By doing so they have committed to contributing to the achievement
of the imagineCALGARY Plan through their organizational mandate.
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How is imagineCALGARY governed?
In 2007, the imagineCALGARY Transition Team at The City of Calgary developed a governance framework for the imagineCALGARY Partnership. Three Committees were created to provide direction for the imagineCALGARY Partnership, and to ensure the vision of the project is realized throughout the community.
The Steering Committee, Communications and Awareness Committee and the Collaborative Action Committee have representation from a wide array of imagineCALGARY Partners, and are responsible for making the vision of imagineCALGARY a reality.
Partner organizations are providing resources to the Committees to help ensure their progress. The Calgary Health Region supports the Steering Committee, The City of Calgary resources the Communications and Awareness Committee, and the Collaborative Action Committee is resourced by The Calgary Public Library.
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How will the Sustainability Plan be implemented?
The responsibility for bringing the vision of the imagineCALGARY Sustainability Plan to life rests with Calgarians. Each of the Partner organizations is responsible for developing its own strategy for achieving imagineCALGARY sustainability goals.
The imagineCALGARY Plan is alive and well, and is being implemented and utilized at organizations across the community including The University of Calgary, The Calgary Board of Education, The Calgary Public Library, The City of Calgary and many other imagineCALGARY’s community Partners.
Many Partners have reviewed the 114 Targets in the imagineCALGARY Plan to select priorities where they can focus their sustainability efforts. Success stories from a variety of these Partners are profiled on this website.
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