Downtown redevelopment: a case study of the City of Airdrie

Abstract

The purpose of this Master's Degree Project is to determine what adaptations to conventional downtown revitalization strategies are necessary to turn a downtown in a medium sized satellite city into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly area. The City of Airdrie is used as a case study. To this end, the MDP examines the conventional downtown redevelopment strategies. An analysis of these strategies indicates that there are inherent assumptions in the literature which make these strategies insufficient for downtown redevelopment in a satellite city. These assumptions include a particular historical trajectory, spatial location of the city, city size. As the literature has a USA bias, additional case studies from Alberta investigate what downtown redevelopment strategies are being utilized more locally. The literature review leads to the development of a new analytical framework for examining satellite city downtown redevelopment. That framework emphasizes locational advantages while addressing the spatial economy, pedestrian flow generation, urban design and stakeholder participation. This project proposes that successful downtown redevelopment in a satellite city requires a modified approach.