A NOTE FROM BETTERINFILL: WHOSE POWER?
Hello Better Infillers—
After a break in late 2025, we’re re-connecting with the countless Edmontonians who want to improve the city’s approach to infill. These are people like you, who want a voice in how infill projects are developed; who believe good design takes account of context; and who understand that “sleeping units” and neighbourhoods are more than profit opportunities for speculators and landlords, they are homes and communities where lives are woven.
A January 3, 2026, CBC headline said mayor Andrew Knack wants to “put infill debate to rest.” We don’t think infill debates will ever be put to rest, nor that they should be. Bylaws governing infill were amended countless times over the decades in response to new information and pressure from groups across the spectrum, and those dynamics are not going to suddenly disappear. The role of mayor and council is not to put infill issues to rest, but to constantly manage them for the public good. That’s fundamental to democracy.
In July 2025, one city councillor, reflecting city hall’s frustration with the public debate on zoning and infill bylaws, told the media that “politicizing land use” is “a poor way to run a city, incredibly poor.” Whether city hall admits it or not, land use decisions are always rooted in political power, which is why citizens need to watch them so closely. The question is: Whose power?
University of Alberta professors Pearlann Reichwein and Jan Olson have written a compelling account of the historic struggle by ordinary citizens, who opposed city plans to turn Mill Creek Ravine into a freeway and build a massive recreation complex that would have demolished 400 homes. The struggle began in 1957 and didn’t end until the 1980s, but citizens prevailed and Edmonton gained a beautiful natural park. Even now, though, debates simmer over the nature of Mill Creek Park. (You can read their account here: https://read.aupress.ca/read/bucking-conservatism/section/f6cd9dd1-0fdb-4cab-85d1-87cc67132837)
Reichwein and Olson close their article with a question: “Who has the right to the city as an ongoing negotiation and creation of space and social life?” Their answer: “Local people and residents can assert their active rights to imagine and shape the city, even in the face of state planners and capital.”
BetterInfill is one of many groups who believe local people and residents have a right to imagine and shape their city, even when city hall and some investors have other plans. We’re glad you’re connected with us and encourage you to connect with groups like Edmonton Neighbourhoods United (www.edmontonneighbourhoodsunited.com).
It's important to share your thoughts about infill with your city councillor. Their contact information is on our website. As well, contact your community league. Until recent years, community leagues were powerful advocates for neighbourhoods. When they are quiet, the infill industry has free run. If you aren’t satisfied with your community league, don’t complain, join its board. And as always, talk to your neighbours about your concerns.
The February 10 meeting of council’s urban planning committee will be important for infill. The committee will be receiving reports from administration on options for the following:
•Reducing the number of dwellings allowed on midblock sites in RS zones. (Currently eight dwellings are allowed on a typical 50-foot-wide lot.)
•Reducing the impact of height on adjacent properties.
•Retaining trees on private property.
Please consider attending the February 10 meeting at city hall or watching it online.
Keep the movement growing!
--from the team at BetterInfill