Calgary keeps growing outward. Between 2001 and 2021, the city’s population increased by 51.6 per cent while its urban area expanded by 47.1 per cent, leaving population density relatively unchanged, according to a 2022 CBC/Radio-Canada analysis.
The study found that although Calgary is one of the few metropolitan areas where population density increased alongside urban expansion, it remains one of Canada’s most sprawling cities. In fact, Calgary’s density was 21 per cent lower than the average of the regions analyzed in the study.
“The definition of sprawl would just be a city that’s growing faster than its infrastructure can handle,” said Beverly Sandalack, a professor in the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape in an interview with the Gauntlet. “Some people say sprawl is just low-density development on the edges.”
“It’s such a simple-sounding topic [...] but it impacts absolutely everything,” she said. “Our city is just not dense enough.”
For residents of Calgary, the effects of low-density development are felt every day. Longer commutes, dependence on cars and growing distances between home, work and recreation have become defining features of the city. For students, distance can shape everything from how long they commute every day to their social lives.
Understanding the impact of sprawl requires looking at how Calgary grew into the city it is today.
Building outward
“Our urban form is fairly unique,” said Sandalack.
According to Sandalack, the city originally expanded outward in concentric rings from the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in a compact grid system served by a streetcar system. The city was walkable.
This changed in the 1950s, when a different urban development type emerged — one that approached the city neighbourhood by neighbourhood. New communities were built as separate neighbourhoods with curved streets and culs-de-sac. By the 1980s, suburban development had become increasingly low-density, widening the distances between homes, businesses and services.
Research on Calgary’s metropolitan growth supports this evolution. A 2019 study found that although Calgary became denser between 1991 and 2011, much of its regional population growth continued to spread outward into surrounding municipalities, reinforcing automobile-oriented development.
It’s not just Calgary that witnessed this growth pattern. Sandalack says urban sprawl reflects broader North American values around housing.
“There’s still an entrenched value set in Calgary where everyone wants a house and a backyard [...] but it comes at a huge expense because that leads immediately to low-density development,” she said.
“It is a value set that’s really, really endemic in Calgary and probably most of North America — this expectation that success means a house of your own with a piece of grass,” said Sandalack.
The effects are reflected in what residents say matters most. The City of Calgary’s 2026 Spring Survey of Calgarians reported that infrastructure, traffic and roads were among residents’ top concerns.
“[Calgary] is just not dense enough to be able to afford a really robust transportation system anything other than for the car,” said Sandalack.
Cost of long commutes
A 2024 Statistics Canada study found that neighbourhoods experiencing urban sprawl generally have poorer access to employment and public transit than established urban areas, making longer trips and greater reliance on personal vehicles more common.
According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, nearly four in five Calgary commuters (78.9 per cent) travelled to work by car, truck or van in May 2025, while just 13.5 per cent relied on public transit. The survey also found the average one-way commute increased to 27.7 minutes in 2025, up from 24.2 minutes in 2021.
Sandalack said commutes of one to two hours each way are not uncommon for many U of C students. Long commutes limit students’ ability to socialize, participate in events or spend time with friends.
Having previously taught in Halifax, Sandalack said she notices a different relationship between universities and their surrounding communities.
“[Universities in Halifax were] right in the thick of the city,” she said. “We really lack that kind of culture at U of C.”
The U of C is often described as a commuter campus, where many students leave shortly after classes end to begin their long commute home.
Finding housing
Urban sprawl also influences where people choose to live.
Sandalack argued that Calgary’s long-standing emphasis on single-family housing has limited the supply of apartments and other smaller multi-unit developments that are often more affordable and better suited to the lifestyle of students.
“Inner city neighbourhoods [...] are convenient to everything. You can walk to most places, it’s close to the LRT [...] but it’s notoriously expensive. The cheaper places [are] further away from the centre and so if students are looking for affordability, then oftentimes they’ll be living out there.” she said.
Nationally, Statistics Canada found that higher-density housing has made up an increasing share of new residential construction across Canada between 2016 and 2021, reflecting a trend toward densification even as many cities continue to expand outward.
However, Sandalack argues that the City of Calgary’s recent repeal of blanket rezoning will likely make it more difficult to increase the supply of housing types commonly used by students.
“Students can live anywhere but apartments are ideal," she said. “With Calgary rescinding its blanket zoning proposition, that means it will be even harder to find those places.”
When reflecting on tackling the problem, Sandalack highlighted the importance of building the “missing middle.”
“There [are] low-density single-family houses. Then, there’s highrises. It’s the stuff in the middle, six to eight stories, that makes a good city,” she said. “I think that kind of housing type is going to be more affordable, more appealing to students [and] it can go anywhere.”
Looking forward
Rather than asking whether Calgary should grow denser, Sandalack believes the focus should be on how that growth is planned and whether it creates a better quality of life.
“Density doesn’t mean overcrowding,” she said. “Density means [...] good quality city life.”
