Quality of Life
- Edmonton is home to several unique districts showcasing everything from arts and culture to the natural beauty of the river valley. Some of Edmonton’s most unique neighbourhoods include 124 Street, Old Strathcona, Glenora and Chinatown.
- Edmonton pioneered Canada’s first community league in 1917 and each league continues to be hubs of fellowship today.
- Edmontonians have a strong spirit of volunteerism with more than 1,700 registered charities.
- Edmontonians have access to dozens of fitness and sport training facilities, several of which are used by professional athletes.
- Over 10 post-secondary institutions provide industry with a highly educated workforce of more than 600,000.
- Edmonton Transit System (ETS) covers more than 180 routes, including a Light Rail Transit system. On a typical day, ETS carries 24 per cent of Edmonton's population. ETS also operates Park 'n Ride services for special events, including football games, and major concerts.
- Edmonton has an eclectic music scene with venues for jazz, rock and folk music, and the Winspear Centre concert hall is seen as one of the best concert facilities in the world.
- Edmonton has a vibrant arts and culture community you can explore all year long through festivals, galleries, live entertainment, orchestras, dance companies and theatre. Catch the Edmonton Opera or Alberta Ballet at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, or visit The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse to meet some of Arts on the Ave's dynamic local artists.
- Edmonton and Alberta receive 2,300 hours of sunshine annually, the highest in Canada.
- Edmonton has world-class medical facilities that focus on specialized care for women, children, injury rehabilitation and cardiac patients.
- Edmonton is home to the Northern Alberta Clinical Trails & Research Centre, providing pharmaceutical and research companies with a higher standard in quality, cost-efficient research, and state-of-the-art facilities.
- University of Alberta Hospital is one of the country’s leading clinical, research and teaching hospitals. The 2007 U of A medical grads received the best marks in the country on both parts of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination.
- Edmonton is home to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, which will provide the highest quality of cardiovascular care, research, and advance the frontiers of heart health.
- The City of Edmonton along with the provincial government is committed to creating more affordable housing through its 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.
- Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) ranked Edmonton as the best place to invest in residential real estate in 2009.
- Edmonton is a great place to raise a family. Parents and students can choose from a wide range of schools including, Catholic, francophone, multi-lingual, and private. Each has its own unique and innovative educational programs.
- Edmonton’s parks invigorate a community providing a combination of active living and urban wellness.
- Edmonton had 8 elementary schools rank 8.5 and above in the Fraser Institute’s 2009/2010 provincial school ranking. They include: Suzuki Charter, Windsor Park, St. Martin, Westbrook, Mount Pleasant, George H Luck, Crestwood and Grandview Heights schools.
- Edmonton’s Old Scona High School, rated 10 out of 10 on the Fraser Institute’s 2008/2009 provincial high school ranking.
- Edmonton is one of the top five most family friendly cities in the country. Receiving high marks for ample green space, bike paths and a strong economy.
- According to MoneySense Magazine, Edmonton is one of the top places to live in Canada, based on home affordability, climate, prosperity, crime rates, access to health care and lifestyle.
- Edmonton is the second-most sustainable large city in Canada. This 2011 Corporate Knights Magazine ranking is based on our environmental footprint and commitment to creating a healthy, thriving population.
- Edmonton's downtown has experienced increased vibrancy in the last 10 years with over 20 new residential high-rises constructed and the first skyscraper in over 20 years, the EPCOR Centre. The City of Edmonton envisions a bold plan including the redevelopment of Jasper Avenue, Capital Boulevard from the Legislature to Grant MacEwan, and West Rossdale. Exciting proposals such as the Quarters, a new entertainment/arena district and an expanded conference centre would further drive downtown’s world-class distinction.
- Edmonton is an artist-friendly city that offers a variety of funding and grant opportunities for artists including an initiative program called Cultural Diversity in the Arts Awards. This program encourages and supports Edmonton artists from ethnically diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Edmonton is ranked as one of the Americas’ top 10 major cities for its quality of life.
- Edmonton has more bike paths and on-street facilities per capita than any other city.
- Enerkem Alberta Biofuels has signed a 25-year agreement with the City of Edmonton to build and operate a plant that will produce and sell next-generation biofuels from non-recyclable and non-compostable municipal solid waste). At capacity, the new biofuels plant, to be completed in 2012, will gasify 100,000 tonnes of solid waste to produce 36 million litres of ethanol a year. The new biofuels facility will reduce the City’s carbon footprint by 6,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the 25 year life of the plant.
- The Clover Bar Landfill site is the only one in Alberta that both recovers gas and uses it to generate electricity. Enough gas is captured each year to satisfy the electricity demands of approximately 4,600 homes. To date, over 101 gas wells have been drilled into the landfill's decomposing waste.
- Clover Bar Landfill Greys Paper is building a (dome shaped) paper and glass recycling facility that will achieve "closed-loop recycling” by processing waste paper collected from City offices and other sources into recycled paper products for sale back to the City.
- EPCOR recovers more than $1M in annual fuel savings by utilizing biogas from its Gold Bar wastewater treatment facility.
- The Edmonton City Centre Airport lands will be home to 30,000 Edmontonians living, working and learning in a sustainable community that uses 100% renewable energy, is carbon neutral, significantly reduces its ecological footprint, and empowers residents to pursue a range of sustainable lifestyle choices.
- The Way We Green is the City of Edmonton’s environmental strategic plan. It sets out principles, goals, objectives, policies, and approaches for Edmonton to live in balance with nature. The plan’s 12 goals describe what ultimately must be accomplished for Edmonton to be a sustainable and resilient city. The City of Edmonton was a winner of an Emerald Award for its Green Downtown Plan. The Emerald Awards recognize and reward excellent environmental initiatives undertaken by large and small corporations, individuals, not-for-profit associations, community groups and governments.
- Edmonton's Epcor Utlities is the first water treatment facilities operator to achieve Champion status under the provincial department's EnviroVista Program. Under the program, Champion-level participants commit to a stewardship agreement, providing for a greater level of environmental enhancement and protection than is possible under regulatory approval alone.
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