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Edmonton City Council has approved a new policy to battle the winter blues by employing the weaponry of urban design. The Winter Design Guidelines, in recognizing the importance of the season to Edmonton's identity, establishes a framework to facilitate urban design solutions for future city developments. Microclimatic interventions can fight off people's tendency to hibernate, so the guidelines seek to minimize the negative impact of winter while optimizing its assets.
The guidelines — part of the city's 2012-approved WinterCity strategy — make note of how to extend Edmonton's current 150 outdoor-comfort days (defined as "the number of days between 9°C in spring and 11°C in autumn") through the implementation of seemingly innocuous design mechanisms. Urban spaces honed to catch the sun, block the wind, and reduce shadows from tall buildings can increase the number of outdoor-comfort days by up to 30 percent. This translates to people being able to enjoy the outdoors in comfort up to four weeks earlier in spring and three to four weeks later in fall.
The guidelines serve as a strategic tool for developers, architects, planners, and engineers, who will be directed by five winter design principles outlined in the strategy. These five principles guide the public realm of streets, parks, and open spaces in the pursuance of an enjoyable year-round city:
- Incorporating design strategies to block wind
- Maximizing exposure to sunshine through orientation and design
- Using colour to enliven the winterscape
- Creating visual interest with light
- Providing infrastructure that supports a desired winter life
The policy includes several ideas aimed at jazzing up the city during the winter, including illuminating buildings at night to produce distinct winter atmospheres. The north and west sides of parks and public squares could be lined with a thick group of spruce trees to protect these areas from prevailing winds. The guidelines say landscaping and vegetation near roadways should be selected for its ability to withstand gravel, sand, and salt, and building frontages should implement awnings or arcades to protect pedestrians from wind and falling snow or ice. The guidelines are especially friendly to transit users and pedestrians, recommending transit stops employ covered waiting areas with user-activated heaters, and also suggesting an examination of 'sneckdowns' to determine where curb extensions could be instituted.
With the adoption of the Winter Design Guidelines, it is hoped that planners and city builders will look at new developments and open spaces through a winter lens, frequently referencing the policy in the formulation of their vision. Staff expect elements of the guidelines to be integrated with other City policies, regulations, standards, and guidelines over time, adding another layer of legislative importance to the relationship between urban design and outdoor recreation.
To learn more about the Winter Design Guidelines, visit this link. Are the guidelines a step in the right direction to a broader collective enjoyment of winter in Edmonton? What ideas do you have to make outdoor spaces more winter friendly? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
