Metropolitan planning in the Calgary region: A case study of farmland protection in the Municipal District of Foothills

Following a protracted attempt at voluntary metropolitan planning in the Calgary region, that was characterized by ongoing rural-urban tensions, in 2017, the Government of Alberta mandated seven urban and three rural municipalities to participate on the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) to develop a regional growth strategy. The purpose of this research was to inform metropolitan planning that protects farmland within the context of the CMRB mandate. Using the Municipal District of Foothills, a rural municipality with membership on the CMRB, to focus the research, the local legislative framework for farmland protection was evaluated and land use priorities were identified. Farmland was found to be at risk of conversion and fragmentation to support commercial, industrial, and residential development, and urban growth as a result of deficiencies in the legislative framework that allowed conversion. Based on these findings, it was recommended that Calgary metropolitan planning include policies that enable farmland protection.