Sprawlcast

Calgary cartoonist and author Teresa Wong is the author of the 2024 graphic memoir "All Our Ordinary Stories." Her great-grandfather came to Calgary more than a century ago—but the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 kept the rest of his family from following. Now Wong has created a new piece of artwork specifically to be printed on The Sprawl's Pop-Up Press in homage to Chinatown. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Wong about her family’s roots in Calgary and what she’s created for the Pop-Up Press—and why. Join The Sprawl for a printing pop-up with Wong on Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. Meet at Sien Lok Park in Chinatown and make a print of Wong's artwork!

All grew up in Calgary—but only one stayed. Featuring Don Stewart of MacLeod's Books (Vancouver), Céline Chuang of Paper Birch Books (Edmonton), Rodney Clarke of The Paper Hound Bookshop (Vancouver) and David Sidjak of Sigla Books (Calgary).

A slowdown on sprawl? New councillors consider it as Calgary city hall reckons with a looming $49 billion price tag for infrastructure over the next decade.

After opposing Calgary 2026, Mayor Farkas considers 2038. We speak with the mayor about what changed—and ask city councillors what they think about the prospect of another Calgary Winter Games.

A decade ago, under Mayor Nenshi, city council started work on a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It went downhill from there.

With 40+ new communities being built on Calgary’s outskirts, city hall is struggling to reach them all with services, including transit. We look at how Calgary's new city council is tackling an old problem.

Can local journalism be... joyful? You bet it can. Sprawl editor Jeremy Klaszus catches up with roving election reporter Asad Chishti to reflect on Calgary's 2025 election and why we covered it the way we did.

Mayoral candidates are bickering about which arena deal was best and who got fleeced. The Sprawl dug into how the $1.2B deal for Scotia Place—which has city hall putting up $853 million—got approved by council with no public debate. (Most of this episode originally aired in 2023.)

Fort Calgary's anniversary has traditionally been celebrated as the city's "birthday" but this time city hall isn't celebrating. Is this historical awareness—or amnesia?

Calgary’s urban tree canopy coverage is among the lowest in Canada. We dig into why—and what city hall is doing about it.

In the 1970s, a new freeway cut one side of Calgary off from the other. We dig into why the city remains divided when it comes to amenities and infrastructure on each side of Deerfoot Trail.

We dig into a 60-year fight against density by the reservoir shores in southwest Calgary. It's a saga about class, conservation and community politics. History is repeating itself at Glenmore Landing—but with some new twists.

Will municipal parties strengthen local democracy or undermine it? We speak with some of the candidates and parties that will be on the ballot—and dig into how the 2025 election will be different.

City hall's decision to close Inglewood's swimming pool left many Calgarians scratching their heads. We dig into why city council cut inner-city pools in the first place after oil prices crashed a decade ago.

When it comes to rail projects in Alberta, the Green Line is one piece of a larger puzzle. We dig into who's been setting the agenda when it comes to these projects—and to what extent they are complementary or competing with each other as Calgary city hall's Green Line plans collapse.

A week after the groundbreaking for the new Flames arena, city hall cut the Green Line nearly in half. We dig into the Green Line's delay-plagued history—and how one city megaproject has affected the other.

Where does our water come from—and how is climate change altering that water source? We zoom out from the feeder main that broke in June, following a drop of water from the Rocky Mountains and glaciers west of Calgary, into the pipes beneath our feet, and out the taps in our homes.

City hall went big—and is feeling the pinch. We dig into what it really cost to build a new convention centre building and what it means for the city's finances.

It's not unusual for Alberta governments to tinker with municipal election laws. But Bill 20 is far more than the usual tinkering. We dig into the evolution of municipal elections in Alberta and look at what Bill 20 means for local democracy in Calgary—and beyond.

Should neighbourhoods set their own direction? Should city hall impose it from the top down? Or is there a role for both? We go to Inglewood, Calgary's oldest neighbourhood, in search of answers.

As the debate about blanket rezoning heats up in Calgary, we dig into the Sprawlcast vault for a deep-dive on NIMBYism. Full transcript on our website at sprawlcalgary.com.

As the Bow Valley gets filled with development, a critical wildlife corridor is being threatened. We dig into Canmore's effort to resist two new housing projects that are expected to nearly double the town's population. This episode is Part 2 in a Sprawlcast series about Three Sisters Mountain Village, and is a collaboration with The Narwhal. Drew Anderson contributed research and reporting.

Coal mining drove Canmore's economy for nearly a century. But as the Canmore Mines struggled in the 1970s, speculators saw a new business opportunity in what was then called the Canmore Corridor: tourism. This episode is Part 1 in a Sprawlcast series about Three Sisters Mountain Village, and is a collaboration with The Narwhal. Drew Anderson contributed research and reporting.

Two years ago, progressives were rooting for Jyoti Gondek to defeat Jeromy Farkas in the race for mayor. But numerous Calgarians who voted for Mayor Gondek have found themselves in agreement with Farkas more recently—and disappointed by the mayor on files like the arena deal. We speak with both Farkas and Gondek, looking at what's changed since the last election and what's taking shape for the next one.

We dig into a deal that's less transparent—and far more expensive—than the 2019 one. We also follow up with with city councillors who campaigned against more subsidies for the Flames, but voted "yes" to hundreds of millions more.

City council approved a new housing strategy—but the rumble over rezoning is still to come. Hear for yourself what Calgarians and council members had to say during an epic three-day meeting.

In June 2022, city council created an affordable housing task force—and then balked at its recommendations, particularly on upzoning.

An update on The Sprawl—and Jeremy Klaszus's TED Talk on the case for quiet journalism.

Revisiting Calgary's early history—and our present. Featuring Sikapinakii Low Horn, Hal Eagletail, Tony Snow and Matt Hiltermann.

For the first time in its 140-year history, the Calgary Herald has no fixed address. But the paper has been in slow decline for decades. What do we lose when the city’s largest newspaper is decimated?

Team Sprawl gathers by the (metaphorical) fireside to reflect on the year that was—and to look ahead. Featuring Ximena González and Sam Hester.

It was supposed to be the foundation of Calgary's transit system: CTrains and buses arriving every 10 minutes. But it didn't last long. We dig into what happened—and what's next.

To thwart densification, two residents of the northwest Calgary community of Banff Trail fight developers and the City of Calgary in court. Their case against multifamily housing is built on a little-known planning instrument from 1952—and is being closely watched outside the neighbourhood.

Zoning shapes our lives. But for many of us, this powerful tool remains hidden and confusing. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Sara Bronin, a Cornell University professor and director of the National Zoning Atlas in the U.S., about why zoning matters—and how to better understand it. This episode begins with a quick crash course on the history of zoning in Calgary: —How zoning bylaws were created in the 1930s to protect property values —How Calgary's growth pattern was established in the 1950s, then entrenched —How city hall shied away from changing zoning in the '60s and '70s, instead embracing a status quo that perpetuated car-reliant sprawl In my conversation with Sara Bronin, we discuss: —The hidden ways zoning affects our lives socially, economically and environmentally —How zoning 'kills housing by a thousand cuts’ —How requirements like parking minimums further perpetuate sprawl Please support in-depth Calgary journalism by becoming a Sprawl member! Sign up at sprawlcalgary.com

After fast-tracking five new communities this summer, council members grapple with whether or not to go through with it in light of their own climate policies.

This summer, city council approved a climate strategy and fast-tracked more new suburban communities. Now Mayor Jyoti Gondek wants city administration—and not council—to be the ones deciding whether or not future communities get built.

Some love him. Some hate him. But for better or worse, Stephen Carter has altered Alberta politics. Journalist Taylor Lambert digs into the many ups and downs of Carter's career: his business debts, his politics, his graceless departures from three chief-of-staff roles, and his many grievances.

In July, Calgary city council is slated to vote on a new climate strategy. But will this one be any different than past plans that have been passed—and then ignored? This episode features interviews with Christine Laing of the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good and Tony Snow of the Calgary Climate Hub.

Dr. Leroy Little Bear, the renowned Blackfoot scholar, on the differences between Western and Blackfoot understandings of reality—and how they intersect with climate change.

Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Councillor Courtney Walcott, who sits on the Calgary Police Commission. Why has the thin blue line patch become such a flashpoint—and what's really beneath the controversy?

Today marks four years of Sprawlcast. We observe the occasion by revisiting our first—and possibly best—episode, a deep dive on NIMBYism. What do we miss when we apply that label too hastily? We peel away the NIMBY label and go underground to see what lies beneath.

Jeremy Klaszus visits Mahogany in the city's deep southeast for a conversation with Councillor Evan Spencer. They discuss the idea of “abundant community,” how to build connections in new neighbourhoods, and the realities versus the myths of the suburbs.

Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Iman Bukhari and Michelle Casten Magbanua about a gap they saw in Alberta classrooms—and how they mobilized to fill it. Iman Bukhari is founder and CEO of the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation. Michelle Casten Magbanua is a teacher.

Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Jared Wesley, a University of Alberta political scientist who leads the Common Ground project. They discuss political polarization, what an Albertan looks like, the rise of white nationalism, and that tricky question of what to do when your family or friends are sympathetic to political views you find abhorrent.

Jeremy Klaszus speaks with David Goa, a religious scholar who lives in Edmonton's Old Strathcona neighbourhood, about the need for difference and conviviality—rather than homogeneity—in communities.

On Commercial Drive, people from all walks of life rub shoulders with one another on lively sidewalks. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with longtime community member Zakir Suleman to find out more about what makes this many-layered neighbourhood work.

Jeremy Klaszus sits down with Lisa Murphy Lamb, director of Loft 112, to explore how she has welcomed—and been welcomed by—her neighbours in East Village.

A conversation with three of Calgary's next city councillors: Jasmine Mian (Ward 3), Courtney Walcott (Ward 8) and Kourtney Penner (Ward 11).

Jeremy Klaszus speaks with John Fischer, co-chair of the Indigenous Gathering Place Society of Calgary, to find out more about the project—how it's taken shape, and why it’s needed.

It's municipal election forum season! Six mayoral hopefuls are asked about the costs of new communities and the future of the Green Line. This episode features audio from the Calgary Real Estate Board mayoral forum on September 14. Featuring Jan Damery, Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas, Brad Field, Jyoti Gondek and Grace Yan.