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\nZoning reform is not simply about housing typologies.
It is about how a city chooses to grow.
It reflects decisions about infrastructure, long-term finances, neighbourhood identity, and fairness across generations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nWhat Is the Missing Middle and Why Has It Become the Symbol?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\u201cMissing Middle\u201d describes a range of housing forms between single-detached houses and larger apartment buildings, including duplexes, fourplexes, townhouses and small courtyard apartments. The term helps explain housing choice, but it does not by itself tell us where a project is feasible or how a neighbourhood will function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Edmonton, as in many growing cities, zoning reform has reopened the door to these typologies. Supporters argue that they offer flexibility, incremental density, and greater housing choice. Critics worry about neighbourhood character, parking pressure, and infrastructure strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both reactions are understandable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nYet the Missing Middle has taken on a symbolic weight that may exceed its technical scope. It has become a proxy for broader anxieties about change \u2014 about who moves in, what streets look like, and whether long-standing patterns of growth are being rewritten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When debates focus solely on building form, we risk overlooking the structural forces shaping the city beneath the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nGrowth policy connects what we permit today with the services and infrastructure we will need to sustain over time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Edmonton Zoning Reform: The Real Question of Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If the Missing Middle has become the symbol, the deeper issue is growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For decades, Edmonton has expanded outward \u2014 extending roads, utilities, transit routes, and public services across a widening urban footprint. This model has delivered space and relative affordability, but it has also created long-term infrastructure obligations that accumulate over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roads and utilities require maintenance and eventual replacement. Growing communities also need schools, parks, emergency services and reliable transport. These responsibilities extend beyond the initial construction of a neighbourhood and involve several levels of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision is how to accommodate growth across both established neighbourhoods and developing areas. Intensification can make better use of existing infrastructure, but capacity constraints and upgrades still matter. New neighbourhoods can offer housing choice and planned connections, but the timing and cost of completing those connections must be accounted for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mixed use adds another test. Permitting a local shop or service does not guarantee that it can operate successfully. Suitable premises, enough customers, convenient access and manageable impacts all affect whether the opportunity becomes viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether a fourplex fits on a block is a legitimate planning question. So is whether the wider growth pattern supports housing access, workable services and infrastructure the city can afford to maintain. Neither scale of decision should obscure the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Symbol<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Missing Middle may indeed play a role in diversifying housing options and creating incremental density. But focusing exclusively on building types risks narrowing the conversation, which should be fundamentally about civic direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cities are shaped not only by what they permit, but by the long-term commitments they make \u2014 to infrastructure, to financial sustainability, and to future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Edmonton\u2019s zoning reform is to succeed, the debate must move beyond symbolism and toward a shared understanding of how we intend to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The practical test is whether permissions, investment and neighbourhood needs align well enough for useful change to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means making room for more homes and daily services while being clear about development feasibility, public responsibilities and the costs of maintaining what we build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first shared this reflection on LinkedIn<\/a>. The full version is part of our ongoing work on urban growth and zoning reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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