The City is working to implement the vision identified in Breathe. This work includes replacing the Urban Parks Management Plan, which guides the City’s investment in parks and open spaces, from acquisition and development to operation, maintenance and service delivery.

Project Standards and Tools

Building off what we learned through previous public engagement, the Breathe Implementation Project will establish standards and create tools to support the City in making decisions about our parks and open spaces. These standards and tools include:

  • Provision standards that provide measures for the supply, distribution, quality and diversity of open spaces and amenities
  • Classification standards that establish the attributes and characteristics of different categories of open space
  • Analysis to understand gaps in the open space network and equity considerations (such as supply, quality, distribution and access) at the district level

The scope of this project is city-wide, however, River Valley planning and management is not in the scope of the Breathe Implementation Project, as it is addressed by the River Valley Planning Modernization Project.

Project Timeline

Spring-Winter 2024

Background research, information gathering, draft development, and testing of recommendations

Spring-Summer 2025

Public engagement to confirm key recommendations and proposed changes

Supporting Edmonton's Parks and Open Spaces

As the city grows, we need to expand our open space system to support a growing population and look at getting more out of the park space we currently have and manage it effectively.

Breathe identifies 4 measures for assessing the open space network:

  • Quality 
  • Distribution
  • Supply
  • Diversity

Breathe implementation will result in parks and open spaces that better serve the needs of our communities in the long term.

Anticipated Progress in 2024

The City of Edmonton is meeting with key partners representing school boards, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, development, and utilities companies who have assets on open space all over the city to share information on Breathe implementation.

This phase of work aims to integrate the strategic direction of Breathe (and other policies/plans) with the operations and plans of key partners to ensure coherent and practical implementation.

These meetings will inform the draft strategies and recommendations for the Breathe Implementation Project by better understanding the unique challenges and needs.  

Public Involvement in 2025

The City of Edmonton will be engaging with environmental, recreational, and community stakeholders as well as the general public in spring and summer 2025.

This engagement will focus on sharing the draft strategies and recommendations for the Breathe Implementation Project and results of the district-level analysis of the City’s parks and open space system.

Contact Us

Email breathe@edmonton.ca