A sustainable, vibrant, well designed and accessible downtown Edmonton is central to the City’s vision for the heart of our community.
Continued growth in Edmonton’s downtown is crucial for the City’s financial sustainability and its economic and cultural reputation. We are working to ensure downtown continues to be a priority and a vibrant place that builds a better Edmonton for everyone.
Downtown Action Plan
The Downtown Action Plan 2025 is the roadmap for prioritizing the actions that we will take immediately and over the next five years to support growth and investment in Edmonton’s downtown. This includes supporting people doing business, residents looking for diverse housing options, and Edmontonians and visitors seeking exciting events and activities downtown. A thriving downtown means a thriving Edmonton for everyone.
We worked with arts and cultural organizations, post-secondary institutions, businesses, the innovation sector, and other leaders and strategic partners to create the Action Plan, and we will continue to work in collaboration with our partners to implement the plan.
Four Goals
The Downtown Action Plan identifies 4 goals focused on growth, and it sets the path for achieving these goals with 8 priority actions. The goals for downtown are:
- Economic growth
- Residential growth
- Vibrancy growth
- Business growth
Eight Priority Actions
- Leverage the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy for catalyst projects
- Invest in upgraded infrastructure
- Enable increased and diversified housing supply
- Create safer public and private spaces
- Enhance cleaning, maintenance and beautification of public spaces
- Demonstrate the significance of Downtown’s economy
- Increase public amenities, programming and activities
- Expand Downtown districts
The City Plan
The City Plan (2020) paints a vision of downtown as an attractive place that is easily accessible and grows economic, cultural, institutional and residential prosperity.
Capital City Downtown Plan
Related to The City Plan are the Capital City Downtown Plan (2010) and the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) bylaw (2021), which outline catalyst projects to stimulate downtown investment.
Other City Plans and Guidelines
These plans and guidelines also help ensure downtown continues to be a priority and a vibrant place for everyone.
Entertainment Districts
The City included Entertainment Districts (2024) in the Public Places bylaw to allow for spaces throughout Edmonton where food and beverages, including alcoholic drinks, can be consumed on the street.
Downtown Edmonton Public Art Guide
The Downtown Edmonton Public Art Guide (2022) directs and supports public art in the downtown, and identifies initiatives that can help reinforce downtown’s role as a regional, national and international centre for the development and enjoyment of the arts, culture, and entertainment.
Downtown Vibrancy Strategy
The Downtown Vibrancy Strategy, launched in 2021 with feedback from partners and Edmontonians, identifies steps and actions to promote vibrancy, create economic opportunities, support equity-serving communities and ensure the safety of everyone living, working and visiting our downtown.
Downtown Public Places Plan
The Downtown Public Places Plan (2020), created after 3 phases of public engagement, guides our open spaces, parks and plazas with the goal of making them vibrant, safe and welcoming for the people who live, work and play downtown.
Green and Walkable Downtown
Green and Walkable Downtown (2019) outlines a vision for improving streetscapes to help make downtown a more attractive and desirable place for people of all ages.