Living in Grande Prairie

Living in Grande Prairie

In my job I get to spend a lot of time talking to teenagers. Something I love is listening to their plans for after graduation. I can’t help but notice that lots of these plans do not involve Grande Prairie.

Many teens talk about exciting adventures away from home: they are going backpacking in other countries, leaving for a challenging university program, taking an epic road trip, or moving to explore a new city. There are exciting opportunities out there, and I love hearing teens talk about them.

However, many other teenagers just talk about getting away from Grande Prairie. This always breaks my heart. A young person should leave home because they can’t wait to pursue an adventure. A young person should never leave home because they feel there are no other options.

My own kids are starting preschool and kindergarten in September. I’m aware that it will feel like a very short time before they are graduating high school. When that happens, I hope that they see staying in Grande Prairie as one of several exciting options. For that to happen, we need a livable city.

A livable city is one that has the opportunities, resources and safety citizens need to thrive. A livable city:

• Has adequate and well maintained infrastructure
• Ensures housing is available for people of all family situations and income level
• Gives citizens plenty of opportunity for work, education, and recreation
• Has attractive, energetic, and walkable residential, business, and entertainment districts
• Creates parks, plazas, and other spaces for people to gather
• Helps vulnerable people get and stay on their feet
• Creates safe streets and neighbourhoods

One reason I want to serve on Council is to ensure a livable city for my children. I have some ideas about what that looks like. But for now, I’d love to hear from you.

What do you think it takes to make a livable city? How livable is Grande Prairie today? What can the next Council work on to help Grande Prairie become more livable? Let me know. Comment on this post, give me a call or email, or post this on Facebook and tag me.

-Dylan