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We acknowledge and pay tribute to the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations) as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations). SAPL also recognizes that the City of Calgary is also home to Region III of the Métis Nation of Alberta. By virtue of the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877, the university recognizes that we are all treaty people. The City of Calgary is home to diverse communities. Together, we share this land, strive to live together, learn together, walk together, and grow together “in a good way.”

Calgary is ranked the fourth most livable city in the world by the Economist's 2018 "Global Livability Index" and is the gateway to the spectacular Rocky Mountains. Architectural landmarks such as the Peace Bridge, the Bow Tower, the National Music Centre at Studio Bell, the Central Library, and TELUS Sky, complement one of the most extensive urban cycling networks and natural park systems in Canada. Calgary is also Canada's most enterprising city where entrepreneurs, experimenters, and rule breakers are not afraid to experiment with built form, innovative policies, and new concepts. Calgary is a city of extraordinary community spirit; we come together and innovate for positive, integrated systemic improvement. 

At the same time, Calgary has a long history of car-oriented development of large single-family suburbs and a commercially focused downtown. With the current shift from an oil-based economy to one focused on clean-tech, digital enterprise, and innovation that requires competing in a global talent market, the city and its development industry is actively re-imagining the short-, medium-, and long-term future of the built environment towards sustainability, resiliency, equity, and vibrancy. 

With the city as a living lab, SAPL is an active partner in this innovation endeavor, engaging our students in real-world studio related projects and our faculty in community-focused research and critical practice. Through our downtown location, the City Building Design Lab has become a hub for collaborative research and public discussion about city building. In 2018, the CBDLab hosted 115 city building events that brought over 7,000 participants into the school for exhibitions and lectures.

This is an exciting time to join the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. The launch of the Bachelor of Design in City Innovation will add 800 undergrad students to our 400 graduate students enrolled in our Master of Architecture, Master of Planning, and Master of Landscape Architecture course-based degrees and our three research degrees: Master of Environmental Design, PhD in Environmental Design and a Doctor of Design, specifically focused on helping established practitioners develop innovative new forms of practice.