Live green in Blatchford

Sustainability is the future, and in Blatchford, that future is now. Edmonton’s most forward-minded, family-friendly, and ecologically sculpted community is embracing its role in bringing a sustainable tomorrow today, as it offers more green designs not just in the community’s homes but in the community itself.

Over the past few years, Blatchford has been blossoming into a new, hip, contemporary neighbourhood in downtown Edmonton, offering unbeatable walkability, plentiful amenities, and a lifestyle that is geared towards a brighter, greener tomorrow.

In 2024, it topped the city’s list of redeveloping neighbourhoods with the most new rowhouses, and it was fifth on the list of redeveloping neighbourhoods with the most new development activity.

And in 2026, the sky is the limit for homeowners looking to not only make a better life for themselves and their families, but to also contribute to the ecological sustainability of the city.

Leading green

With the City of Edmonton as its land developer, Blatchford takes its role in advancing sustainable living seriously. In fact, it was born with this principle in mind, as it is built on repurposed land.

It sits on the former site of Canada’s first licensed airfield and is being redeveloped into a new urban neighbourhood near the city’s inner core. Blatchford’s 536 acres is committed to achieving a healthier, more sustainable and enriched lifestyle where up to 30,0000 Edmontonians will live, work and learn. Speaking of which, it’s within walking distance of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).

Tom Lumsden, Blatchford Development Manager, says that the community helps address Edmonton’s housing shortage and its climate challenges. “Blatchford is being developed to have three to four times the density of a traditional suburban community,” he tells NextHome. But its importance, arguably, is getting homebuyers to view sustainable living in a different light and how easily achievable it is.

“The impact of climate change is very apparent in Canada, and has had a significant effect on Edmonton specifically. About 40 per cent of Edmonton’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) comes from buildings. Another contributor to Edmonton’s climate change is GHG emissions from transportation, which accounts for approximately 30 per cent of the city’s GHG emissions and 42 per cent of energy used,” Lumsden says.

“Recent City of Edmonton climate research indicates 74 per cent of Edmontonians are concerned about climate change, with 77 per cent indicating we need to act now.” This is where Blatchford comes in.

Sustainable living

As Blatchford’s land developer, the City of Edmonton develops the land, bringing in infrastructure like utilities, streets, bike lanes, landscaping in public areas, parks, etc, and then sells parcels to homebuilders, who then build and sell the homes to homebuyers. It’s envisioned as a carbon-neutral community that sits on prime land just minutes from the downtown core, including the Ice District and Rogers Place.

Also incorporated in its design are Low Impact Development (LID) principles. Strategies like bioswales and urban stormwater channels manage surface water, while tree soil cells and rainwater harvesting systems further support natural water infiltration, providing sustainable irrigation.

It also includes custom-designing the community to encourage vehicle-free or vehicle-light living – incorporating strategies like wider sidewalks, narrower streets, separate bike lanes, and pedestrian-only walkways. “The current park design and ponds will also bring residents within proximity of about 50 per cent more green space compared to what’s seen in a typical Edmonton community, encouraging them to want to spend more time outdoors and less time in a vehicle,” he says.

From the start, Blatchford took sustainability to heart. The initial airport dismantling saw 92 per cent of materials diverted from the landfill: that includes 12 buildings disassembled and approximately 27,000 tonnes of material reused or recycled (concrete, metal, debris and wood).

Runway materials were crushed on site to be used for future roads. Some of the larger materials were also saved to use in the base of the community’s benches. Soil excavated from the stormwater ponds was used to grade the site and eventually will also be used to build a large hill in an 80-acre central park.

Additionally, the former air traffic control tower was kept in the neighbourhood to preserve and honour Blatchford’s aviation history. Plans are underway to renovate the base of the tower to become a public space for the community.

Greener homes

While approximately 40 per cent of Edmonton’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. Blatchford townhomes will release fewer greenhouse gas emissions than homes in a typical community. Here’s a quick look into how: Residents receive their heating, cooling and hot water services from renewable energy sources through the community’s District Energy Sharing System (bonus: because the system provides both heating and cooling, there’s no need to install air conditioning!).

Homes are also built for energy efficiency.

Homebuilders must agree to meet Blatchford’s custom green building standards, which go above and beyond what the industry requires for sustainability and energy conservation. Think highly insulated walls, roofs and floors, high performance windows and an airtight envelope to reduce heat loss – and homes that not only come with energy efficient heat pumps rather than furnaces, but also sustainable building features like solar panels to offset the annual energy consumed by appliances.

Heat pumps have a 300 to 400 per cent efficiency rating in electrical use for thermal energy production all year. “Compare that to the less than 100 per cent efficiency of a typical natural gas furnace.”

Lumsden says Blatchford is taking the time to get things right the first time. Instead of trying to shoehorn sustainability and ‘people first’ urban design principles in after the fact, Blatchford is integrating these concepts at all points of community development.

It emphasizes active transportation as an easy, natural choice and creates conditions where design can support and enhance everyday life. Well-designed public spaces mean Blatchford residents will benefit from greater social connectivity in a more liveable, healthy community.

Residents enjoy calling Blatchford home

Blatchford’s green design is resonating with homebuyers.

Lumsden says the community’s most recent annual resident survey indicates the top three reasons residents are choosing Blatchford are: location (central location, close to amenities), lifestyle (community plans including walkability, public spaces, parks and other amenities), and sustainability (community and home features).

In fact, he says that residents cited sustainability as one of the things they enjoy most about living in Blatchford.

“Blatchford is helping to make it more accessible for Edmontonians to live in a green-built home that uses renewable energy. The design of the community and the homes help take the guesswork out of planet-friendly homeownership and planet-friendly living,” he says.

“Residents are helping to mitigate climate change simply by living in Blatchford. Blatchford homes release significantly less GHGs than a traditional home. They also offer a significant energy efficiency improvement compared to homes built to industry standard.”

Blatchford’s full development is expected to be completed in 2042, at a pace typical of other neighbourhoods in Edmonton (remember, it’s 536 acres, and three to four times as dense!). Find out more at blatchfordedmonton.ca.