Varsity is an established neighbourhood in the Northwest quadrant of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It was developed in the 1960s and early 1970s on a plateau to the north of the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These ...

valley, and is primarily composed of Single-detached dwellings on wide lots. The neighbourhood comprises three major areas: ''Varsity Acres'', ''Varsity Village'', and ''Varsity Estates''. Varsity is bounded on the north and east by

Crowchild Trail Crowchild Trail is a major Limited-access road, expressway in western Calgary, Alberta. The segment from the 12 Mile Coulee Road at the edge of the city to 16 Avenue N, 16 Avenue NW (Trans-Canada Highway, Alberta Highway 1, Highway 1) is d ...

, on the west by the Bow River, and on the south by 32nd Avenue NW. It borders the neighbourhoods of Silver Springs and Bowness on the west side, and both Montgomery and the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...

campus on the south side. The easternmost portion of Varsity contains the University of Calgary Research Park.

Developments

Varsity Acres

Varsity Acres is the oldest part of Varsity. It was developed in the 1960s with a street pattern of folded grids, rear lanes, and the occasional cul-de-sac. The original access from the east was via Varsity Drive where it intersected at Crowchild Trail at Brisebois Drive. This access was closed in the early 1970s in favour of a connection to 40th Avenue NW at the same intersection.

Varsity Village

Varsity Village was developed by Carma Developers LP in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unique in Calgary, the planning of Varsity Village was based on the Radburn Plan by

Clarence Stein Clarence Samuel Stein (June 19, 1882 – February 7, 1975) was an American urban planner, architect, and writer, a major proponent of the garden city movement in the United States. Biography Stein was born in Rochester, New York into an upwar ...

and Henry Wright. The Radburn Plan adapted the ideas of the English Garden City to the increasingly motorised American context, developing a street hierarchy that segregated through traffic from local traffic and automotive traffic from pedestrian traffic. Like at Radburn, the developers of Varsity Village used as many culs-de-sac as possible, and forwent rear lanes in favour of pedestrian pathways that connected to parks behind the houses (and not adjacent to streets). The developers' intent was to create a park-like setting for users of the rear walkways, and in many places in the neighbourhood where tall private fences have not been built, this intent has been maintained. This pattern of development was also used in Calgary in the neighbourhood of

Braeside Braeside, meaning ''hillside'' in the Scots language, may refer to: * Braeside, Aberdeen, Scotland * Braeside, Greenock, Scotland *Braeside, Victoria, Australia * Braeside, Ontario, Canada * Braeside Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona * Breaside, Chica ...

Market Mall CF Market Mall is one of the largest malls (by area) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (900,490 square feet/83,658.3 m²). It is located in Varsity, a suburban neighbourhood in the city's northwest quadrant on Shaganappi Trail. The mall is jointly owne ...

, one of Calgary's major regional interior malls is located in Varsity Village, along with most of the neighbourhood's multi-family dwellings.

Varsity Estates

Varsity Estates is Varsity's most upscale area. It is almost entirely made up of single-detached dwellings without rear lanes, and much of it lies adjacent to the Bowmont Natural Park or the Silver Springs Golf and Country Club. Given that the

C-Train CTrain (previously branded C-Train) is a light rail rapid transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Most of the network functions as a light metro, though in the free-fare zone that runs through the downtown core the Red and Blue lines oper ...

has been extended to Varsity adjacent to Varsity Estates, the City has proposed a

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship betw ...

in the area.Varsity Proposed Land Use Study (PDF)
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Demographics

In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Varsity had a population of living in dwellings, a 1.5% increase from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2012. Residents in this community had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

of $58,603 in 2000, and there were 15.1% low income residents living in the neighbourhood. As of 2000, 23% of the residents were

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

s. A proportion of 32.9% of the buildings were

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s or apartments, and 31% of the housing was used for

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for ...

Education

The community is served by F. E. Osborne Junior High School, Jerry Potts Elementary School, Marion Carson Elementary and Varsity Acres Bilingual Elementary public schools, as well a by St. Vincent de Paul Elementary & Junior High (Catholic).

References

External links

Federation of Calgary Communities: Varsity Community Association

{{Calgary neighbourhoods Neighbourhoods in Calgary