An Exploration of the Urban Form Preferences of Edmonton's Creative Workers by CRAIG RONALD THOMAS a Thesis Submitted To
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Running head: EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS An Exploration of the Urban Form Preferences of Edmonton’s Creative Workers by CRAIG RONALD THOMAS A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGEMENT Royal Roads University Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Supervisor: DR. CHRIS LING NOVEMBER 2016 CRAIG THOMAS, 2016 EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 2 COMMITTEE APPROVAL The members of Craig Ronald Thomas’ Thesis Committee certify that they have read the thesis titled An Exploration of the Urban Form Preferences of Edmonton’s Creative Workers and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGEMENT: Dr. Chris Ling [signature on file] Dr. Jeff Chase [signature on file] Final approval and acceptance of this thesis is contingent upon submission of the final copy of the thesis to Royal Roads University. The thesis supervisor confirms to have read this thesis and recommends that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements: Dr. Chris Ling [signature on file] EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 3 Creative Commons Statement This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 2.5 Canada License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/. Some material in this work is not being made available under the terms of this licence: Third-Party material that is being used under fair dealing or with permission. Any photographs where individuals are easily identifiable. EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 4 Abstract Using data collected from the 2011 census and survey results, this study explores the urban form preferences of Edmonton’s creative workers. Edmonton continues to have a diverse economy, which includes a robust industrial sector. Research on creative class theory has not considered certain social and economic attributes of a city region such as Edmonton. Despite the lack of research interest, understanding the urban form preferences and social characteristics of Edmonton’s creative workers is important for planners and policy makers to develop relevant strategies aimed at diversifying its economy and becoming an attracting place for creative workers. According to the creative class theory, the creative economy operates and flourishes in the right spatial, cultural, and regulatory conditions. Understanding Edmonton’s creative class provides a unique case study to evaluate the claims suggested in creative class theory. This thesis reveals certain differences between the Edmonton case study and what is expected based on the understanding of creative class theory. This thesis also offers recommendations in light of those differences. EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 5 DEDICATION To Dad (1941-2006) “I know” EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Chris Ling for his supervision and guidance with this thesis. I would also like to thank him for administering the Master of Environment and Management (MEM) program during my time Royal Roads. The MEM program has been an enriching experience. I would also like to thank my committee member, Dr. Jeff Chase. Your passion in planning and place-making is inspirational. Thank you for your insight. Thanks must also be extended to the good people at Make Something Edmonton, the City of Edmonton, the Downtown Edmonton Community League, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Parkland County, and the City of Fort Saskatchewan. I would also like to thank the students and faculty of the 2014 cohort, Master of Environment and Management at Royal Roads University. What a cool and amazing ride! “A moment of time in an eternity upon itself” Lastly, and most importantly, my family. Thank you Natasha, my smart, sophisticated and beautiful wife. I could not have done this without you; Sofiya, my inspirational and creative daughter; Elizabeth, my wonderful and caring mother; and my brother Ken. EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 7 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 11 Research Questions ................................................................................................................................. 14 Research Justification ............................................................................................................................. 14 Organization of Report ........................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter Two: Creative Class Theory ..................................................................................................... 16 Principles ................................................................................................................................................ 17 Creative Milieu ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Amenity and Urban Centric Preferences ................................................................................................ 21 Economies of Agglomeration ................................................................................................................. 23 Criticism of Creative Class Theory ......................................................................................................... 25 Creative Class Theory in Canada ............................................................................................................ 27 Chapter Three: Research Methods ......................................................................................................... 30 Edmonton Case Study ............................................................................................................................. 31 Geographic Typologies ........................................................................................................................... 33 Locating Edmonton’s Creative Class ...................................................................................................... 39 Survey Questionnaire .............................................................................................................................. 45 Chapter Four: Exploring Edmonton’s Creative Class .......................................................................... 49 Edmonton CMA ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Location of Edmonton’s Creative Class ................................................................................................. 57 Survey Results ........................................................................................................................................ 80 Relevant Findings and Review of Research Questions........................................................................... 95 Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 103 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 107 Further Research ................................................................................................................................... 116 Final Thoughts ...................................................................................................................................... 116 References ................................................................................................................................................ 118 APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................................................... 129 APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................................................... 136 APPENDIX C .......................................................................................................................................... 137 APPENDIX D .......................................................................................................................................... 140 APPENDIX E .......................................................................................................................................... 146 APPENDIX F .......................................................................................................................................... 152 EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 8 APPENDIX G .......................................................................................................................................... 158 APPENDIX H .......................................................................................................................................... 159 APPENDIX I ........................................................................................................................................... 194 APPENDIX J ........................................................................................................................................... 230 EDMONTON’S CREATIVE CLASS 9 List of Tables Table 1. Edmonton CMA Census Subdivisions and Population .................................................