2008.10.19
Turning ten: a retrospective
I realized earlier today that I have now lived in Calgary for over a decade. I moved here on Monday, August 31, 1998. At the time, the North Koreans were launching satellites into space, and Air Canada’s pilots were gearing up for a strike.
And Calgary was a different city.
Perhaps the biggest visible changes are a result of rapid growth over the past ten years. Since 1998 the population has increased from roughly 900,000 to over 1,000,000. As a result, the suburbs now sprawl even further than they used to, and there are many new high-rise buildings downtown, with still more under construction.
Beneath the mix of urban renewal and suburban growth, the city has also undergone a cultural shift. As much as we Calgarians love to hate Toronto, it’s hard to deny that Calgary becomes a little more like Toronto every day. The people here aren’t as friendly as they used to be; everyone is in a perpetual hurry; traffic is much worse.
Most interesting of all, we seem to be gaining a bit of attitude about the whole thing. I’ve heard many people accuse Torontonians of believing that Toronto is the center of the universe, but to me, it looks like the shoe may be on the other foot now. Maybe it’s inevitable that once a city reaches 1,000,000 people it starts to develop a stronger identity and thus a stronger ego. Maybe we Calgarians are just tired of feeling like we’re in the shadow of cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Maybe I’m just imagining things.
The past ten years have also changed me. I’m not sure I like all of the changes I’ve seen in the city, but this is now truly my home. It’s as much a part of me as I am of it, and it colors my perceptions in ways I don’t always understand.
In the final analysis, though, while I enjoy visiting many other cities, there are only a handful that I would consider making my home. I live in one of them, and that’s good enough for me.
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