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SkyriseCalgary's Getting to Know series seeks to introduce our readers to a host of city-builders, innovators, and urbanists, whose vision for the future includes the creation of cities as livable spaces for all.
Described as a "Rebel," "Firebrand," and "Braveheart lite," Calgary General Manager and Chief Planner Rollin Stanley has heard it all. The wavy-haired bad boy of Calgary City Hall is a 35-year veteran of city planning and urban development, with a resume that includes a series of high-profile planning positions in Washington D.C., St. Louis, and a 21-year stint in Toronto. Of Scottish heritage, Rollin Stanley is an imposing figure, a dapper 55-year old outdoorsman and motorcycle enthusiast who is seemingly cut from the pages of a Sears catalogue. Brought on by the City of Calgary as General Manager back in 2012 at the height of the oil-backed building boom, and close on the heels of Mayor Naheed Nenshi's improbable 2010 win, Stanley was given the task of pushing Calgary into the 21st century, towards a future that would be less car dependant, less suburban, and less inclined towards sprawl. Under Stanley, Calgary sought to become a dynamic, creative, urban centre, that could one day soon rival the status any other big city in Canada, the United States, or elsewhere. This edition of Getting to Know will take a look back at the career of Rollin Stanley to date, including the highs, lows, and everything in between during his first four years as Calgary's General Manager.
Early into his tenure as Calgary General Manager, Stanley's reputation for speaking his mind and ruffling feathers had proceeded him. His well-publicized return to Canada was dogged by an off-the-cuff comment about the trials and tribulations of dealing with NIMBY's of all stripes, and in particular the troubles he had encountered when dealing with a certain group of very vocal "rich white women" in suburban D.C., to whom he had been forced to apologize and makes amends with during his tenure there. Older and wiser, or perhaps just accustomed to the relatively calmer Canadian civic environment that he once again calls home, Stanley has not curbed his urban-centric rhetoric but he has tempered his approach lately, making his transition into Calgary much smoother than anticipated.
Having lived and worked in Toronto, St. Louis, and the suburbs of Washington D.C., Stanley has seen it all, from the daily minutia of fine-grain decision making, right down to the size of balconies in regulation-happy Toronto. His work exposed him to St. Louis, a suffering cityscape that had lost more than 65% of its inner city residents prior to his arrival, and to the affluent, suburban, NIMBY-prone public engagement tactics of those living in suburban D.C. Upon arriving in Calgary, a city that has historically had a tenuous grasp on urbanism, Stanley was pleased to find a culture of openness to new ideas linked with a genuine willingness to learn from the mistakes of the past, which he believes is a trait held by many who choose to engage in Calgary's civic life. On his wish-list for Calgary, Stanley has included a desire for further public engagement in City Hall via social media, a more transparent and effective municipal funding model for transit, infrastructure, and housing, a thriving film culture or festival culture, home delivery of the Wall Street Journal, and true to his Scottish roots, a better variety of whiskey at Calgary's many drinking establishments.
During his four years as Calgary General Manager and Chief Planner, Stanley has encountered his fair share of push-back and skepticism from some of his more suburban-minded colleagues at City Hall. At each turn he has succeeded in winning them and the public over to his more urban-centric sensibilities, and his ability to deliver talking points is just as formidable as his ability to listen. Already there have been changes, such as a move away, at least in the downtown core, from single-use big-box stores where a multi-use structure would serve the same purpose much better; the passing by Council, albeit narrowly, of a network of separated bike lanes through the city centre; and Stanley's largest personal victory, the creation of Baconfest, an annual celebration of all things urban, including films by renowned urban planner Ed Bacon (father to Kevin Bacon), a lecture series, and of course, real-life bacon supplied by Charcut, a popular local restaurant. Bold, brash, and not afraid to take political risks for the city he loves and deeply believes in, Stanley has made himself a known force in Calgary City Hall, a figure, not unlike the comparatively mild-mannered, yet no less passionate, ally and friend of the General Manager's Office, Mayor Nenshi. The two together have had an immeasurably significant and positive impact upon the city in just a few short years.
SkyriseCalgary will return soon with another edition of Getting to Know. Got an idea for our new series? Let us know!
