Municipal Annexations in Alberta: Good, Bad or Inevitable?
Overview
Annexation is the most common form of municipal government reform and boundary restructuring, in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada. It significantly affects both urban and rural agricultural communities.
This study will examine annexation in Alberta to address how effective annexation is in expanding municipal boundaries, what the implications are, and how Alberta's use and outcomes of annexation compare to other jurisdictions in Canada.
Research Team
Dr. Sandeep Agrawal, Director of the University of Alberta Planning Program
Dr. Agrawal is an urban and regional planner whose research interests include land use and regional planning, international development, multiculturalism and human rights. His most recent works are on human rights and municipal bylaws, and regional and rural planning in Alberta.
His international works include high density rural regions of India, effects of tall buildings in Colombo, Sri Lanka and evaluation of housing affordability programs in the United Arab Emirates. His newly co-authored book “Understanding India’s new Approach to Spatial planning and Development: A Salient Shift?” is published by the Oxford University Press.
He recently completed a SSHRC/IRCC funded project on documenting the settlement experience of Syrian refugees in Alberta. His SSHRC-funded pan-Canadian work on human rights and the city and Alberta Land Institute – funded municipal annexations in Alberta are currently ongoing.
Dr. Agrawal served on City of Edmonton’s Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. He currently serves on the Alberta Municipal Government Board.