It is civic census time!
What even is a civic census? The City of Calgary writes, "The Civic Census is the official count of dwelling units and the population who are living in these units, by the door to door physical collection and recording of data. This count of dwellings and residents may be supplemented yearly with other information such as the periodic age/gender distribution data, etc." The first ever Calgary census took place in 1931! Just think about how much Calgary has grown in the last year; can you imagine how different our results today will be from the results back then?
A census does more than simply count how many people currently live in the city. The information gathered from the census "is used by The City for a variety of planning and program service delivery purposes, and by the Province for the determination of grants if available. The information is also used by a variety of outside agencies such as communities, businesses, charities, researchers, etc." (City of Calgary). This means that by taking the census you aren't just providing a head-count, you're providing crucial information the city needs to make Calgary the best place it can be.
For example, the data collected by the civic census can tell city planners which areas of Calgary most highly populated. These dense population areas will require more support, from grocery stores to effective transit. The city can then plan and develop the city accordingly. So, if you feel like the area you live in has grown out of control--that there are never enough buses, aren't enough services for all the young children, etc., FILL OUT YOUR CENSUS! Your voice is valuable and it matters!
Each property in Calgary has been mailed a letter with a unique access code to take the census online. All you have to do to complete the census is visit this link: http://www.calgary.ca/CA/city-clerks/Pages/Election-and-information-services/Civic-Census/Civic-Census.aspx?redirect=/census
The questions are simple: where is the property, how many people live on the property, are there any infants, etc. It takes literally two minutes to fill out and it provides invaluable help to our city.
Please take a second out of your day to fill out the census and help make our city the absolute best it can be!
Posted by Ken Richter on
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