Live in Fairview

Fairview was annexed by the City of Calgary in 1956 and established as a community in 1959, built out on land that had been part of the P. Burns Ranches holdings and developed by Kelwood. It is bordered north by Glenmore Trail, east by Blackfoot Trail, south by Heritage Drive and west by Macleod Trail. The City's own boundary polygon makes that box 1.3 km²; Wikipedia says 2.1 km², and where the two disagree this guide uses the City's.

Housing mix. This is one of the oldest, most uniform bungalow stocks on this site: 61% of occupied dwellings were built in 1960 or before against 9% citywide, another 30% between 1961 and 1980, and nothing at all since 2015. 75% are single-detached houses, typically around 1,000 square feet on large lots, and there is not a single row house or semi-detached house in the community. The 20% that are apartments split 11% above five storeys and 9% below.

Who lives here. The 2021 census counted 3,675 residents in 1,560 private households, averaging 2.4 people, with a median household income of $84,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary, and 21% of households spending 30% or more of income on shelter. 34% rent, and 27% of residents are immigrants, under the city's 33%.

Getting around. 11% of workers commute by public transit, two points above the city average, helped by Heritage station just past the western boundary at 12 Haddon Road SW, on the Red Line since 25 May 1981 and 7.9 km from the City Hall interlocking. 32% of employed residents get to work in under fifteen minutes, against 21% citywide. The rest of the community is boxed in by four arterial roads, which makes for fast trips out and real traffic noise on the edges.

Worth knowing before you commit

A 1959 community

Original bungalow stock, and the trade-offs that come with it

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• 61% of the housing predates 1960. Original wiring, plumbing, roofs and furnaces are commonly at or past design life
• Both schools inside the community run the CBE's Traditional Learning Centre alternative program, not a standard neighbourhood catchment
• Bounded by four arterial roads (Macleod, Blackfoot, Glenmore and Heritage). Go and listen at different times of day
• The arena is now independently operated and the hall houses In-Definite Arts: neither is a city facility, so check terms
• 34% of households rent, and infill or teardown-and-rebuild pressure is a live issue on the original 1,000 sq ft lots
• Nothing we could open names a Catholic school inside the boundaries. Confirm the current designation before you buy

How Fairview got here

• 1956The land, part of the P. Burns Ranches holdings, is annexed by Calgary. Wikipedia names Kelwood as the developer who created the neighbourhood after annexation.
• 1959Fairview is established, built out as homes of the late 1950s and early 1960s averaging about 1,000 square feet, roughly 1,200 of them single family.
• 1960The Fairview Community Association is registered provincially on 14 July. Its hall is at 8038 Fairmont Drive SE.
• 1960sThe stock that still defines the community: 61 per cent of today's occupied dwellings date from 1960 or before, against 9 per cent across Calgary.
• 1970sAnother 30 per cent goes up between 1961 and 1980, which effectively finishes the community. Only 6 per cent has been built since 1981, and nothing since 2015.
• 2019The City's last civic census counts 3,646 residents in 1,613 dwellings, 1,531 of them occupied and 1,019 owner-occupied.
• 2021The federal census counts 3,675 residents in 1,560 private households, 34 per cent of them renting, with a median household income of $84,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary.
• TodayThe Federation of Calgary Communities records that the Fairview Arena is now independently operated and that Fairview Hall houses In-Definite Arts, which runs programming for people with developmental disabilities.

What the map does not show: Fish Creek Provincial Park, 13.48 km² and Canada's second-largest urban park, is a further nine kilometres south, so it is a genuine drive rather than a walk. The Glenmore pathways and Weaselhead are the closer, more realistic everyday option, and Heritage Park is a destination rather than a daily green space: it runs its Historical Village on weekends and holidays outside the summer.

Elsewhere in Calgary, not Fairview

The arena is not a city facility. The Federation of Calgary Communities records the Fairview Arena as independently operated and the hall at 8038 Fairmont Drive SE as home to In-Definite Arts. The association's own site describes the arena as recently regenerated. Check terms and schedules with the operator rather than with the City.