Live in Southview
A 1.6 km² community established in 1950, the last to develop inside the Greater Forest Lawn area, with the Bow River as its own western boundary.
Southview was established in 1950, the last community built inside what is now called the Greater Forest Lawn area, and the Town of Forest Lawn (Southview included) was annexed by the City of Calgary on December 30, 1961. At 1.6 km², it is one of the smallest and oldest communities in the inner southeast, bounded by 17 Avenue SE, 36 Street SE, 26 Avenue SE and the Bow River. Unlike most of its neighbours, Southview has been shrinking rather than growing: 1,900 residents at the 2012 civic census and 1,805 at the last one in 2019 fell to 1,550 by the 2021 federal census. Median household income was $70,000 in 2020, against $98,000 across Calgary, and 94% of the occupied dwellings here were built before 1981.
The last community inside the Greater Forest Lawn area, and the smallest
Bounded north by 17 Avenue SE, east by 36 Street SE, south by 26 Avenue SE and west by the Bow River. Ward 9.
Southview was established in 1950, the last community built inside what is now called the Greater Forest Lawn area, and the Town of Forest Lawn (Southview included) was annexed by the City of Calgary on December 30, 1961.
It is small: 1.6 km², bounded by 17 Avenue SE to the north, 36 Street SE to the east, 26 Avenue SE to the south, and the Bow River to the west: the community's own edge, not shared with any neighbour.
Housing mix. At the 2021 census 45% of households rented, median household income was $70,000 against $98,000 across Calgary, and 30% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter. The stock is old: 46% of occupied dwellings date from 1960 or before and another 48% from 1961 to 1980, with nothing at all built here after 2010.
Who lives here, and how many. Southview is unusual on this site in that it has been shrinking: 1,900 residents at the 2012 civic census and 1,805 at the last one in 2019 fell to 1,550 by the 2021 federal census. It is also older than the city around it: 20% of residents are 65 or over against 13% citywide, and 41% of households are one person.
- 94% of occupied dwellings were built before 1981 and none after 2010. Original roofs, windows, furnaces and electrical panels are well past design life
- Median household income was $70,000 in 2020 against $98,000 citywide, and 30% of households spend 30% or more of their income on shelter
- Population has fallen at every count since 2012, which is unusual in Calgary and worth understanding before buying
- No CTrain station inside the community; Marlborough's Blue Line station, opened 1985, is the nearest
- Nothing this audit could open names Southview's designated junior high or any Catholic school for the community: confirm both with the boards
- Genuinely walkable to the Bow River pathway and International Avenue's restaurant strip, a real amenity most southeast communities lack
How Southview got here
- 1950Southview is established as the last community to develop inside the Greater Forest Lawn area.
- 1958The Southview Community Association is registered as a provincial society on September 29.
- 1961The Town of Forest Lawn, including Southview, is annexed by the City of Calgary on December 30.
- 2012The civic census records 1,900 residents in 936 dwellings.
- 2019The last civic census the City ran counts 1,805 residents in 837 dwellings, 785 of them occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 1,550 residents in 760 private households, continuing a decline that makes Southview one of the few Calgary communities smaller today than a decade ago.
A river on one side, and Forest Lawn's parks on the other
Southview has no park of its own inside its boundaries. What it has instead is the Bow River pathway at its own western edge, with Pearce Estate Park (21 hectares, a 15-hectare reconstructed wetland and the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery) and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary (0.36 km², a federal migratory bird sanctuary since 1929, 270 bird species recorded) reachable along it, and Elliston Park, 415 hectares around a stormwater pond, a few minutes east along 17 Avenue SE.
What the map does not show: almost all of Southview's recreation is borrowed from its neighbours rather than built inside its own 1.6 km². The genuine exception is the river itself: no other community on this site has the Bow as a literal, unshared boundary.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Southview
21 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 21 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of the community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Southview's numbers are lopsided by size: almost everything nearby actually sits across a boundary in Forest Lawn, Ogden or Inglewood, because the community itself is only 1.6 km².
Every gym within reach
Nothing sits inside Southview's own boundaries. The nearest facilities are all a few minutes east in Forest Lawn, plus the free option at the community's own front door.
- A pool, dive tank, hot tub, steam room, weights and cardio and a fitness studio, on the City's own list
- Max Bell Centre adds two City arenas, Ken Bracko and Perry Cavanagh, at 1001 Barlow Tr. S.E.
- The Genesis Centre in Saddle Ridge is the quadrant's larger hub, but no publisher this audit could open describes it
- The Bow River pathway at the community's own edge is the free option
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City pool at 4812 14 Ave. S.E. in neighbouring Forest Lawn, listed with a dive tank, hot tub, steam room, weights and cardio and a fitness studio. The nearest full facility to Southview. | 6–9 min |
| Bow River pathway open | Free option: the community's own riverside pathway, right at its western boundary. | 1–2 min |
| Planet Fitness Forest Lawn open | A commercial gym on 17 Avenue SE. No publisher page for it was opened for this audit. | 6–9 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Two City arenas, Ken Bracko and Perry Cavanagh, at 1001 Barlow Tr. S.E. | 3–5 min |
| MNP Community & Sport Centre open | At 2225 Macleod Trail South, renamed from Repsol Sport Centre in 2022. It hosts swimming, diving, track and basketball, with the Dr. Neville Lindsay Sport Wellness Centre for fitness. | 9–13 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's recreation centre in Saddle Ridge. It is not on the City's pool or arena lists and no publisher this audit could open describes what is inside it. | 13–19 min |
Nothing is inside Southview itself. Every facility on this list sits in a neighbouring community: a fact of the community's small size rather than an oversight, so budget the short drive east as routine.
One public elementary inside the community, and the rest next door
Mount View School is the Calgary Board of Education school inside the community; Wikipedia calls it Mountain View Elementary and the board calls it Mount View School, and neither publishes a grade range. Forest Lawn High School at 1304 44 Street S.E. names Southview in its published service area. Nothing this audit could open names a Catholic school for the community at all.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mount View School | Calgary Board of Education | The board school inside the community. Its own page gives no grade range and no address, and Wikipedia names it Mountain View Elementary. |
| Forest Lawn High School | Calgary Board of Education | Grades 10 to 12 at 1304 44 Street S.E. Its published service area names Southview, along with sixteen other communities. |
| Catholic designation | Calgary Catholic School District | No Catholic school sits inside Southview, and the district's site refuses automated clients, so nothing here was read from the district. Confirm the designation directly for a specific address. |
| Junior high designation | Calgary Board of Education | Wikipedia names Ian Bazalgette and Ernest Morrow junior highs as serving Forest Lawn, but nothing this audit could open names Southview's designated junior high. The board publishes designations only through an address search. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Confirm the junior high and Catholic designations for a specific address with the boards before you buy: the public board publishes designations only through an address search, and the Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- International Avenue's restaurants and grocers stay open through the cold, just across the community's northern boundary
- The Bow River pathway ices over on the shaded stretches first
- Bob Bahan's indoor pool carries the season, six to nine minutes east
- Chinooks reach the inner southeast later and weaker than the rest of the city
- Family Day programming runs at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre
- Coldest stretches usually break with a chinook by month's end
- Marlborough Mall sees more traffic during the cold snaps
- Longer light is noticeable by the last week of the month
- Melt and refreeze on Southview's older side streets
- The Bow River pathway starts to reopen along the community's western edge
- Mount View School and Forest Lawn High head into spring break
- International Avenue patios reopen early on mild days
- Elliston Park's lake and pathways come back into use, east along 17 Avenue SE
- Last hard frosts: planting waits for the long weekend
- The Bow River runs high with early melt below Pearce Estate Park
- Migratory birds return to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, upstream on the pathway
- Long evenings on the Bow River pathway
- Community league and school field sport seasons start
- Hail season begins across the city's eastern half
- Sunset past 9pm by month's end
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- School year ends at Mount View School and Forest Lawn High
- Thunderstorm season is fully under way
- International Avenue's outdoor dining is at its busiest of the year
- Calgary Stampede: ten days, roughly ten minutes northwest via Blackfoot Trail
- Elliston Park's pond and pathways are at their busiest, east along 17 Avenue SE
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Hottest month, with little shade on the community's older paved streets
- Elliston Park's 415 hectares carry the late-summer evenings east of the community
- International Avenue's restaurant and grocery mix is the genuine summer draw
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- The Bow River runs low and clear past the community's western edge
- School year restarts at Mount View School and Forest Lawn High
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- International Avenue is busiest with back-to-school shopping
- Migrating geese pass over the Bow River corridor
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Peak colour along the Bow River pathway
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre
- International Avenue's holiday retail season begins
- First hard freeze locks up standing water on the community's older streets
- Holiday lights along International Avenue's storefronts
- Bob Bahan's pool and fitness programming runs through the break
- Chinooks, when they come, still arrive late and weak here
- A quiet stretch on Southview's residential streets, away from the corridor
3 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–3 of 3 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Southview, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Calgary library.