UD+OS is a City of Calgary staff team of urban designers within Community Planning which provides architecture and urban design expertise and guidance in a number of ways, including through the review of development applications as part of Development Applications Review Team (DART). They evaluate how projects address City of Calgary urban design policies and guidelines, particularly with regard to the expectations described by the Urban Design Elements in the Municipal Development Plan, and provide comments through the File Manager. Urban Design + Open Space is charged with helping applicants achieve the best possible design outcome, beginning with encouraging design review at the earliest possible point in the design process. As such, they are available to work with File Managers and applicants from project conception through the review process to decision.

Calgary’s Guide to Urban Design Review

UDRP is a Council-appointed peer review group of professional architects, planners, landscape architects, and engineers. Through their varied professional expertise, they encourage high design standards by providing independent, “best practice” review and comment on the urban design and architecture of development applications. Urban Design Review Panel may review an application up to two times and may recommend that an applicant continue to work with the Urban Design + Open Space team to resolve any outstanding urban design matters as necessary. Applications are circulated to Urban Design Review Panel according to specific criteria (table following). The Chief Urban Designer, in consultation with the File Manager, will be responsible for the final determination of which applications are referred to the Panel.

• Submission requirements and meeting format
• Information and terms of reference
• Urban Design Review Panel members
• Annual UDRP member recruitment