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Scratch LRT here, build a bus bridge there — Edmonton’s next development plan will be hyper-focused on public transit as it hones in on a series of connected mini-city centres.

It’s also less downtown focused. The central core is still queen, but in this proposed new vision, an expanded downtown is ringed by six royal consorts, if you will, dense urban centres outside the core with thousands of jobs and homes.

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Investing in places such as Clareview, Mill Woods and the West Edmonton Mall/Misericordia nexus will ultimately be cheaper and allow for shorter transit rides than if masses of people are expected to commute downtown, say city planners.

Their draft plan for a city of two million people is now available for review. It heads to council for feedback in September with approval in spring 2020. Thousands of pages of technical studies are posted online at edmonton.ca/cityplan.

I find it intriguing, a throw-back to city visions of the 1970s. It makes intuitive sense and what’s more, a good plan could help end this scattershot approach to development. If council is disciplined, it would focus public investment in the future.