Southern Calgary (So-Cal)

This article is about specific communities located in the south of Calgary in the province of Alberta,Canada collectively known as Southern Calgary (So-Cal). It does not cover all communities from the quadrants Southwest and Southeast of Calgary.

Overview

Southern Calgary or So-Cal is the southern part of the City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Though Calgary is officially demarcated into four quadrants Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest and consists of 184 communities, So-Cal is composed of six young and thriving communities namely Auburn Bay, Chaparral, Cranston, Mahogany, Silverado and Walden. The area is located south of the Marquis of Lorne Trail and bordered by the Spruce Meadows Trail to the north, Deerfoot Trail to the southeast, and the Macleod Trail in the southwest.

So-Cal, being young, is undergoing development in terms of infrastructure which consists of various housing, road, and transit projects.

Demographics

Based on the 2009 City of Calgary's Civic Census, So-Cal's population was 25,774, which is a measly 2.42 percent of the city's total population of 1,065,455 persons. However, Silverado was among the only two communities in Calgary which grew by more than 100%. Auburn Bay and Cranston were also among the top 10 high growth communities in the 2008-2009 Census. All these communities had population increase of more than 1,000 persons.

Southern Calgary (So-Cal) Population by Community: 2008 and 2009

Community	2009	2008	% Increase/ Decrease
Auburn Bay	3,466	2,324	49.14
Chaparral	10,537	9,651	9.18
Cranston	9,140	7,878	16.02
Mahogany	11	na	na
Silverado	2,620	1,308	100.31
Walden	na	na	na
Total	25,774	21,161	29.11

Source: http://www.calgary.ca/

Housing

Of the almost ten thousand dwellings built in So-Cal, 62.07% are occupied. Of these, majority (83.86%) are single family houses followed by duplexes (6.28%), town houses (5.27%), apartments (4.38%) and others (0.21%).

Southern Calgary (So-Cal) Number of Dwellings and Occupancy Rate by Community: 2008 and 2009

Community	Single Family	Duplex	Apartment	Town House	Others	Total No. of Dwellings	Total No. of Occupied Dwellings	Occupancy Rate
Auburn Bay	1,213	8	0	76	1	1,298	1,150	88.60
Chaparral	2,771	242	193	260	0	3,466	3,273	94.43
Cranston	2,920	198	220	99	15	3,452	3,288	95.25
Mahogany	42	2	0	0	2	46	4	8.70
Silverado	930	120	0	62	1	1,113	928	83.38
Walden	27	22	0	0	0	49	1	2.04
Total	7,903	592	413	497	19	9,424	8,644	62.07

Source: http://www.calgary.ca/

Schools

Schools in So-Cal, like the rest of Calgary communities, generally fall under the Calgary Catholic School District (CSSD) and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). Designated schools per community are at times similar.

Transportation

Transportation routes in So-cal include: Route 406 (Auburn Bay), Route 78 (Sundance/Chaparral), Cranston: Route 14 (Bridlewood/Cranston), Route 133 (Cranston Express via Deerfoot Trail and SE BRT Route), and Route 402 (Silverado).

References

City of Calgary (2009). "Civic Census"

City of Calgary (2009). "Community Profiles"

Calgary Transit (2009). "Routes and Maps"