From helipad to hoops

Next to the Peace Bridge, on the west end of Calgary’s downtown, a helipad has been repurposed into a colourful basketball court and public art piece. This transformation has roots in a UCalgary Urban Studies course taught by Andrew Sedor, BA’10.

Sedor gave his Planning in the Canadian City (UBST 451) class an assignment to find solutions for what to do with a former helipad in Eau Claire. He selected the top papers and had those students present their ideas to the City of Calgary Downtown Strategy Team. One of those proposals made enough of an impact that the strategy team collaborated with the Beltline Urban Mural Project (BUMP) to make the Helipad Hoops project a reality.

Since the Helipad Hoops project opened this summer, the students and Urban Studies have been enjoying recognition from local media, the project team and city politicians. Read more about the project in LiveWire Calgary’s “Landing zone to layups” story.