What role does infill play in Edmonton region's growth and development?

A new report shows Alberta's housing boom is gaining momentum as the population grows, but it comes a week after the province moved to roll back Edmonton zoning rules, raising questions about the impact on future developments. According to Build Edmonton Metro, who unveiled the report Thursday afternoon, housing starts across Alberta jumped 131% between 2020 and 2025. But the industry group says that success wasn't built on Edmonton's recent infill zoning changes. We are not accountable or responsible for the success that we saw in 2025 based on a decision about zoning in 2024. The success we realized in 2025 came from 20 years prior and all of the work that built up to that. And some of the fastest growth isn't happening in Edmonton at all. Communities like Leduc, Beaumont and Devon are seeing some of the region's strongest housing development without Edmonton's mid-block infill rules. A proportional amount of growth happening relative to the population is higher and faster outside of Edmonton than inside of Edmonton. But Edmonton's infill development has also helped expand housing options. And with those rules now facing changes, the question is whether surrounding communities can absorb any potential slowdown. If anything, the surrounding communities can continue to see very robust growth and pick up that additional growth as it becomes available if needed. Build says maintaining housing supply will take a combination of infill development and new neighborhoods. And while the region's housing market is booming now, the impact of Edmonton's zoning rollback has yet to be seen. Tristan Motteshed, CBC News, Edmonton.