The builder's path
For: People in Edmonton can't tell which zoning rules will apply to a lot while the province forces the city to change them.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Alberta.
Step 1
Join an incubator or startup mission
They connect you to schemes and officials.
Calgary's startup hub and programmes.
Alberta's public tenders.
Startup loans and mentoring for founders aged 18 to 39.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Step 2
Win a seed grant
Prove the idea works with a small, funded prototype.
Alberta's research and innovation funder, with voucher programmes for small companies.
Advice and funding for technology innovation in Canada.
Funded research internships linking students with organisations.
Startup loans and mentoring for founders aged 18 to 39.
Step 3
Pilot with a public body
A district, city or department tries it with real people.
Alberta's public tenders.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Where the federal government posts its tenders; search by region and category.
Federal departments post challenges and fund small businesses to solve them, then buy the result.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
The current bylaw text and zones.
Zoning and parcel map layers.
Interactive maps with zoning by property.
Owns the bylaw and will carry out the review.
Groups on both sides of the change, quoted in the article.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Problem: People in Edmonton can't tell which zoning rules will apply to a lot while the province forces the city to change them. Who it hurts: Homeowners planning a project, small infill builders mid-design, and neighbours who want to know what can be built next door. The moment it hurts: Planning or financing a build, or reading a development notice, in the months while the old and new rules are being swapped. What people do today: People read news coverage and the bylaw; investment decisions made under the current rules are now in question. Why it is still unsolved: The rules are reverting to pre-2024 zoning and pre-2020 parking, with an 18-month review after, so what applies to a lot depends on dates and directives few can track. What solved looks like: A lot lookup for Edmonton that shows, for any address, what the current bylaw allows, what the pre-2024 rules allowed, and what changes under the provincial directive and its timeline, in plain words with links to the source sections. Where: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.”
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it: this is knowledge.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Act, keeping in view the welfare of the world.”
लोकसंग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि
lokasaṅgraham evāpi sampaśyan kartum arhasi
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“Whatever a great person does, others follow.”
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः
yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.