The Community Profiles presented at the city council meeting on Tuesday provide a more in-depth analysis of the Airdrie population in order to better understand and provide for its citizens.

Chris Esselmont, Social Research Coordinator, describes what exactly the Community Profiles are.

"They are a series of informative fact books about the sociodemographic makeup of the community."

"They provide information about various characteristics of the people, so their age, their gender, their education, their income, their home-ownership, etc. This is useful because understanding who our citizens are can actually help us plan better services and distribute resources more efficiently."

The profiles can offer analysis of information that would normally be swept under the rug. Esselmont says a few examples include the visible minority in Airdrie.

"The visible minority population in Airdrie is about 13%. This is important because a lot our citizens spend time working in Calgary where roughly one in three people is a visible minority. So, when they come back to Airdrie, that can really alter their perception of the visible minority population here. When you go from one in three to one in ten members of a visible minority, it makes it seem like we don't have a visible minority population. It's important to keep in mind that we are less homogeneous than we seem at times."

Esselmont also says the Community Profiles that saying Airdrie is a "young city" might not be true.

"We frequently hear that Airdrie is a young city. Well, doesn't really say all that much. If we break it down a little further, we find that a large portion of our population is between 30 and 39 but the number between 20 and 29 is far lower."

Esselmont says he eventually wants the information to be open to the public.

"Ideally, ultimately, the goal is to have them posted on the website for anyone who might be either curious about this information or see a need for it in making decisions for themselves, their families, their organizations, etc."

 

Comments? Questions? Story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com