Rundle Heights, Edmonton Explained

Official Name:Rundle Heights
Settlement Type:Neighbourhood
Pushpin Map:Canada Edmonton
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Rundle Heights in Edmonton
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:Edmonton
Subdivision Type3:Quadrant[1]
Subdivision Name3:NW
Subdivision Type4:Ward
Subdivision Name4:Métis
Subdivision Type5:Sector[2]
Subdivision Name5:Mature area
Subdivision Type6:Area[3] [4]
Subdivision Name6:Beverly
Government Footnotes:[5]
Leader Title:Administrative body
Leader Name:Edmonton City Council
Leader Title1:Councillor
Area Footnotes:[6]
Area Total Km2:0.82
Population As Of:2012
Population Total:3359
Population Density Km2:4,096.3
Population Blank1 Title:Change (2009–12)
Population Blank1:-1.4%
Population Blank2 Title:Dwellings
Population Blank2:1426
Coordinates:53.563°N -113.392°W
Elevation M:654

Rundle Heights is a residential neighbourhood overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley in the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, named for Methodist missionary Robert Terrill Rundle.[7] While the neighbourhood didn't develop until the 1960s and 1970s, the area is closely associated with the Town of Beverly, a working class community that amalgamated with Edmonton in 1961. A number of the Beverly coal mines were located in the area.

Demographics

In the City of Edmonton's 2012 municipal census, Rundle Heights had a population of living in dwellings,[8] a -1.4% change from its 2009 population of .[9] With a land area of 0.82km2, it had a population density of people/km2 in 2012.[6] [8]

Residential development

Shortly after arriving in Canada in 1927, a Dutch immigrant named Jacob Prins bought a farm east of Beverly in the area that is now Rundle Heights, and which included one of the larger coal mines in the Edmonton Area.[10] The farm would grow to 400acres.

In the 1950s, the Prins family tried strip mining coal near the river on the eastern side of the property. The venture proved unsuccessful. In 1956, the City of Edmonton bought the site of the strip mine and used it for the Beverly Dump, a place to dispose of the city's refuse and garbage.

The Prins' farm ceased production in 1966, and most of the land was subdivided for the Rundle Heights neighbourhood.

With the neighbourhood encroaching on the Beverly Dump, and the dump reaching the end of its useful life, the city reclaimed the dump site for parkland. Today, Rundle Park and the Rundle Golf Course occupy the area once known as the Beverly Dump.

The stretch of 32nd street that runs in the northern part of the neighborhood contains numerous public housing developments. The 3-2 Bloods are a set of the Bloods gang that operate in the area.[11] However, this area is a small portion of the neighborhood at large.

The neighbourhood is bounded on the north by 118 Avenue, to the west by 34 Street (north of 111 Avenue) and 36 Street (south of 111 Avenue) and by the river valley to the south and east. Surrounding neighbourhoods are Abbottsfield to the north, Beacon Heights to the north west, and Beverly Heights to the west.

There are two schools in Rundle Heights. The Rundle Heights Elementary School is operated by the Edmonton Public School System and St. Jerome Catholic Elementary School is operated by the Edmonton Catholic School System.

Mining

The Town of Beverly was a coal mining town with over twenty mines operating in the area during the town's history. The following major mines were active in the area of Rundle Heights.

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City of Edmonton Wards & Standard Neighbourhoods . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140503100206/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/EdmontonWardNeighbourhoods.pdf . May 3, 2014 .
  2. Web site: Edmonton Developing and Planned Neighbourhoods, 2011 . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130904040707/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/PDF/Developing_and_Planned_Neighbourhoods_2011_-_Final_Report.pdf . September 4, 2013 .
  3. Web site: The Way We Grow: Municipal Development Plan Bylaw 15100 . City of Edmonton . 2010-05-26 . February 13, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150502001321/http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/MDP_Bylaw_15100.pdf . May 2, 2015 .
  4. Web site: City of Edmonton Plans in Effect . City of Edmonton . November 2011 . February 13, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017194152/http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/Plans_in_Effect_Map.pdf . October 17, 2013 .
  5. Web site: City Councillors . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013.
  6. Web site: Neighbourhoods (data plus kml file) . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013.
  7. Book: Aubrey. Merrily K.. Naming Edmonton: From Ada to Zoie. 2004. The University of Alberta Press. Edmonton, Alberta. 0-88864-423-X. 279. First. registration.
  8. Web site: Municipal Census Results – Edmonton 2012 Census . City of Edmonton . February 22, 2013.
  9. Web site: 2009 Municipal Census Results . City of Edmonton . February 22, 2013.
  10. The Humberstone Coal Mine
  11. Web site: Prison Gangs in Canada - Inside Prison. www.insideprison.com. 2016-04-19.