We've all heard that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Calgary, which continues to undergo an urban renaissance. Over the next five days, CREB®Now will present a series where it has sat down with five influencers who have helped develop the city as we know it today.

CMLC boss follows his heart

Through several significant career changes, Michael Brown has always taken to heart his mother's advice growing up: "I don't care what you do; just make a difference."

As president and CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corp. (CMLC) since 2011, Brown is doing just that as he leads the rejuvenation of the massive 20-hectare, mixed-use, inner city community of East Village, one of the largest urban re-developments in North America.

So how did this political science university graduate, who jumped into economic development and then helped build one of Calgary's iconic corporate headquarters, get involved in urban renewal?

We've all heard that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Calgary, which continues to undergo an urban renaissance. Over the next five days, CREB®Now will present a series where it has sat down with five influencers who have helped develop the city as we know it today

The man with the plan

In Grade 12, a university professor spoke to Jeff Fielding's class about cities and how they are planned.

"I had no idea what I wanted to be at the time," said the man appointed city manager just over a year ago to lead Calgary's 15,000 municipal employees.

"He (the university professor) was so passionate about what he was doing and what the future held for cities that I thought, 'wow, I have to get into that.'"

We've all heard that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Calgary, which continues to undergo an urban renaissance. Over the next five days, CREB®Now will present a series where it has sat down with five influencers who have helped develop the city as we know it today.

The path less travelled

It may seem strange that a woman originally destined for medical studies is instead helping build what will ultimately be the largest pathway and urban parks system in the world.

But Calgary's giant $60-million Rotary/Mattamy Greenway — to encircle the entire city when completed — is a symbol of the less-travelled path Myrna Dubé herself has chosen in more than four decades of service to her adopted city.

The working life of the Montreal-born CEO of Parks Foundation Calgary (PFC) has run from instructor in a genetics lab and office work, to corporate and community relations as well as business and land development.

We've all heard that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Calgary, which continues to undergo an urban renaissance. Over the next five days, CREB®Now will present a series where it has sat down with five influencers who have helped develop the city as we know it today.

'Sink or swim' for housing titan

At the age of 17, Jay Westman was thrown by dad, Al, into the housing industry's version of 'sink or swim.'

The self-described "average" student had no "big idea" about what he wanted to do after high school: "I think my parents would have liked me to be a lawyer or a doctor but school was not my strong suit," said the chairman and CEO of Calgary-based Jayman Built, one of the largest homebuilders in Alberta.

So Al Westman — through his own housing company — plunged Jay into project management, and life in a motorhome on a multi-family site in Lethbridge.

"I learned a lot of life lessons. I made a lot of mistakes and cost my dad some money. But I paid him back later," he said.

CREB®Now sits down with Canadian Real Estate Association president

Pauline Aunger is no stranger to Canada's real estate market. As president of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), she has a unique behind-the-curtains perspective of the industry – from its performance to advocacy efforts.

CREB®Now recently sat down with Aunger, who was in Calgary recently as part of CREA's cross-country open house series with local real estate boards. Here's what she had to say about everything from insurance premiums to how Calgary factors into her bucket list.

Airdrie continues to step out from the shadow of its neighbours

Airdrie has come a long way from its roots along the tracks of the Calgary Edmonton Railway.

Located almost literally in the shadow of Calgary, Airdrie's rise from sleepy railway stop to full-fledged city is reflected in the number of people who choose to call the community home.

Rising from just over 12,000 residents in 1991 to 58,690 in the recently released 2015 census, Airdrie is now Alberta's seventh largest city, ranking ahead of such centres as Leduc and Grande Prairie.

Airdrie's population grew by 3,799 or 10.4 new residents per day, versus 5,331 total or 15 new residents per day last year – a growth rate of 6.92 per cent growth rate, compared to 10.76 per cent last year.

As Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s market analyst for Calgary, Richard Cho is tasked with keeping tabs on the housing market in one of Canada's most dynamic cities.

CREB®Now caught up with Cho to talk about the economy, what's in store for Calgary's real estate sector and why he enjoys calling the city home.

CREB®Now: ?How are current energy prices affecting the city of Calgary?

CHO: A large part of Calgary's economy is tied to the performance of the energy industry. The decline in oil prices has posed some challenges for many oil companies, resulting in reductions to capital expenditures, hiring freezes, and layoffs. This has also impacted many other industries, from large companies to small business owners, that either directly or indirectly benefit from the energy sector. While there are still areas of Calgary's economy that are holding steady and creating jobs, overall economic activity is expected to slow down this year.

In a city renowned for its freeways and sprawling suburbs, more residents are choosing to live closer to its centre — and even forgoing hopping behind the wheel altogether

Who needs to own a car? Not Jennifer Lee.

The 21-year-old moved to Calgary two years ago to study and work in the city's burgeoning IT sector. And like a growing number of millennials, she doesn't own a car and has no plans to own one soon.

While that may not sound altogether revolutionary, Lee represents a wave of change in a city renowned for its multi-lane freeways, suburban sprawl and increasingly congested roadways.

Don't forget to breathe ... and water

It's summer and fields of waving wheat make you smile as you bike down the Cowboy Trail south of Cochrane. You love this image so much you seriously consider selling your condo in the city and buying a farm.

As you arrive home later in the day reality hits. Your plants have wilted in their hot, black pots on the patio. Superbells lay limp and are probably dead. Petunias wilt. Snapdragons droop. Maybe you can't buy the farm until someone starts watering for you in town.

Developing urban ecosystems in our own yards

When thinking about preserving complex ecosystems, many people think of our provincial parks and large-scale grasslands. However, with the total urban land in Canada doubling in the last 40 years, it's impossible to ignore the native species that fill the patchwork of green spaces that are our yards.

Birds, in particular, are not only losing their natural habitats faster than you can say "tweet," but are also being eliminated in massive amounts by their number one predator — house cats.

"As far as habitat in Calgary for many of our local bird species, it just doesn't exist anymore or it's really degraded," said Barbara Kowalzik, a program advisor with The City of Calgary Parks Department at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre.

"A good example is our wetlands. Over 98 per cent of our wetlands have been lost or degraded so that habitat just doesn't exist. Whatever the citizens of Calgary can do in their own yards to promote that local habitat, will really help."