One of the oldest communities in the city, Mission began as a French-speaking Catholic mission in 1875. In 1899 the community was incorporated as the Village of Rouleauville in what was at the time, the Northwest Territories.

As Calgary continues to expand outward, new communities popping up in the south and north end of the city are offering more choices for home buyers who are ready to put down their front door welcome mats.

Silverado is a southwest community whose genesis and inspiration was driven by natural beauty. It borders the world-class equestrian centre of Spruce Meadows, along with wide-open farmers' fields peppered with grazing horses and their manes blowing in the Chinook winds.

Vancouver-based Macdonald Development Corp. is known for its thoughtful community designs, often imbued with a west coast feel.

It's a vibe that resonates with residents – connecting neighbours and instilling a strong sense of community. Watermark at Bearspaw, the developer's latest master-planned community, is no exception.

The 290-acre community is located in Rocky View County at the edge of Calgary's city limits, touching the northwest neighbourhood of Tuscany.

Situated on the edge of the city, surrounded by mountain vistas and 300 acres of environmental reserve lands in Pine Creek Valley, the southeast community of Legacy blends pristine natural beauty and architectural designs.

"Our vision for Legacy is about being so much more than that place where you just live and you drive into your driveway and shut your garage door behind you," said Kalida Goldade, sales and marketing manager for WestCreek Developments, the developer behind Legacy.

"Our goal is for it to be a place where people connect, where they speak to their neighbours and come together as a community."

The summer sun rises eagerly in the early morning sky, casting a glittering cascade of twinkling light on the surface of the Bow River. Joggers and dog walkers scoot along the river pathway, enjoying the public art and the perfection of nature against the city's skyline. The smell of freshly roasted coffee and savoury bready morsels wafts from the Simmon's Building, its glass-sheathed doors flung open in anticipation of the day. Just steps away, store owners set out their wares in the newly launched pop-up retail park, as brightly coloured shipping containers frame the backdrop and the East Village hums to life.

"The East Village is all about connecting people and the new pop-up retail park – East Village Junction – is one of the major place-making initiatives happening this summer," said Jessa Morrison, senior manager of marketing and communications for Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, the developer behind the East Village, a 49-acre revitalization project on the east side of Calgary's downtown.

Nestled on the west side of the city, the upscale community of Aspen Woods has it all – a bevy of amenities, pockets of Aspen groves, picturesque ponds, stunning mountain views and a selection of home designs.

Jeannie Sturdy, interior designer and owner of Sturdy Design Co., lives just steps away from Aspen in Signal Hill. Her son goes to school in Aspen and many of her design clients are either in the process of renovating or building a home in this coveted west-Calgary community.

"I spend a great deal of time in Aspen and there is just so much here – workout studios, awesome grocery shops like Blush Lane and Cobs Bread, and a ton of restaurants," she said. "On a Friday night we just zip up to Mercato West for a great dinner. It's so convenient. We rarely go downtown anymore."

On a cold February day in 1968, a fleet of heavy equipment began stripping the prairie grass from a tract of land in southeast Calgary for a new community.

But any spectators to the activity might have been surprised when the machines started excavating deep into the ground.

It was the unlikely beginnings of Lake Bonavista, a new neighbourhood built by legendary builder and developer E.V. Keith that would become the first manmade lake community in Canada. Calgary now has almost a dozen lake communities, but back in the late 1960s it was a radical idea.

"Crazy," is how Les Cosman recalled the reaction from most people to Keith's plans, formed after he took an airplane flight over some early lake communities in Los Angeles.

It's early morning and the sun has just crested the horizon, casting a trail of sparkling rays across the still water. The shimmering lake ripples as a brook trout breaks the surface momentarily, before plunging back down into the depths. High in the sky, a bald eagle soars, gliding gracefully, while 100-foot-tall fir trees sway in the soft summer breeze. In the distance, a kayak quietly slices through the water like a hot knife through butter.

It's a typical day at Lake Sundance.

"I love it here," said longtime Sundance resident Anne Radic. "I wouldn't live anywhere else."

She's lived in the community for almost 40 years and watched it evolve from raw land into a mature and established neighbourhood with stately homes, excellent schools and mature trees that create a pretty canopy along the quiet streets. "We moved here in 1986 and basically bought a plot of earth," she said, laughing.

A quiet and peaceful community nestled into the bend of the rushing Bow River, Deer Run in southeast Calgary offers something for everyone. The community cradles Fish Creek Provincial Park, with many of its homes backing onto verdant, tree-lined park spaces.

"We absolutely love it here," said longtime resident Brenna Rutt.

She and her husband built a bi-level home in the area in 1987, at a time when the community would have been labelled "new" and was in its final stages of development.