Call it the Ice Cream Factor. The ice cream shop proves to be a key ingredient of city building, according to a recent tour organized by BILD Edmonton Metro.
Ice Cream as a Measure of Community Health
'Ice cream has become a surprisingly effective measure of neighbourhood vitality,' says Kalen Anderson, CEO of BILD Edmonton Metro. She explains that successful ice cream shops often reflect the presence of complete communities around them.
This concept is Edmonton's take on the Popsicle Index, which measures community well-being by determining whether children can safely walk to a local store to buy a popsicle and return home. Instead of counting popsicle shops, Edmonton focuses on ice cream parlours like Kind Ice Cream, Made by Marcus, Twice Cream, and White Rabbit.
The City Scoop Tour
BILD Edmonton Metro resurrected its City Scoop Tour, showing how ice cream treats play a key role in city building. The tour, held in conjunction with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2026 conference, attracted 60 elected officials from across Canada.
Delegates scooted or rode e-bikes in Westmount and Wîhkwêntôwin (formerly Oliver), sampling ice cream from Twice Cream's Birthday Cake to White Rabbit's London Fog. They learned what makes Edmonton neighbourhoods memorable, resilient, and welcoming.
'It's really exciting to see a Prairie city doing these progressive, forward-thinking decisions that centre around livability and walkability,' said Emma Durand-Wood, a Winnipeg city councillor. 'It has all the ingredients that I love, which is walkability, where we put housing, and ice cream, of course.'
Ice Cream Consumption and Urban Planning
Canadians rank sixth in world ice cream consumption, averaging 10.6 litres per person. New Zealand tops the list at 28.4 litres per person. The tour highlighted how ice cream shops thrive in neighbourhoods with strong public realms, residential density, and streets that invite people to slow down and connect.
Anderson notes that ice cream shops 'emerge in places with a strong public realm, enough residential density to support local businesses, and streets that invite people to slow down and spend time together.'
Lessons for City Building
The tour provided insights into Edmonton's progressive urban planning, focusing on livability and walkability. Delegates saw how Westmount, an older neighbourhood, has bounced back, and how areas around 124th Street and Wîhkwêntôwin are densifying in a growing city.
Despite a dose of wind and rain, there was no rocky road for delegates, who gained a scoop of opportunity to understand how ice cream shops can be a key ingredient in creating complete communities.
