User:Hwy43/Sandbox/Special areas of Alberta

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A special area is a municipal status used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. It is a type of rural municipality created in 1938 under the authority of the Special Areas Act[1][2] as a result of hardship brought upon a particular area in southeastern Alberta during the drought of the 1930s.[2] A special area is not to be confused with a specialized municipality, which is a completely different municipal status.

Special areas may be constituted by Alberta's Lieutenant Governor in Council by an order that is published in The Alberta Gazette. They are administered under the provisions of the Special Areas Act.[1]

Alberta has three special areas with a cumulative population of 4,729 and an average population of 1,576.[3] Alberta's largest and smallest special areas are Special Area No. 2 and Special Area No. 3 with populations of 2,331 and 1,469 respectively.[3]


History[edit]

The Special Areas Act of 1938[4] created the six special areas of Tilley East, Berry Creek, Sullivan Lake, Sounding Creek, Neutral Hills, and Bow West, which had previously been special municipal areas. In 1939, these six special areas were consolidated into the four special areas listed below.[5] The numbers have been included with the names since 1943.[6] The original six special areas included 3.2 million hectares, while the current three only include 2.1 million hectares.

  • Tilley East Special Area, No. 1: The northern part of this special area was withdrawn and added to Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area in 1941, and now forms the portion of Special Area No. 2 that is south of the Red Deer River.[7] Tilley East was still a special area in 1955,[8] but was not by 1959.[9] This area is now part of Cypress County, formerly the Municipal District of Cypress No. 1.
  • Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area, No. 2: The eastern portion of this special area was withdrawn and added to the Sounding Creek-Neutral Hills Special Area in 1939.[10] The northern part of Tilley East Special Area was added to this special area in 1941. It was renamed Special Area No. 2 in 1959.[9]
  • Sounding Creek-Neutral Hills Special Area, No. 3: The eastern portion of the Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area was added to this special area in 1939. It was renamed Special Area No. 3 in 1959.[9] In 1969, the northern portion of Special Area No. 3 became Special Area No. 4.[11]
  • Bow West Special Area, No. 4: This area was still a special area in 1955,[8] but was not by 1959.[9] It is now part of Vulcan County and the Municipal District of Taber.

Special Areas Board[edit]

The Special Areas Board is the governing body of Alberta's three special areas. Although the three special areas are similar to municipal districts, their elected advisory councils are overseen by three representatives appointed by the province, under the direct authority of Alberta Municipal Affairs.[2][12]

List of special areas[edit]

Alberta's three special areas, all of which are located within Census Division 4, had a combined population totalling 4,729 in 2006.[3]

Special areas of Alberta
Official name Population Dwellings Area Density
(2006) (2001)
Special Area No. 2 2,074[13] 2,331[14] 775 9,342.59 km2 (3,607.19 sq mi) 0.2/km2 (0.6/sq mi)
Special Area No. 3 1,266[15] 1,469[16] 481 6,623.96 km2 (2,557.53 sq mi) 0.2/km2 (0.5/sq mi)
Special Area No. 4 1,389[17] 1,514[18] 493 4,403.23 km2 (1,700.10 sq mi) 0.3/km2 (0.8/sq mi)


References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Special Areas Act". Alberta Queen's Printer. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  2. ^ a b c "Types of Municipalities". Alberta Municipal Affairs. Retrieved 2011-05-09. Cite error: The named reference "muntypes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c "2010 Official Population List" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2011-05-09. Cite error: The named reference "2010pop" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ The Special Areas Act, 1938. Statutes of the Province of Alberta passed in the fourth session of the eighth legislative assembly. p. 439.
  5. ^ The Special Areas Act, 1939. Statutes of the Province of Alberta passed in the seventh session of the eighth legislative assembly. p. 179.
  6. ^ Andison, R. A. (December 15, 1943). "Alteration in the boundaries of certain special areas" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Andison, R. A. (July 15, 1941). "Certain provincial lands withdrawn from the Tilley East Special Area and added to the Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  8. ^ a b The revised statutes of Alberta, 1955. Volume IV. Chapter 317. An Act respecting Special Areas. p. 467.
  9. ^ a b c d Andison, R. A. (April 7, 1959). "An act to amend the Special Areas Act" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  10. ^ Andison, R. A. (April 29, 1939). "The areas of the Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area and the Sounding Creek-Neutral Hills Special Area, amended" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  11. ^ Strom, H. E. (December 31, 1968). "Lands constituted as Special Area No. 4" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  12. ^ "About The Special Areas". Special Areas Board. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  13. ^ "Special Area No. 2 - Community Profile". Statistics Canada. Census 2006. Retrieved 2010-07-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  14. ^ Special Area 2 - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: November 30, 2005. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE.
  15. ^ "Special Area No. 3 - Community Profile". Statistics Canada. Census 2006. Retrieved 2010-07-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  16. ^ Special Area 3 - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: November 30, 2005. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE.
  17. ^ "Special Area No. 4 - Community Profile". Statistics Canada. Census 2006. Retrieved 2010-07-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  18. ^ Special Area 4 - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: November 30, 2005. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE.

External links[edit]


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