Strathcona

The County of Strathcona is a town within the Province of Alberta, Canada. Even if referred to as a "County," Strathcona is classified by the Government of Alberta as a specialized city.

The municipality of Strathcona County is considered part of the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area. A lot the population resides in the community of Sherwood Park, which is situated just east of Edmonton. The Sherwood Park Urban Service Area is known as the equivalent to a city by the Government of Alberta. The rest of Strathcona is a Rural Service Area and is treated as a municipal region.

The creation of Strathcona County as a specialized town dates back to 1996 when there was a need to address the mixed rural/urban requirements of the region located between Edmonton City and Elk Island National Park. The region comprises a large urban centre and a significant rural territory. The rural area consists of eight hamlets: Ardossan, Antler Lake, Collingwood Cove, Half Moon Lake, Josephburg, Hastings Lake, South Cooking Lake and North Cooking Lake.

The area of Strathcona was once part of the North West Territories. Some school divisions by 1962, formed into a county known as Municipal District 83. County status was revoked in 1995 when the provincial legislature repealed the County Act, but status was quickly given back the following year when the county officially changed its name to the County of Strathcona and received Specialized Municipality status.

To be able to complement the community of Sherwood Park, the County of Strathcona would like to create a new urban settlement on County agricultural land. This new proposal estimates that a population of 200,000 could be supported. The proposed development would be pedestrian friendly and dense, but it would considerably impact land of high agricultural worth, and has been criticized as an example of urban sprawl.