Menisa is one of the 27 neighbourhoods that make up Mill Woods and is a part of the three-neighbourhood community of Knottwood. The Mill Woods land bank was assembled in 1970 by the Government of Alberta because of concern over the rising cost of serviced residential land in the Edmonton area. Mill Woods was named for Mill Creek, which crossed it, and the groves of Parkland forest trees that stood there.

By 1971, a development plan had been prepared by the City of Edmonton. The City began to purchase the land, subdivide it, and sell residential and commercial building lots. Residential development in Menisa began in 1976 and was nearly complete by the end of the decade.

Housing is approximately 83 percent single-detached homes and 14 percent row houses. Higher-density housing and commercial sites are located along collector roadways.

The neighbourhood is bounded by arterial and collector roadways, including the Anthony Henday ring road. Another collector road and bus route, Knottwood Road South, bisects Menisa. Interior streets follow curvilinear and cul-de-sac patterns. A number of strategically placed pathways promote pedestrian and bicycle travel within the neighbourhood. The design objective was to provide for an efficient flow of traffic to and from the neighbourhood while minimizing the disruptive and hazardous effects of traffic.

Menisa is centred on a multi-purpose school and recreational site. Residents are served by businesses in the Menisa Shopping Centre, as well as health services, commercial, recreational, and educational facilities of the nearby Mill Woods Town Centre.

In the Cree language, Menisa means “berries,” which were abundant in the Parkland vegetation that grew in the Mill Woods area.