Great Canadian Suburban Skyline Thread!

[TorontoDrew]

That's why I was saying picture it in 50 years, if Vancouver sticks with it's vertical trend it's going to look insane a half century from now. Hoping that the Cascadian Quake doesn't change all of that.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

That's why I was saying picture it in 50 years, if Vancouver sticks with it's vertical trend it's going to look insane a half century from now. Hoping that the Cascadian Quake doesn't change all of that.

For sure. The new development plan for Broadway alone will be transformative.

[giallo]

Here's an aerial video of the New West skyline that I shot while taking the photos yesterday.

• Video Link

[TorontoDrew]

I've never checked out that part of Vancouver before. I think my next visit I'll go see it. On streetsview it's got kind of an east coast vibe I'm liking.

[Denscity]

And just think Montreal has an insane head start on Vancouver being centuries older.
Imagine Vancouver at Montreals age today!!
It already has more towers than Montreal now.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I've never checked out that part of Vancouver before. I think my next visit I'll go see it. On streetsview it's got kind of an east coast vibe I'm liking.

New Westminster is arguably the most “urban” suburb in Canada, largely because it didn’t start out as a suburb and was once the focal point of the metro Vancouver area before “metro Vancouver” existed.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

New Westminster is arguably the most “urban” suburb in Canada, largely because it didn’t start out as a suburb and was once the focal point of the metro Vancouver area before “metro Vancouver” existed.

Before Vancouver existed!

[logan5]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wouldn't go as far as saying "on par with Toronto" in any way, though maybe Vans suburbs on on par with Toronto's.

But yes, I agree that the Downtown Peninsula and suburban clusters make it look larger than Montreal in some respects however, the Montreal building boom over the last decade has helped in catch-up, and maybe surpass, Vancouver (Downtown v. Downtown), excluding the suburbs).

The beauty of Montreal is how bonkers dense it is throughout it's territory (City proper) with thousands of walkups, while Vancouver's density is focused on the Peninsula and a few suburban tower clusters, while the rest is mostly sfh.

That said, Vancouver and Montreal are my favourite cities in Canada. If ever I moved out of Ottawa, they would be my top choices, followed maybe by Victoria.

The Broadway Corridor neighbourhoods of Kitsilano, Fairview, and Mt. Pleasant have a combined total population of 120 000 people (2021 census) over an area of 4.8 sq miles. It is mostly walk-up apartments. With the Broadway Plan coming into effect, that population figure is going to rise dramatically even in the next 10 years. The population density of the Broadway Corridor will quickly surpass that of Le Plateau, except over a much larger area than Le PLateau - 3.1 sq miles vs 4.8 sq miles.

Just across the water from downtown is Lonsdale with a population of 38 000 people in a 1.5 sq mile area. An area that doesn't get mentioned a whole lot here, but is very much comparable to the Beltline in Calgary (that does get mentioned a lot).

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Denscity

And just think Montreal has an insane head start on Vancouver being centuries older.
Imagine Vancouver at Montreals age today!!
It already has more towers than Montreal now.

Indeed. It's actually impressive to think Montreal was building towers as far back as 300 years ago and at a time Vancouver was nothing more than a forest. Vancouver still has more high rises now!

[Denscity]

Exact math is a 243 year headstart for Montreal over Vancouver with city building.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by logan5

The Broadway Corridor neighbourhoods of Kitsilano, Fairview, and Mt. Pleasant have a combined total population of 120 000 people (2021 census) over an area of 4.8 sq miles. It is mostly walk-up apartments. With the Broadway Plan coming into effect, that population figure is going to rise dramatically even in the next 10 years. The population density of the Broadway Corridor will quickly surpass that of Le Plateau, except over a much larger area than Le PLateau - 3.1 sq miles vs 4.8 sq miles.

Comparing potential future population density in a gerrymandered section of one city vs. current density in a neighbourhood of another is reaching a new level of SSP boosterism.


You are definitely correct though in that there's more to Vancouver's urbanity than just the downtown peninsula + suburban tower clusters. The Broadway corridor + Strathcona + Grandview-Woodland comprise a fairly substantial, dense inner city - which including Downtown & West End are home to approximately 260,000 people in an area of 22.5 sqkm. There are also some non-contiguous urban "islands" like Lonsdale and New West; but outside of these, things drop off quickly and mostly get quite suburban in form (I'd maybe also include Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, and Riley Park in my "inner city").

Montreal doesn't have the peak densities of Vancouver (due to fewer towers), but its dense, urban inner city is still significantly larger in extents and is home to the majority of the city's 1.8 million residents (and like Vancouver's, is also growing). Which should be readily apparent to anyone who's remotely familiar with both cities and isn't a homer.

[Nite]

Etobicoke City Centre (2021)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isling...ty_Centre_West

[logan5]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Comparing potential future population density in a gerrymandered section of one city vs. current density in a neighbourhood of another is reaching a new level of SSP boosterism.


You are definitely correct though in that there's more to Vancouver's urbanity than just the downtown peninsula + suburban tower clusters. The Broadway corridor + Strathcona + Grandview-Woodland comprise a fairly substantial, dense inner city - which including Downtown & West End are home to approximately 260,000 people in an area of 22.5 sqkm. There are also some non-contiguous urban "islands" like Lonsdale and New West; but outside of these, things drop off quickly and mostly get quite suburban in form (I'd maybe also include Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, and Riley Park in my "inner city").

Montreal doesn't have the peak densities of Vancouver (due to fewer towers), but its dense, urban inner city is still significantly larger in extents and is home to the majority of the city's 1.8 million residents (and like Vancouver's, is also growing). Which should be readily apparent to anyone who's remotely familiar with both cities and isn't a homer.

Eh. Somebody brought up the Vancouver Montreal comparison before me.

Anyways, where does urban end and suburban begin? Most of the East side of Vancouver, outside of the denser neighbourhoods like Kits and Mt. Pleasant, is 18 000 to 20 000 people per sq mile. Not sure if I would consider that suburban. That's enough to support a pretty lively high street in neighbourhoods like Riley Park, and Burnaby Heights. Victoria Drive is pretty busy, as well as South Fraser Street. And there's Kerrisdale as well. I really don't consider the CoV and parts of Burnaby as suburban.

[giallo]

Brentwood panorama

[SpongeG]

Brentwood still has so much to come, but it feels abrupt around the edges.

[Martin Mtl]

Wrong thread

[Zeej]

Originally Posted by Denscity

And just think Montreal has an insane head start on Vancouver being centuries older.
Imagine Vancouver at Montreals age today!!
It already has more towers than Montreal now.

Does anyone outside of this forum really care about number of towers, especially when most of them are unremarkable copy/paste quintuplets? Arguably worsening the urban fabric.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Zeej

Does anyone outside of this forum really care about number of towers, especially when most of them are unremarkable copy/paste quintuplets? Arguably worsening the urban fabric.

Towers usually equal high density, which has its advantages.

The tower podium area around Yaletown is decent. The townhouses lining the streets give off some character.

[Zeej]

Originally Posted by logan5

Towers usually equal high density, which has its advantages.

The tower podium area around Yaletown is decent. The townhouses lining the streets give off some character.

I quite like Yaletown and Downtown Vancouver in general. For a young city, the attention to detail, particularly with the podium-townhouses is good.

Density in the North American context is usually good, but there are certainly more ways of achieving density and harmony in the urban fabric than towers... everywhere. Except where single family zoning otherwise prevails.

The boosterism of City A has more towers than City B is... weird at best.

[LightingGuy]

Burlington, ON - from this realtor.ca ad
https://realtor.ca/real-estate/25473...alsharelisting