How is Melbourne building more towers than California right now?

[PFloyd]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

This is a very emotional response to a simple and likely true statement about Vancouver. What the hell do mass shootings have to do with Amazon leasing over a million square feet of space in Vancouver? Talk about a smokescreen lol

Well, no. What I'm pointing out is that quoting individual events, like your Amazon example, does not equal to the totality of circumstances that make a place desirable or what makes it grow, just like their argument that China is the sole reason for Australia's place in the world, or for its cities topping the world's charts for livability.
Yeah, keep trying buddy...lol

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by vanman

Vancouver has been building residential highrises en masse since the 60s. Well before the globalization of real estate was even a thing.
Between 1962 and 1975 more than 220 highrises were built in the West End of downtown for example.

But yeah lets keep pretending that the pattern of urban growth in metro Vancouver is a new phenomenon only related to the laundering of dirty foreign money.

LOL, apparently it escaped your attention those were almost all rental units, geared to local income earners.

Having been to Melbourne recently it is readily apparent it suffers from "Vancouverism" in the sense of thousands of units built to cater to offshore investors or foreign students.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by whatnext

LOL, apparently it escaped your attention those were almost all rental units, geared to local income earners.

Lol you do realize how many highrise condo units are investor owned and rented out? Check craigslist if you're unsure.

[Pavlov's Dog]

Great for Melbourne but when the Chinese economy bubble bursts, they stop importing anything Australia can dig out of the ground and exporting students and cash to buy condos, Australia is going to be so screwed. There are going to be a lot of really cheap condos for sale down under. Time to start saving for the inevitable.

[dc_denizen]

moving on

here is a pic of Melbourne (not just pretty shots of downtown).

looks pretty suburban to me, and very "american".

Distant city by Thomas Calderbank, on Flickr

[dc_denizen]

melbourne again...looks pretty "spread out", eh pffloyd?

Suburbs by Sleepy Chan, on Flickr

[dc_denizen]

melbourne again...or is it the san fernando valley, or orange county California?

Melbourne's inner Eastern and Southern suburbs. by Adam Serena, on Flickr

[dc_denizen]

I don't know about you guys but to me, the above pics depicts a city + suburbs that resembles Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, and San Diego (but with a lot more chinese money of course).

but I'm sure its more "livable" according to some bogus ranking put together by aussie-loving brits and anti-american canadians.

cheers

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by PFloyd

By the way, not only "a lot of foreigners" but so many american born locals like to pretend they live in or will have someday access to Malibu, but live really in Flint Michigan or Kansas City, Kansas so to speak with no realistic way out. But what else do you have Hollywood for? or SPP in this case, hahaha.

like people in all other countries, most americans live in or near major metropolitan centers (like DC, LA, SF, Boston, Houston, Dallas, NYC , Miami, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Austin, Kansas City MO, Denver, SLC, San Diego, Richmond, Nashville, Philadelphia, Baltimore; you know those cities?) with varying degrees of economic diversity and wealth. most support extremely high standards of living and are affordable by world standards.

it's some weird leftist fantasy (see: the North one's post, or Michael Moore and Chris arnades oeuvre) that the average non wealthy American lives in Gary Indiana or Cairo IL or East St Louis IL. median income (and percentiles down to the 10th or 20th) are quite high in the US vs other developed countries.

[mhays]

Sure, until you look closely and notice that houses are closer together that in most of the US, for example.

What looks the same from the air isn't necessarily the same.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by mhays

Sure, until you look closely and notice that houses are closer together that in most of the US, for example.

What looks the same from the air isn't necessarily the same.

Yeah you mean like houses in San Diego or Las Vegas then

Melbournes population density is around 4500 per square mile

[liat91]

[QUOTE=tayser;8773569]Anyhoo, recent-ish central city aerials originally posted over on SSC.

Morning



Afternoon/evening



Inner-city (~5-7km from the CBD) clusters - real images, envelope diagrams and renders

DTLA should so look like this.

[tayser]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

like people in all other countries, most americans live in or near major metropolitan centers (like DC, LA, SF, Boston, Houston, Dallas, NYC , Miami, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Austin, Kansas City MO, Denver, SLC, San Diego, Richmond, Nashville, Philadelphia, Baltimore; you know those cities?) with varying degrees of economic diversity and wealth. most support extremely high standards of living and are affordable by world standards.

it's some weird leftist fantasy (see: the North one's post, or Michael Moore and Chris arnades oeuvre) that the average non wealthy American lives in Gary Indiana or Cairo IL or East St Louis IL. median income (and percentiles down to the 10th or 20th) are quite high in the US vs other developed countries.

My my, that is a large chip on your shoulder.

I had a good chuckle when you posted those aerials. Then I remembered you're American and that you've probably never been exposed to the haute-drama* of Neighbours which depicts the average city-living experience for most Australians...in the suburbs.

Note, you are not 'revealing' anything new.

*haute-drama is a pisstake, but Neighbours is quite representative of how most Australians live: in a middle or outer suburb in a state capital metro area.

We have a huge suburban footprint - no-one denies that (sorry, no gotcha for you) - but we also have 3617 townhouse, medium and high-density projects in the pipeline (planning assessment, approved, at sales or under construction).

[Doug]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

It also involves being able to flex your intellectual and creative muscle in ambitious, rewarding jobs surrounded by smart, ambitious and curious people. There aren't really official metrics for this, but the feeling is very palpable when you're there.

You absolutely hit the nail on the head with that description. I have spent 22 years in Canada, 15 in the US, 8 in Australia and 3 in Hong Kong. My most memorable, invigorating and affirming experiences were all in the US due to the people and opportunities. American Exceptionalism is not a myth. People push the limits there like nowhere else.

[Omaharocks]

Yeah, DC_Denizen is pretty far off assuming Melbourne is similar to sunbelt metros because it also has typical suburbia.

In North America, Melbourne's urbanity is most analogous to a Boston or Montreal, maybe San Francisco or Vancouver. Amazing how fast Melbourne is densifying though.

[Maldive]

Given we are only lookin' at pictures, I'd say Mel's mini-Manhattan aerials hint at downtown urbanity big time. And no earthquakes. Good luck L.A.

Think this city will not only say bye bye Sydney, but take a run at alpha.

All from a picture ;-)

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

I don't know about you guys but to me, the above pics depicts a city + suburbs that resembles Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, and San Diego (but with a lot more chinese money of course).

but I'm sure its more "livable" according to some bogus ranking put together by aussie-loving brits and anti-american canadians.

cheers

Its blasphemy here but a very massive percentage of the population absolutely loves suburban living.

[dc_denizen]

LA has vastly more urbanity than Melbourne and a higher population density

[tayser]

You'd sure as shit want to hope so in a ~18 million versus ~5 million context.

[PFloyd]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

LA has vastly more urbanity than Melbourne and a higher population density

So how much areas like this one in downtown LA add to your claimed density?

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0442...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0428...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0443...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0428...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0428...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0432...7i13312!8i6656

I guess camping out on the sidewalks will definitely add to it; although, obviously, I don't know about the quality of that urbanity you claim.