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  #21  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 12:24 AM
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MonkeyRonin MonkeyRonin is offline
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Originally Posted by Obadno View Post
What Halo is this from?

It's a proposed development in Toronto: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2019/10...ies-plant-site

Looks nice, but again doesn't really allow for any incremental changes or alterations over time. Whatever gets built is what we're stuck with 'til it's torn down.
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  #22  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 12:27 AM
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Originally Posted by pdxtex View Post
All I have to say is fffffffffking traffic..it took me and hour and 20 minutes to make it to the Portland airport last night. So yes, dense, walkable and transit friendly is a must. I think our culture needs some reprogramming tho. Too many single commuters clogging up the road. Somehow the urban model must change I think. Suburbs need to become satellite cbds.
Unfortunately a dense environment won't decrease traffic counts. They'll actually increase.

Isn't that right, Seattle?
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  #23  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 3:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Sun Belt View Post
Unfortunately a dense environment won't decrease traffic counts. They'll actually increase.

Isn't that right, Seattle?
I know. We just need more butts in seats to lessen single drivers. Everybody should carpool but alas that will never happen. Portland is also the transit planning test kitchen with a hard-on for unnecessary road diets which makes for alot new bottlenecks...
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  #24  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 5:38 AM
S Car Go S Car Go is offline
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Originally Posted by Obadno View Post
Took many years of such nonsense in college, and the one thing that struck me was how many decades of Urban Planning were actually full of Utopian megalomaniacs with terrible ideas.
This might seem controversial, but honestly most people with big ideas about how to "make the world better" usually shouldn't be trusted. Political ideologues being chief among them.

Urban planners should be working, as you said, to create a the system that incentivizes the human scale of development and the smooth transfer and intercourse of people to and from those places. Beyond that, no need for activism.
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  #25  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 9:36 AM
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Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin View Post
Call me crazy, but I think that this looks pretty cool.

Anyhow, I'll see myself out...
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  #26  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 4:30 PM
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its kinda cool for a video game, i cant see it working well unless a lot of money is wasted on it to have a huge ammount of dirt on top of buildings so big trees can grow.
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  #27  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 4:51 PM
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I think that great cities are diverse. Not just in terms of population either – some of the coolest cities that I have seen are diverse in terms of architecture, landscaping, business, all of it. That way, people have a lot of opportunities to see things and, even if you don’t travel a lot, you’ve got a ton of culture and uniqueness right in your backyard.
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  #28  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2019, 9:36 PM
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Originally Posted by niwell View Post
While I was kind of annoyed at the time, I'm now glad that my urban planning degree focused more on critical theory / history than it did on application of zoning policies and the like. It made it harder to get that initial job, but you can learn the technical details in the field (which vary by jurisdiction anyways). In the long run it's more important to understand the context in why certain decisions were made and the effects they had that have led us to our current state.
As a recent planning grad, this is good to hear. I hate being asked about what I learned at school and having not a whole lot of tangible stuff to say.

To answer the question, I'll echo what's been said already: a positive urban experience comes from positive interactions with people. So how do you plan for that?

You encourage people to be out more. You do that by making it easier to walk places, with tighter street grids, narrow storefronts, and quality urban design. You allow for higher density housing, which brings more people overall to fill in the shops, streets, and parks in the neighbourhood. These parks are essential - a place for people to be outside, socialize, and maybe exercise, without it being tied to consumption.

Transit has to be an integral component of this. Even if the immediate neighbourhood is walkable, if you have to drive to work, the grocery store, or your friend's house, you're more likely to drive more in general, and therefore demand more auto-oriented design in your neighbourhood. Transit is an expansion of pedestrian activity - make it better! It also helps with the urban design aspect of not having fields of parking and highways everywhere.

Finally, I really agree with what's been said here about freedom. I think both because of planning's utopianism as designing a city from scratch, as well as because of planners' more common left-leaning politics, it can be hard to give up power and influence to private investors. But they need it! The market has a role to play in giving people what they want, and that responsibility needs to be supported. It's crazy that the charming 33ft wide convenience stores in the middle of residential neighbourhoods have been zoned out of existence. With a little more freedom to bring individuals' ideas into the public sphere, the city becomes a more interesting place. Even if the classic planning model of housing, jobs, and entertainment separated and easy car transport between them worked perfectly, it's not terribly inviting or fun. Look at where tourists go - it's the messy eclectic spots, and they happen organically. Let's allow for more of that!
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