Quote:
Originally Posted by arhavel
I mean that developments like this are essentially open gated-communities. You can only live there/experience there if you can afford it, as it is going to be a very pricey place. It promotes this luxurious, rich, and extravagant kind of image, and I don't think it will translate to a mixed-income development. In my opinion, stuff like this says "you can have all the benefits of an urban lifestyle (albeit very sterile versions), but you should have it in the 'safe' north side, because downtown is unstable, dangerous."
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... and thats where the connectivity comes in. If it were connected to mass transit and accessible to others, they could experience the development, even if it only means window shopping and wishful thinking.
There is very rarely a single neighborhood that caters to the full spectrum of incomes, but the key is connectivity to other neighborhoods and walkability to/from the areas surrounding the neighborhood, which are usually more affordable than the areas located directly around mass transit or the core location.
While it is imperfect, I think that we should be applauding the fact that it does contain some elements of urbanism. If your are against suburban-style building in urban areas, you shouldn't be against builidng urban style developments in suburban areas. Isn't that the whole point? Urbanism isn't something that should be contained to downtown or city center core areas. Higher density building, walkability/connectivity and a mix of uses (an not allowing one time use only buildings to be built) are all things that should be taken into account in almost all projects anywhere in the city.
The price you pay for living anywhere usually has something more to do with location and convenience. For example: the price of real estate in downtown will usually net the highest rates in the city because it will (at some point) contain everything... a mix of uses, not a mix of incomes. People like to live around others that are just like them...that's just a fact, we can't change that. If you can't afford to live in center city, the 22 acres of the Pearl Brewery or the Eilan, look outwards (from the develompent) and start walking until you qualify or can afford a spot. Most cities work that way. Ours doesn't yet (which is why I don't get your argument,) but at some point it will. Right now, a homeless guy sleeps on the most expensive piece of real estate in the city, and 90% of that piece of land is a parking lot.