Is it possible to retrofit ANY suburban area for urbanity, or are some impossible?

[SpongeG]

Some recent pics of redevelopment going on as it densifies

Two houses have been demolished and will be replaced by a 17 storey rental building.
2019-02-22_06-15-46 by snub_you, on Flickr

this was a condo lowrise and is prepping for demolition now and will be replaced by 25 storey condo and rental building
2019-02-22_06-14-33 by snub_you, on Flickr

its replacement


an old apartment complex with a few low rises was demolished to be replaced by a new highrise development
2019-02-22_06-03-30 by snub_you, on Flickr

A number of houses will be replaced by a townhouse development
2019-02-22_04-27-46 by snub_you, on Flickr

Another street and more houses to be replaced by a new development
2019-02-22_04-29-06 by snub_you, on Flickr

this is going to become an 8 storey apartment condo building with 176 units
2019-02-22_04-25-07 by snub_you, on Flickr

this will be a 6 storey apartment condo building
2019-02-22_04-25-20 by snub_you, on Flickr

This was where two smaller strip malls were, one was two storeys and had a corner store and some offices, the other was one storey and had a corner store and some restaurants
2019-02-22_04-29-26 by snub_you, on Flickr

this is what will be going in - 39 storey Meridian


Next door to this will be Highpoint. It will replace a two storey retail and office strip mall building. Highpoint will be 51 Storeys. Mix of rentals and condo units.


misleading sales pic

[SpongeG]

One more this little strip mall with a few fast places and the apartment behind/next to it have been approved to be 3 highrises, its is less than a 5 minute walk to the skytrain system



replacement

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I completely believe that it is possible for a suburban area to achieve urbanity following its construction. Caveat... I believe those suburbs must have been built prior to the 70s or 60s.

Personally, I'm my home of Birmingham, we have the city of Homewood. A white-flight community "over-the-mountain" that has a true urban center and is continuing to densify as time progresses. Not only are single family homes quite close together, but in Homewood's city-center there are plenty of multi-family homes.

ALL of this occurred after de-segregation... white folks fled Jones Valley (the valley in which most of Birmingham exists) south... to the other side of Red Mountain. Homewood has developed, probably, as the most centralized/densely population city in metro Birmingham. And BTW, that city has great schools, it's beautiful, and the average American can't afford a home there

[memph]

Originally Posted by SpawnOfVulcan

I completely believe that it is possible for a suburban area to achieve urbanity following its construction. Caveat... I believe those suburbs must have been built prior to the 70s or 60s.

Personally, I'm my home of Birmingham, we have the city of Homewood. A white-flight community "over-the-mountain" that has a true urban center and is continuing to densify as time progresses. Not only are single family homes quite close together, but in Homewood's city-center there are plenty of multi-family homes.

ALL of this occurred after de-segregation... white folks fled Jones Valley (the valley in which most of Birmingham exists) south... to the other side of Red Mountain. Homewood has developed, probably, as the most centralized/densely population city in metro Birmingham. And BTW, that city has great schools, it's beautiful, and the average American can't afford a home there

I don't think it's absolutely necessary for them to have been built that early. Mississauga Centre was built in the 70s-90s and has been urbanizing for the past two decades. It's a bit of an awkward transition, but I think it'll get there. There's already decent levels of pedestrian activity around the more developed city blocks, it's not bustling, but not dead either. Eventually the vacant lots and parking lots will get developed, and if the community resistance can ever be overcome, I think the adjacent 80s-90s subdivisions could be redeveloped successfully too.

[CaliNative]

Manhattan north of 20th St. used to be cow pastures and farmland, so anything is possible. The abandoned "Highline" used to be a wasteland. Now look at it. Most of the Bronx & Brooklyn were places to be avoided. Now they are getting hot. Will Detroit & Buffalo & St. Louis & Newark ever be desirable boom towns again? Entirely possible.

[Doady]

Suburbs are full of cheap buildings with huge parking lots than can be redeveloped. In front of strip malls, around malls and office buildings. The key is to build higher density, invest in transit, build bike lanes, get people out their cars, reduce the demand for that parking space so that they can be replaced with something better. Adding parallel parking spaces along arterial roads can take further pressure off of those parking lots.

Suburban and urban are not discrete categories. There are different degrees of suburban or urban. Suburbanization is a gradual process and so is urbanization. Better to see it as series of steps. Not how can you make a suburb become an urban place, but how can you make a suburb become a more urban place.

[SpongeG]

yes.

This is a new redevelopment of Coquitlam Centre mall. The mall is planning phase 1 right now and will redevelop this mall over 4 phases. They want to have a mix of residential, parks, office etc. It could take 20 years to complete.

Now


The future plan

[Obadno]

Worst case you tear everything up and start over.

So short answer is no, nothing is impossible it retrofit.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by JManc

Yes. I see this all over Houston; older ranch style homes snapped up and replaced by 2-3 townhomes on the same plot of land. It's taken 15-20 years and will probably go on for another 15-20 years and then move on to other areas that are becoming ripe for (re)development)

As much development/redevelopment that is going on in Houston I see nothing resembling a traditional walkable-urban environment. . . I don't think that this trend you're referring to will make any difference. . .

. . .

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Manhattan north of 20th St. used to be cow pastures and farmland, so anything is possible.

All of Manhattan used to be forest.

But that was long before zoning, accommodations laws and cars. Can't do it anymore.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

As much development/redevelopment that is going on in Houston I see nothing resembling a traditional walkable-urban environment. . . I don't think that this trend you're referring to will make any difference. . .

. . .

Certainly not. It's denser than before but still not conducive to creating/ facilitating walkability. People will still get into their cars and drive...