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Originally Posted by ue
And Ottawa is different how, exactly? Sprawl just skipped over the greenbelt and continues on unabated like in Calgary. Downtown Ottawa can be pretty quiet into the evening as focus shifts towards Lowertown, not unlike how the focus shifts to the Beltline or Kensington in Calgary.
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Ottawa has its share of sprawl, no question. I was just trying to say that Calgary is at least as bad, and probably worse by most standards. And neither of the areas that you mention in Calgary has the concentration of activity that the Market has. The Market really is an area that is unique amongst Canadian cities.
Calgary is a fine city, but contrary to some of the comments on this thread, I don't think it has much on Ottawa.
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Edmonton also has a bit of a tech scene, though I won't argue it's anything like Kitchener-Waterloo or even Ottawa.
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While K-W gets the hype, Ottawa has a much bigger tech scene in terms of employment.
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It's not the business aspect of it. Re-read my post on this. By that logic, Manhattan should be deader than a doornail.
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Manhattan is more than a business district. And the downtown business district, while coming on, actually is quite dead in comparison to the rest of the island.
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Festivals...you do realize Edmonton is recognized as a 'festival city' and that Calgary has been catching up to Edmonton in that regard a lot over the past decade.
For your Ottawa festivals, I raise you Fringe (2nd largest in the world), Heritage Fest, Folk Fest, Canadian Finals Rodeo, Deep Freeze, Whyte Ave Art Walk, the Works Art & Design Festival, the Dragon Boat Races, Cariwest, and dozens more.
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No doubt the Alberta cities are coming on, but Ottawa can pretty much match your entire list - Wellington Art Walks, Fringe Festival, largest Dragon Boat festival in Canada, Folkfest, Westfest etc. However, I will grant you rodeo.
As I mentioned, I had no intention of slagging Calgary. My intent was more to point out that some of the criticism of Ottawa is unfair. Not as vibrant as Montreal, sure, but it certainly holds its own against similar-sized cities.