Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
So is this actually a trend among the masses in all of Canada (and the rest of the developed nations), or just the wishes of a small group of skyscraper/urban planning enthusiasts on websites such as this? I do get the sense that in general the younger generations have rebelled against the conspicuous consumptions of the previous generations and want to have less impact on their planet through waste, etc, and also that it is becoming harder for the younger generations to purchase homes of their own due to unstable job prospects and increasing costs.
|
No, I think a house is still the holy grail in Canada, even for the young. It's one of the reasons I moved here--I can see myself affording a centrally located house in Halifax, whereas in Toronto it was totally impossible.
This is why the price point and desirability of historical vernacular housing in old, central neighbourhoods is through the roof in just about any city you can name. The old people are indeed dying off or moving to retirement facilities/condos, but there aren't a bunch of developers waiting to mow down their houses and put up towers--there are, instead, throngs of younger and middle-aged people willing to pay a considerable amount of money to put down roots in those same houses.
That's why every time I walk down a North End street I see yet another house being given new cedar shingles, restored trim and finishings, and a fresh paint job, in addition to more substantive structural renos. People WANT those houses.
I think infill and intensification will, for the most part, replace only the shabbiest of those houses, or other under-used lots and low-intensity industrial purposes, no longer suitable or profitable now that inner neighbourhoods are gentrifying. I look forward to that mix, really.