The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II - Page 299

mistercorporate · #**5961** Posted **Aug 11, 2013, 9:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Awesome! Toronto's a monster!!!

The funny thing is that it's the area to the right of that top picture (which appears green and low-rise residential) that is the liveliest and most interesting part of Toronto. Queen Street West and to a lesser extent King Street West are buzzing with activity, event/party goers and beautiful people, every single night, even more so on the weekends. This wasn't the case just 7 years ago (when Richmond Street W. had nightlife and Yonge also had some foot traffic). While less dense than the nearby highrise districts, they seem to be where all the local people go to hang out and I can totally see this area getting a Manhattan social vibe within 5 years. It's already got a Brooklyn-esque vibe, especially on weekends.

SignalHillHiker · #**5962** Posted **Aug 11, 2013, 10:02 PM**

It's crazy how... accessible... our largest cities are. You can fit the whole downtowns in one frame.

I wish we had a city that you just can't comprehend, like Tokyo. All of our largest, it's like... yeah, I could walk all of the downtown in a day or two.

And then, with small cities like St. John's, it's just... you only an hour or two to cover all of the downtown.

I want to visit a city with tens of millions where you could live your whole life and not see it all.

I'm renting a room in my house to a student from China. He's from a town in a central province we wouldn't know because "it only has a little more than a million people".

Insanity.

caltrane74 · #**5963** Posted **Aug 11, 2013, 10:10 PM**

Now that the condo market is slowing the pace of change in the area will also slow. The only brand new condos coming to the Entertainment District that are not currently under construction would be King Blue Condos and Noir Condos. The rest are under construction or have been shelved.

The lowrise area of Queen West / King West will change substantially in the next 3/4 years regardless with the completetion of at least 3 - 500 foot towers.

kool maudit · #**5964** Posted **Aug 11, 2013, 10:12 PM**

that's what's hard for toronto, and toronto's narrative. in the canadian context, it is very much the big city, the expansive metropolis, but in a global sense it is a comfortable, medium-sized city.

FrAnKs · #**5965** Posted **Aug 11, 2013, 11:46 PM**

I Wonder if Toronto is still in the top 100 in the world ( Metro area )

TownGuy · #**5966** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:01 AM**

From what I could gather its somewhere around 50th.

Beedok · #**5967** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:03 AM**

Toronto is 52 by urban area according to wikipedia. I think the GTHA would nudge up to 47, one below Hong Kong.

EDIT: nope, 50, just above Hangzhou.

FrAnKs · #**5968** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:08 AM**

Thats incredible. Considering the number of cities/villages/Hamlet in the whole fucking world.

From my own standards, Toronto isn't medium sized at all.

Mla · #**5969** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

It's crazy how... accessible... our largest cities are. You can fit the whole downtowns in one frame.

I wish we had a city that you just can't comprehend, like Tokyo. All of our largest, it's like... yeah, I could walk all of the downtown in a day or two.

And then, with small cities like St. John's, it's just... you only an hour or two to cover all of the downtown.

I want to visit a city with tens of millions where you could live your whole life and not see it all.

I'm renting a room in my house to a student from China. He's from a town in a central province we wouldn't know because "it only has a little more than a million people".

Insanity.

At the same time take a city like Edmonton (metro pop. 1.2 mil) or Calgary (metro pop. 1.3 mil) and look at their skylines. I may be wrong but I wonder if the city in China where your friend is from has a comparable skyline to Edmonton or Calgary? I'm guessing no, but I could be wrong. I think cities in Canada have great skylines compared to cities in other parts of the world with comparable populations.

SignalHillHiker · #**5970** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mla

At the same time take a city like Edmonton (metro pop. 1.2 mil) or Calgary (metro pop. 1.3 mil) and look at their skylines. I may be wrong but I wonder if the city in China where your friend is from has a comparable skyline to Edmonton or Calgary? I'm guessing no, but I could be wrong. I think cities in Canada have great skylines compared to cities in other parts of the world with comparable populations.

I don't know either, but I'm guessing not as well.

I find the amenities and urbanity cities offer tend to depend on their importance as much or more than their population. Calgary is definitely more prominent and important in Canada than it would be in China, so I'd assume a city with a similar population there wouldn't have a comparable skyline. But I don't know for sure. I didn't whip out any Calgary pictures in our convo today.

Beedok · #**5971** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:37 AM**

Datong 1.6 million: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Daqing_panorama_02.jpg
Zigong 1.3 million: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1648203
Neijiang 1.2 million: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1elRI1g50A/TeJxslzFNAI/AAAAAAAAAcI/rGOG66sk5sw/s640/neijiang-skyline.jpg

I think those skylines seem roughly similar to Calgary, Edmonton, or Ottawa. A different build style, but not much more different than Calgary vs. Ottawa.

SignalHillHiker · #**5972** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:39 AM**

Yeah. They seem to have the residential-versus-commercial vibe of Vancouver but they still look comparable.

TownGuy · #**5973** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 12:53 AM**

I think they look larger and more urban than a comparable Canadian city. Sort of like a mini Tokyo. Skyline wise not even close though...compared to Calgary anyways.

Chadillaccc · #**5974** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 1:28 AM**

Maybe to Ottawa... but all they have is low quality short skylines mostly composed of commie blocks interspersed with a few new age commie blocks. They don't even compare to the density of Ottawa, let alone Calgary. They maybe have the height of Edmonton's skyline at best.

Beedok · #**5975** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 1:32 AM**

It's hard to find good photos of 3rd tier Chinese cities though. I'm sure if they had someone trying to take a decent skyline shot they'd look better.

kool maudit · #**5976** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Thats incredible. Considering the number of cities/villages/Hamlet in the whole fucking world.

From my own standards, Toronto isn't medium sized at all.

sure, but in the global sense, a "huge metropolis" is something like istanbul, london, or cairo. walking through the annex or kensington market just isn't the same sort of urban crush.

Razor · #**5977** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 3:34 AM**

^ I like that word "Urban Crush"..

I'm admitingly not all that well travelled, but Toronto has moments of
"Urban Crush"..(Dundas Square at Christmas).

Both of Canada's 2 largest cities have amazing main streets though.
Both Yonge in Toronto, and Sainte Catherine in Montreal are great vibrant streets that seem to go on forever and are fairly populated on any given weekend. I experienced NYC, but I can only imagine Istanbul or Cairo having the same onslaught of pedestrian traffic..I wasn't ready for NYC last time, but this October I will be!.. I would also agree that in the world context Toronto is a on the upper echelons of a medium sized city (larger medium).
Let's face it Tokyo, NY, Paris, London, Chicago are also on those "lists", so Toronto being in the top 50 is a great achievment.It feels like the "bigs" when I'm in downtown Toronto..Busier than Philly which is the same size roughly, and that's no knock against Philly..Another great city..It's M.O is just different than Toronto..To Swedes, Stockholm is their Toronto and it's a medium sized city as well..

ssiguy · #**5978** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 3:42 AM**

Vancouver's skyline doesn't remind me of Manhattan in the slightest.

Manhattan has incredible height, massive amounts of huge office towers, and the buildings represent a huge variety of styles. Vancouver's downtown is all new and almost all residential and very thin buildings due to foot print restrictions. The only thing they have in common is density.

Vancouver's skyline reminds me of a Latin American skyline...........residential, no very tall buildings, density, and new. Get rid of the water and mountains and Vancouver's skyline is Latin America 101 and could be any city down there.

Beedok · #**5979** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 5:03 AM**

Yep, lucky Vancouver. New York has a really ugly skyline. Latin American cities are much nicer looking.

giallo · #**5980** Posted **Aug 12, 2013, 5:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beedok

It's hard to find good photos of 3rd tier Chinese cities though. I'm sure if they had someone trying to take a decent skyline shot they'd look better.

I've long wanted to go around to these cities (the Xi'ans, Wuhans and Shenyangs of China), and photograph them. There really are a lack of good quality photos of these places. Almost every picture I come across looks to be shot from a phone.

I may have to make it a project for 2014.