Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgarian
Agreed. I like some of Stanley's ideas, but he doesn't present them in the most diplomatic way.
Calgary needs to have the discussion about smart growth, I think its an important part of our future, there just needs to be less rhetoric and more facts. My understanding of the future of suburban development is that it will just have to be more dense, and I take that to mean more multifamily in new neighborhoods, not squeezing houses even closerthan they already are. Thoughts?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelS
That is what is happening with new suburbs. There is a very large amount of multi-family proposed in places like Mahogany and Auburn Bay, far more than the previous generation of suburbs. Houses are still pretty close together, but much of the density is coming from townhouse developments and 4 storey condo buildings. I can't remember the exact stat/number, but I think there is actually more multi-family units proposed for Mahogany than single family.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigtime
Exactly, I think things are trending the right direction in our new greenfield developments. I don't get around to them very often, but are mistakes of the past like putting the multi-family on the edges being changed to making them more inclusive of the community proper?
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IMO, new suburbs are doing "alright". There is more multifamily for sure, though not always placed in the best manner. Country Hills Village is a good example: it is quite separated from the BRT stop and the commercial area by the storm pond (although grades probably dictated that location anyway). Either way, it is a vast, vast improvement from the 80s and 90s burbs, which were spaghetti road messes.
On the opposite end of the scale, places like Beltline, East Village, Downtown West and the TODs, we have significant tower condominium development. Beltline's boom started in 2003, and continues today. We are good in this category.
Just down from that we have the mid-rise districts, like Bridgeland/Renfrew Kensington, Marda Loop. These are more recent, with the Bridges being the first step and the recent developments in Kensington being the latest in this trend. Still room for improvement here, but off to a good start.
What I see as Calgary's major challenge is the 50s, 60s and 70s suburbs that were built at crazy low density and are now inner city. Creating vibrant communities gradually in these areas is where Calgary needs to change the most. This is the "townhouse" density that Calgary sorely lacks.
As for the 80s and 90s suburbs: these are such a mess in terms of lot layouts, street connectivity and general urban design I consider them lost causes. Densifying Edgemont (where I grew up), for example, would be near impossible. The good news is, there really isn't a need as there is more than enough places to densify outside of these neighbourhoods.
So in summary:
Uber Dense Centre City (Beltline, Mission, East Village): Doing awesome.
Mid-rise corridors in inner city (Bankview, Edmonton Trail, Inglewood, Kensington, Marda Loop): Room for improvement, but doing alright.
Inner-city townhouse neighbourhoods: Biggest opportunity for change.
80s/90s spaghetti suburbs: Lost cause
New greenfield: Pretty good, getting better.
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