The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Exactly.

Lets just point it out with pictures :







I love both cities, hence it's just the true reality. In Ottawa you will find mid/highrises more far away of the downtown core.
Could it change in the future ? ... sure, I'm sure Calgary is working on that way. But I think it will take years to reach Ottawa.

I guess we’d have to dig up some numbers to really settle this. There are plenty of flat places in Ottawa too, and there is density in the Beltline in Calgary, for example, that I don’t think Ottawa can match. I think we’d have to dig up some numbers, but not tonight. Time for bed.

[FrAnKs]

Well there is absolutely nothing scientific in my point lol... but hell, we should !

Finally, I think ottawa's Mid/highrises are much more sprawled around the city than calgary's looks like to be.

[TallBob]

I wish Calgary would build some Mid-rise/ High-rises out away from the Core & the Beltline.

[Jeff]

wow. what denigration of a thread..

[caltrane74]

This thread conversation seems remarkably civil.

[mistercorporate]

Certainly, and Ottawa and Calgary are Canada's two most remarkable midsize cities (outside of our big 3) so the comparison was fair. Looking forward to the comparison stats.

[Delirium]

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/vancouver/2013/vch2013_1966.jpg

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by mistercorporate

Certainly, and Ottawa and Calgary are Canada's two most remarkable midsize cities (outside of our big 3) so the comparison was fair. Looking forward to the comparison stats.

Yoo who... Another City may have an issue with the Ottawa mention.

Edmonton's skyline is 42 blocks long and has a second skyline on the south side of river valley.


We need to layer ^in some density, but don't overlook our top of bank skylines.

[Beedok]

Edmonton has a very long skyline, but Ottawa-Gatineau has way more highrises than either of the Alberta metropolises. Edmonton proper has 258, Calgary proper has 311, Ottawa proper has 393. As far as I can tell suburbs currently add 1 building to Edmonton (soon to be 6 from the looks of things), vs. 30+ from Gatineau. Obviously Ottawa has had more steady growth than either of it's competitors, but it has a large number of highrise clumps in the middle of no where. Lincoln Fields is probably the largest of the truly suburban one, but there's a whole bunch all over the place.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Allan83

As someone who has lived in both Ottawa and Calgary, Ottawa isn’t even close to Calgary. On paper Ottawa has about as many people as Calgary, but it seems much smaller because it isn’t really a regional centre. Calgary and Edmonton for example are the regional centres for half of Alberta and some of BC and Sask as well, so they really service populations of somewhere between 2-3 million each. Ottawa, otoh, isn’t even the regional centre for many people living in Ottawa. Instead they go to Montreal to do their shopping, and a surprising number go to Toronto as well.

Couldn't disagree more..Ottawa is indeed a regional centre for all of Eastern Ontario and parts of Western Quebec as well..I doubt that someone in Renfrew, Brockville or Kemptville would travel to Montreal to get to the closest Ikea or Costco..In fact, within a 100 km radius the Capital probably services more people outside of the big three..Actually, Quebec City may service just as much if not more within that 100 km radius..Now yes, people here including myself do go to Montreal for shopping , dining etc., but it's not out of necessity..More for the excursion...Too bad there wasn't a stat or sample to show how many non residents on a given day are in a city..With all the foreign dignitaries, and tourists that come through, I think Ottawa and Quebec City would score surprisingly well (QC for tourists)...Do government workers/diplomats from other countries even get counted in the census?..Now you are probably right that Calgary and Edmonton are both more bustling..You actually lived here,so you can compare.Ottawa is kinda sleepy, but that's part of it's laid back charm. I have some relatives that said that the Albertan cities kinda shut down at night as well. They actually live there too.

[flar]

Edmonton and Calgary don't even compare to Ottawa's urban fabric. Hell, they don't even compare to Winnipeg's. Not their faults, however, they are a product of their times.

[Calgarian]

Can't speak for Edmonton, but the number of high riser going up outside the core here is quite surprising, especially along transit lines. This city is mostly suburban, but that's what happens when most of the growth happens in the last half of the 20th century, it gets based around driving. There is a big urban vs suburban debate here where a lot of people want to see more development in existing areas and others think the suburbs should continue unabated and anything else is social engineering lol.

One thing that helps definie the lack of density outside the core is the ridiculous density in the core. I think we might have the densest downtown in the country (and that's all office buildings and condo towers, not brownstones before the Montrealers pipe up), so that makes the rest of the city look so sparse in comparison.

[Razor]

^ good post Calgarian! Calgary's planning should be applauded in that you can tell the city really focused on building density downtown..It seemed like it was a real conscious effort.

[Calgarian]

I don't think the city really did anything, Downtown mostly evolved organically.

[Chadillaccc]

The amount of high rise projects outside of the core, both proposed and UC, is fantastic. I don't know what you guys expect. Calgary was half the size of Ottawa only 50 years ago, now it's larger. You can't expect that we would have evolved as densely with the amount of money this city and its people have. Historically, if people can have a yard and a garage, they'll pay for it... that's what happened. Now it's reversing, and our rate of intensification in all areas eclipses Ottawa's in every aspect. We have found our groove.

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Exactly.

Lets just point it out with pictures :







I love both cities, hence it's just the true reality. In Ottawa you will find mid/highrises more far away of the downtown core.
Could it change in the future ? ... sure, I'm sure Calgary is working on that way. But I think it will take years to reach Ottawa.

I'm not sure why I'm hooking into the bait of these discussions, but here goes:

1) These picture comparisons are not even close to scale...

2) The area near Talisman Centre that you identified as "flat" is actually just a touch north of Mission where there are MANY 15-20 floor buildings and a great amount of density. Calgary still has work to create more density outside of the core and in TOD's, but it's not what everyone is making it out to be.

I'm not going to get into a city vs. city argument or comparison, but I think you really have to experience Calgary in person to understand.

Southland, Chinook, University/Brentwood, Heritage & Westgate have all developed pretty high density areas, all with their own mini skylines. There's also good density developing in Kensington, and the Downtown, Beltline, and Mission are fantastic. SO MANY new developments in these areas, and the up and coming East Village, will only continue to improve these already great areas.

Chad has done a great job in capturing these areas in pictures in various threads. I'm one person who is so excited for all that is happening in a Calgary right now, and to see how incredibly different it will be in 10 years

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The amount of high rise projects outside of the core, both proposed and UC, is fantastic. I don't know what you guys expect. Calgary was half the size of Ottawa only 50 years ago, now it's larger. .

That's great!, but not sure if Calgary is larger..Not according to the latest census anyways...Doesn't matter though, Calgary is really finding it's groove like you said..Ottawa is in a bit of a funk, so I'm sure by next census Calgary will over-take Ottawa..Same with Edmonton.I just shake my head though, when people make these population estimate and comparison assumptions without any real figure..For all we know Montreal can be well over 4.2 million. I know because somebody told me so.

Originally Posted by Calgarian

I don't think the city really did anything, Downtown mostly evolved organically.

Well it's really building itself nicely organically or not..You are right. One of the densest looking cores around..Especially for a city of that size.

[Beedok]

Ottawa is not in a 'funk'. Last I checked it was more or less matching Toronto's growth rate.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Ottawa is not in a 'funk'. Last I checked it was more or less matching Toronto's growth rate.

Well there has been a definite scare with that last round of government lay-offs..More this year from what I understand..Maybe "funk" was the wrong word..Slowdown for sure..Now that new housing subdivision construction has slowed down, the infrastructure such as light rail will pick-up the slack..So ya, funk was a little too harsh.

[Chadillaccc]

Back to the relevent thread topic, Calgary looking beautiful as usual, photos by Spring2008 in the Calgary section.

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Some recent cell phone shots:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619524346/sizes/c/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619785413/sizes/c/in/photostream/

From Bankview:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619560574/sizes/c/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619491675/sizes/c/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619526834/sizes/c/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/82866386@N05/10619527276/sizes/c/in/photostream/