Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Gresto

Large swaths of the Bronx, Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island looked like war zones. Were it not for the distinctly American character of the detritus, one might mistake the tableaux for 1980s Beirut or the Aleppos and Mosuls of today.

Not Staten Island, TBQH. But there was more blight in Manhattan than just Harlem.

Alphabet City was pretty bad and it is in SE Manhattan.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Reesonov

Just to add: By the same token, Calgary is obviously at least an order of magnitude smaller than downtown Toronto and especially Chicago. Its definitely an order of magnitude smaller than Montreal as well. Among other things, it really lacks those muscular five to eight story historic blocks that really make the larger cities feel more muscular and more dense.

Honeslty that 5-8 story zone is where I find Toronto lacking as well. There's some nice parts, but most of the city is 2-3 story stuff. It's like if you tied 3 Ottawas and 2 Hamiltons together. Endless streets, but only so much oomph outside a few high rise zones.

It's not terrible by any means (I like that build style), I just wish the downtown side bits had a little bit more oomph. Luckily there are good things going on to fix it up at the mid rise scale as well as the high rise level, so in 10 years Toronto will have probably overcome that.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Honeslty that 5-8 story zone is where I find Toronto lacking as well. There's some nice parts, but most of the city is 2-3 story stuff. It's like if you tied 3 Ottawas and 2 Hamiltons together. Endless streets, but only so much oomph outside a few high rise zones.

It's not terrible by any means (I like that build style), I just wish the downtown side bits had a little bit more oomph. Luckily there are good things going on to fix it up at the mid rise scale as well as the high rise level, so in 10 years Toronto will have probably overcome that.

Though Montreal's is not extremely dense by global standards, the Toronto style does make for a more airy, less claustrophobic living environment than Montreal. Which more than a few people prefer.

Even if it does take away from urban oomph.

[ciudad_del_norte]

Yeah, Montreal feels much heavier to me than other canadian cities in both good in bad ways. Not necesarily bigger, but a bit more like its pushing against you/down on you.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by ciudad_del_norte

Yeah, Montreal feels much heavier to me than other canadian cities in both good in bad ways. Not necesarily bigger, but a bit more like its pushing against you/down on you.

It's weird, I would agree with this statement. I for one like it though.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by ciudad_del_norte

Yeah, Montreal feels much heavier to me than other canadian cities in both good in bad ways. Not necesarily bigger, but a bit more like its pushing against you/down on you.

Do you suffer from a degree of claustrophobia perhaps? I've not heard midrise areas described that way before, even when the buildings are built out to, or close to, the lot line.

[TorontoDrew]

It's probably not due to the scale of the buildings but the street widths.

[TorontoDrew]

[IMG]Toronto Skyline by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Casa II, Toronto, by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Philosopher's Walk, Toronto by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]St. Clair West by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]One Bloor East by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]One St. Thomas by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Toronto Skyline, Don Mills and Sheppard by steveve photostream #1, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Do you suffer from a degree of claustrophobia perhaps? I've not heard midrise areas described that way before, even when the buildings are built out to, or close to, the lot line.

I just think that for an average small town, small city or suburban Canadian, this

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6590309,-...VqYDcK3IAdmVA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

is a more familiar, more intuitive, and even less "big city intimidating" living environment,

than this

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/La+Font...7!8m2!3d45.5263638!4d-73.5693448!6m1!1e1

If I think of my parents and inlaws, who have never lived in the inner city of a really big city, that based on urban form and feel alone, they'd pick to the Toronto example as a place to live over the Montreal one.

[ciudad_del_norte]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Do you suffer from a degree of claustrophobia perhaps? I've not heard midrise areas described that way before, even when the buildings are built out to, or close to, the lot line.

It's not just building height, but the combined impact of streetscape overall, building height, materials/colours etc that I find in Montreal. Maybe it's claustrophobia but I don't really feel that way about it. I don't mean pressure as something that's necesarily bad and uncomfortable, just - present. I think its uncomfortable for some and actually comforting for others.

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by softee

^ Did you walk around Midtown Manhattan? Chicago simply cannot compete with this.
[/url]
Manhattan by Dan Macy, on Flickr


Midtown Manhattan aerial by Dan Macy, on Flickr

I think/ find NYC to be a bit too big for me. Instead of being overwhelming I find it to be weird/ excessive, this is why I prefer Toronto, just the sheer number of buildings in these Photo's is ridiculous, how people live like that is beyond me.

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

I can't believe some are comparing Saskatoon's skyline to Halifax's. It's not even close, Halifax wins in scale, in variety, in setting and in growth. It looks like a big busy port city, like a smaller Boston.

Windsor is the same way, blame the Municipalities for that.

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I haven't seen this perspective of Saskatoon; it certainly looks impressive for its size. And I like all the trees and green spaces.

Who knows what will happen in the future. I am old enough to remember when Calgary was considered to be a small city (by the way, I have never been in Calgary or other Prairie cities, I have only flown south of Calgary on my way to Vancouver)

& that's why I prefer Saskatoon the Trees & the Green Spaces!

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by someone123

This is kind of a strange line of thinking. The harbour is the whole reason why the city exists, and I would say is the prime constraint and resource around which the city has been planned and developed. The buildings have been designed to take advantage of the water in various ways and a lot of the stuff you see in a skyline shot of Halifax consists of marine industries, the bridges, etc.

I am not a big fan of the postmodern Purdy's Wharf architecture but the complex is interesting. You can walk around the footings of the building, which extend right into the harbour. Water is pumped through the building for climate control.

The other features of the Halifax skyline that I like the most are mostly landmarks and heritage buildings like the Citadel, Town Clock, Dominion Building, and George's Island. Not many Canadian cities have these old masonry fortifications, public buildings over 200 years old, or even Art Deco highrises.

Another general characteristic I like is that it's somewhat colourful (brick, stone, metal cladding, and glass, not just concrete) and the buildings are tightly packed in; it is an actual city, not a suburb with tall buildings.

The TD tower redo turned out pretty well too, and I like how the Nova Centre towers aren't just boxes. We'll see how the others turn out.

Yeah but Major Port Cities also tend to have higher Residential Population's closest to the Port or where Container Traffic & Port Activities are present.
Saskatoon doesn't benefit from that & that's why I said Halifax Probably wins by a hair but mostly for this reason. Saskatoon is not a Major Port, but u can see if it was, then it would likely beat Halifax in terms of Density, It already has a handful of Buildings with Average Height & has phenomenal scale also!

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I just think that for an average small town, small city or suburban Canadian, this

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6590309,-...VqYDcK3IAdmVA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

is a more familiar, more intuitive, and even less "big city intimidating" living environment,

than this

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/La+Font...7!8m2!3d45.5263638!4d-73.5693448!6m1!1e1

If I think of my parents and inlaws, who have never lived in the inner city of a really big city, that based on urban form and feel alone, they'd pick to the Toronto example as a place to live over the Montreal one.

This is somewhat divergent from your topic.

Believe it not, 81 Pembrook was listed for $2.48 million on March 16, 2016 (a year ago) - http://torontolife.com/real-estate/houses/toronto-house-for-sale-81-pembroke-street/. It is a five-plex though.

Prices in Toronto are going through the roof again (similar to what happened prior to the 1990's melt down). Out of curiosity, I checked prices in that neighbourhood and although there were none currently listed on Pembrook Street, this one closeby is selling for $1,397,000 (for one unit of the older semi-detached home) - https://www.homechannel.ca/listing-view/...734528/46-Arnold-Ave-Toronto-Ontario.cfm - https://www.google.ca/maps/place/46+ARNO...4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xd49216a066f038f0!6m1!1e1

This nicer attached home on 4353 Rue de la Roche, Montréal, Quebec is selling for $365,000 - https://duproprio.com/fr/montreal/le-pla...-4353-rue-de-la-roche-733068#la-capitale . Basically you can get 4 of these homes for the price of one in Toronto. Both the Pembrook Street, Toronto and 4353 Rue de la Roche, Montréal are fairly close to their respective downtowns.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Tosin007

& that's why I prefer Saskatoon the Trees & the Green Spaces!

I'll say it again: aesthetically speaking Saskatoon is my favourite city on the Canadian Prairies!

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by ciudad_del_norte

It's not just building height, but the combined impact of streetscape overall, building height, materials/colours etc that I find in Montreal. Maybe it's claustrophobia but I don't really feel that way about it. I don't mean pressure as something that's necesarily bad and uncomfortable, just - present. I think its uncomfortable for some and actually comforting for others.

As urban form goes, the Montreal example I gave would definitely be more familiar to someone from Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Dublin or Stockholm.

Of course, this doesn't mean they'd prefer it over Toronto. Sometimes people are looking for something different when they move to another place.

As mentioned earlier, the Toronto example likely appeals to a wider range of people, either for reasons of familiarity or aspirationally.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by Tosin007

Yeah but Major Port Cities also tend to have higher Residential Population's closest to the Port or where Container Traffic & Port Activities are present.
Saskatoon doesn't benefit from that & that's why I said Halifax Probably wins by a hair but mostly for this reason. Saskatoon is not a Major Port, but u can see if it was, then it would likely beat Halifax in terms of Density, It already has a handful of Buildings with Average Height & has phenomenal scale also!

OMG this is ridiculous. How do you not know that cities out east are denser because they are older. Pre-car-era cities are much denser because people didn't drive and thus wouldn't live in large swaths of land away from downtown. It's also why Canadian cities are denser than american ones, since they built more freeways, allowing people to come from further. If Saskatoon was a port and Halifax wasn't, Halifax would still be much denser, it's one of the oldest cities on the continent for God sakes.

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'll say it again: aesthitically speaking Saskatoon is my favourite city on the Canadian Prairies!

Yay! I totally have to agree with u Acajack!

[fenwick16]

I often wonder how big Halifax would have been today if it were not for the Halifax Explosion in 1917. It lost 2,000 people (about 2% of the population at the time) and 10,000 were injured (10%), many seriously. In term of percentages, the Halifax explosion was much more devastating on the population growth than Katrina was on New Orleans. Based on Halifax area population growth and the lost decade of growth in the 1920's, I estimate that it would be 20% - 30% larger now.

Halifax can't compare, as far as skyline goes, to the major cities of Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, I would include Hamilton, Winnipeg and Quebec City as major cities, but they don't have much bigger skylines than Halifax), but Halifax has an interesting history that makes up for its relatively small size. I lived in Halifax for much of the 1970's and back then there were some gritty areas of the downtown but it was still an interesting city to live in.

I hope that Halifax continues to grow at 1.5% - 2.0% annually but maintains its historic character.