Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Monolith]

Vancouver 781EC209-FA88-4DC6-8075-29907D75D7F5_1_105_c by Darren Schemmer, on Flickr

[zoomer]

Here’s a gorgeous perspective of Vancouver in the snow from Harbour Air, not one you normally see:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt4go0Fl2i/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Link only shared as Instagram seems very effective at blocking picture embedding - is the only way around that to download and re-upload to your own photo storage account? I think that’s against Instagram’s terms of use, but does SSP have any issues with that being done? It’s a shame because most city photography has shifted off Flickr to Instagram

[Franco401]

Test


https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com...vJAGKSoaJvkHQ&oe=61F29AA0&_nc_sid=83d603

Yeah, it seems like they've effectively stopped embedding unless you're using their API, which SSP doesn't support. If you click my link there you can get the image source, but you can't mess around with the URL for a higher-res version, and I don't see a way around however they're blocking embedding. At least you can download the source and reupload to imgur or flickr.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Here’s a gorgeous perspective of Vancouver in the snow from Harbour Air, not one you normally see:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt4go0Fl2i/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Link only shared as Instagram seems very effective at blocking picture embedding - is the only way around that to download and re-upload to your own photo storage account? I think that’s against Instagram’s terms of use, but does SSP have any issues with that being done? It’s a shame because most city photography has shifted off Flickr to Instagram

I've always understood that we were supposed to host any images we post on a purposely offered image host unless the image we're posting is on a site that explicitly allows image linking. This is because embedding images directly from other sites, sometimes referring to as "hot linking" is considered a type of bandwidth theft. But obviously it takes a few more moments to do it.

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Here’s a gorgeous perspective of Vancouver in the snow from Harbour Air, not one you normally see:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt4go0Fl2i/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Link only shared as Instagram seems very effective at blocking picture embedding - is the only way around that to download and re-upload to your own photo storage account? I think that’s against Instagram’s terms of use, but does SSP have any issues with that being done? It’s a shame because most city photography has shifted off Flickr to Instagram

Let's find out.

Great photo! Thanks for the link.






Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt4go0Fl2i/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

[WhipperSnapper]

The most Montreal pic of Vancouver I've seen.

[Martin Mtl]

Picture by Sebastian on agoramtl.com


Source: https://www.facebook.com/mtlurb/photos/a.6142836699123010/6871604136246259/

[scryer]

While we are on the theme of cranes :

Originally Posted by vanman

[zoomer]

Thanks Franco, Nouvellecosse and mcminsen for the instagram insights. Franco’s link is a higher res version and looks great - feels like a capture that will have more historical insight and fun factor than most, what with the snow, the English Bay Barge, and capturing the skyline of Burnaby as it looked in 2021 never mind downtown.

And ironically that last Montreal picture gave me Vancouver vibes, lol.

[vanman]

It's amazing how fast Edmonton and Calgary are densifying.

https://twitter.com/leroyschulz/status/1484019854608764928

Originally Posted by ZeDgE

From: https://www.reddit.com/r/CityPorn/comments/s9midm/calgary_canada_on_a_cold_january_morning/

[Coldrsx]

Kinda sorta.

Calgary is outpacing Edmonton at about a 3 or 4 :1 clip for Downtown/central infill projects.

Don't get me wrong, Edmonton feels far more urban than when I moved Downtown in 2005, but in 16 years and 2.5 cycles, I would have expected another 4-5 significant residential towers.

[vanman]

Edmonton might not be growing as fast as Calgary but it has still changed dramatically in recent years. 10 years ago I would've never expected it to build western Canada's tallest building, a futuristic stadium and a landmark bridge in the same decade.

[Coldrsx]

Fair comment but the general urbanity of Edmonton has declined or stayed about the same in the same period.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Fair comment but the general urbanity of Edmonton has declined or stayed about the same in the same period.

That's interesting because it seems like Calgary's urbanity (in the inner city neighborhoods) has increased quite dramatically in those same ten years.

[WhipperSnapper]

The difference in the database is not in the 30 storey and above range. Edmonton may even have Calgary beat. It's the number of buildings being built in the 10 to 15 storey range.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

The difference in the database is not in the 30 storey and above range. Edmonton may even have Calgary beat. It's the number of buildings being built in the 10 to 15 storey range.

I think its the 5 - 10 storey buildings where Calgary has seemingly made the most progress. Inglewood, Mission, Bridgeland, Sunnyside, Kensington, Bankview, Marda Loop etc have built hundreds of them over the last ten years.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by scryer

While we are on the theme of cranes :

Dramatic!

[ue]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Fair comment but the general urbanity of Edmonton has declined or stayed about the same in the same period.

This is a weird comment considering all of the infill that's happened in central Edmonton. Whyte Ave feels substantially more grown up with the Roots Building, Raymond Block, and Southpark. 124th Street has the Roxy again and there's been some great infill developments on that street (especially by Beljan) and the farmers market. Alberta Ave has had new projects as well. The Gibbard Block has injected new life into the Highlands, along with Ada finally getting a sidewalk. Oliver has had a lot of new residential construction that's broken through the tabletop (Hendrix, Pearl, CNIB), along with a new Paul Kane Park and wildly popular Oliver Exchange. Downtown is night and day. The pandemic has made it a bit quieter for sure, but it feels substantially more 'big city' with the Ice District towers and arena. 104th Street has had more parking lots gobbled up and the Neon Sign Museum open - which is a legitimate tourist attraction in its own right. The new RAM has been built while the Winspear is being expanded. New LRT construction too. And a funicular! Meanwhile new inner suburban high-rises have gone up in Holyrood, Glenora, and around Stadium LRT. The new Walterdale and Indigenous art park have also added new activation to the river valley.

I do think Calgary has done more overall and has created better new urbanism in the past 10-15 years. But, I'd argue Calgary already came from a higher level than Edmonton in terms of urban fabric quality, while Edmonton's changes have been less incremental than Calgary's and more transformative. Edmonton has some legit swagger and confidence that it never had 15 years ago.

Edmonton feels like the most (dramatically) improved of the major Canadian cities. Like, it's not Winnipeg or Hamilton.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by ue

This is a weird comment considering all of the infill that's happened in central Edmonton. Whyte Ave feels substantially more grown up with the Roots Building, Raymond Block, and Southpark. 124th Street has the Roxy again and there's been some great infill developments on that street (especially by Beljan) and the farmers market. Alberta Ave has had new projects as well. The Gibbard Block has injected new life into the Highlands, along with Ada finally getting a sidewalk. Oliver has had a lot of new residential construction that's broken through the tabletop (Hendrix, Pearl, CNIB), along with a new Paul Kane Park and wildly popular Oliver Exchange. Downtown is night and day. The pandemic has made it a bit quieter for sure, but it feels substantially more 'big city' with the Ice District towers and arena. 104th Street has had more parking lots gobbled up and the Neon Sign Museum open - which is a legitimate tourist attraction in its own right. The new RAM has been built while the Winspear is being expanded. New LRT construction too. And a funicular! Meanwhile new inner suburban high-rises have gone up in Holyrood, Glenora, and around Stadium LRT. The new Walterdale and Indigenous art park have also added new activation to the river valley.

I do think Calgary has done more overall and has created better new urbanism in the past 10-15 years. But, I'd argue Calgary already came from a higher level than Edmonton in terms of urban fabric quality, while Edmonton's changes have been less incremental than Calgary's and more transformative. Edmonton has some legit swagger and confidence that it never had 15 years ago.

Edmonton feels like the most (dramatically) improved of the major Canadian cities. Like, it's not Winnipeg or Hamilton.

We've seen a lot of progress on 124st, Whyte, Ritchie and part of Oliver for that matter, but the CBD and parts of Downtown feel less active and less of a draw than it should given everything that has been built (talking pre-COVID). Rogers Place has helped and filling in a few surface lots is getting us closer, but we have lost a lot of retail and much of the character granularity that a city should have. Again, not all bad and ICE District adds a serious big city look, but lacks the people, destination places and overall contribution we were hoping for as of yet.

[ue]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

We've seen a lot of progress on 124st, Whyte, Ritchie and part of Oliver for that matter, but the CBD and parts of Downtown feel less active and less of a draw than it should given everything that has been built (talking pre-COVID). Rogers Place has helped and filling in a few surface lots is getting us closer, but we have lost a lot of retail and much of the character granularity that a city should have. Again, not all bad and ICE District adds a serious big city look, but lacks the people, destination places and overall contribution we were hoping for as of yet.

Pre-covid Downtown was positively buzzing on the regular with all of the events at Rogers. It's been far more successful than most downtown arena revitalization schemes. And took away a gigantic hole in Edmonton's core.

As much as I will complain about how often developed lots will get redeveloped over parking lots, I don't think Edmonton has actually lost much granularity. The biggest loss in recent history is the El Mirador and 108th/Jasper corner and the site of the J22 condo (although the Safeway is a huge boon IMO). It's somewhat surprising that in all these years all of the CRUs in Fox aren't filled in yet, though.

It definitely could be better, but I think there's been some dramatic transformations in Edmonton. Downtown feels busier, Whyte feels more grown-up. Even Oliver can be pretty buzzing around Paul Kane/Oliver Exchange.

Again, though, I'd say Calgary still has Edmonton beat. Calgary does feel more vibrant. Even in the middle of a pandemic Stephen Ave can be pretty busy in a way nowhere in Downtown Edmonton regularly is. The densification and other upgrades to inner city neighbourhoods like Marda Loop, Bridgeland, and especially Inglewood have been far beyond what Edmonton's done in a similar fashion. As much as I prefer Whyte, 17th feels more big city - the urban Canadian Tire and Best Buy helps. Inglewood has really become a bona fide vibrant urban neighbourhood, with 9th being on par with Whyte, and exceeding other main streets in Edmonton. It's really surprising how slow the progress has been on 124th, 104th, Alberta Ave, etc.

So with that in mind, I'd propose there are two things going on. In Calgary, there's been more dramatic medium density and "missing middle" type densification that have really beefed up the neighbourhoods and made them much more vivacious while maintaining human scale. Edmonton has had more dramatic "big ticket" changes that really make a statement. Ice District, Stantec being seen from everywhere in the city especially, the new Walterdale, the new RAM, the funicular, the Valley Line, etc. But it hasn't done as much as Calgary's more human scaled improvements to make Edmonton more vibrant, aside from the pull of Rogers-based events. That isn't to say that Calgary hasn't had new flashy statement pieces either, but Calgary was doing that in the 2000s too, so it doesn't feel as dramatic of a change.