Discussion about the Halifax subforum

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

I love hearing the opinions of council and developers on this forum, it creates a great dialogue. However, it goes both ways - if they blatantly reject all constructive criticism on something they represent, it's natural that they might face even further criticism. The correct response to HRMJoe would have been for me that it's true, I'm not a developer. But I'm allowed to share my 2 cents on your development without being belittled.

I love hearing them too. I think a big difference between these privileged individuals is that a councillor would have more to lose by being rude to forum members, while a developer or planner can’t really be held accountable.

I think it’s within the scope of a project’s discussion to talk about building management, albeit extra caution is required to avoid being personal. The way the building is conceived will ultimately decide how it is experienced. Most comments were critiquing how the building would be experienced from the street, or how other buildings are experienced. If perceptions on the exterior of the Vuze were being compared to the trinity site, then surely it’s fine to share how tenants live within said buildings. We can’t say it’s only permitted to critique how the building is conceived, because evidently most criticism is already being directed at how that building is perceived or lived.

The caveat is that subjective experience of the building’s exterior is aimed at a design, while you can’t describe the experience of living in a building without pointing fingers at the landlord. This probably wouldn’t be a problem if the landlord wasn’t participating in the forum. The workaround could be to say “Templeton properties” instead of “you” or “Joe” in combination with polite language, but perhaps others would have better ideas on approaching how people experience life within a development.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Two things come to mind. First, I wasn't even talking about your response, but good on you for acknowledging that. You're the bigger person.

Second, I think what irks me most about the "you're not a developer" attitude is that it's not only condescending and needlessly rude, but, really, ignorant (in the truest sense of the word) and, ultimately, irrelevant. All of us in the community have to see and live with the built legacies of developers, typically for many decades or generations, sometimes for centuries. Our opinions should be thought of as equally relevant. And what responsible, serious developer wouldn't want to know residents' opinions?

Typed it faster than I could!