Radius Bridgeland | ?m | 7s | Bucci Developments

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Looking good Surreal.

Here's a render...

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I really wish we'd build narrower streets in North America. A square like this could look so much more intimate and attractive if we cut the width of the streets in half and ditched the islands of grass around the sidewalks:

Exhibit A: Nice looking urban square with mid-rise buildings.


Exhibit B: Our suburban-mindset attempt to produce a nice looking square with (future) mid-rise buildings.

Agreed. We are far too quick to build useless, weird little grass strips compared to many truly urban cities. I am unfamiliar with the rationale of why we build urban buildings like that so often. Perhaps run-off concerns? Road expansion allotments? Urban cities seem to operate just fine without wasting unnecessary space along the edge of most roads.
 
Maybe I'm simplifying things, but it seems the car is the root of all evil in this situation. Other than parts of the some of the older northeastern cities, NA was developed in the auto era, and everything revolved around that...and still does....not just in NA either, in Europe the newer neighbourhoods (at least the ones in outer Paris and London) are looking more like NA neighbourhoods.
 
When it comes to road widths in North America, I actually think fire engines are the main problem as opposed to cars. North American cities spend millions and millions of dollars on gigantic fire engines that spend most of their time driving to non-fire related emergencies, and then we have to design the entire street grid to allow them to make turns. When cities try to introduce narrower street designs, the fire department is almost always the first in line to join the opposition.
 
But, they look cool so it's a tough trade off.

Joshing aside. Interesting point. I did not know this.

I really wish we'd build narrower streets in North America. A square like this could look so much more intimate and attractive if we cut the width of the streets in half and ditched the islands of grass around the sidewalks:

Exhibit A: Nice looking urban square with mid-rise buildings.


Exhibit B: Our suburban-mindset attempt to produce a nice looking square with (future) mid-rise buildings.

Another big thing I notice in your Barcelona example is retail. None of Bridgeland blocks seem to offer much. There's no commercial activity to draw people up and out.
 
There's this little square in Bridgeland that does have retail, but only on side.

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We could use more narrow streets. I'd like to see more streets that are one way, with one parking lane and one driving lane, a very common set up in many European cities. Kind of a good compromise I think.
 
A lot of the condo blocks in Bridgeland (and all the ones along 1st ave) do have some retail strips along the bottom. Besides perhaps having something like a corner bodega, I'm not sure something like Radius really needs it...I'd rather they concentrate retail activity along 1st ave to make sure that is thriving as much as possible.

That little square that AJX posted is actually quite popular and often acts as a hub for events throughout the year.

Narrower streets would be welcome, although in general I do find the streets here to be fairly pedestrian friendly. The one positive of wider streets is that it allows for the possibility of bike lanes. 9th street in particular could really use one. I would also love a bike lane down 1st ave.
 
A lot of the condo blocks in Bridgeland (and all the ones along 1st ave) do have some retail strips along the bottom. Besides perhaps having something like a corner bodega, I'm not sure something like Radius really needs it...I'd rather they concentrate retail activity along 1st ave to make sure that is thriving as much as possible.

That little square that AJX posted is actually quite popular and often acts as a hub for events throughout the year.

Narrower streets would be welcome, although in general I do find the streets here to be fairly pedestrian friendly. The one positive of wider streets is that it allows for the possibility of bike lanes. 9th street in particular could really use one. I would also love a bike lane down 1st ave.

I've used that square myself a few times in the summer, me and the girlfriend sometimes grab a coffee and hang out there. If they build up the retail on the other side of 1st ave, that little square could easily become something akin to what you'd find in Europe.
 
In general, the north side of 1st really lets the entire street down. Apart from the LDV block, and Bridgeland Market being nice...it's a huge mish-mash of parking lots, residential, schools, etc. Hopefully the new rezoning proposals will help to kickstart some changes on that side to bring it all together.
 

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