Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

[Surrealplaces]

I'd like to see developers take the approach of restoring an old building and turning into a modern use. I'm sure it's all economics, but it's really a shame. I just stayed at this hotel in Charleston SC that was recently semi-restored, with some modern touches. I would kill to have a few more of these type buildings around Calgary. The attitude toward Heritage buildings in Charleston is definitely different.

 

[darwink]

Labour is cheaper and the original buildings/land are likely cheaper, much easier to make the delta work when the rent is similar to 17th ave at $40-60/sqft.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Land and buildings are definitely cheaper. The will to preserve older buildings is much higher there, but it's a different situation of course, the city has been turning the historical nature into a tourism hotspot.

 

[Oddball]

In case any of you hadn't seen it. Calgary has tied for 5th place with Adelaide, Australia as the 5th most livable city in the world according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's Annual Ranking for 2017. The report is available here. The chart below is from the free summary report. The full report is only available for purchase, and I didn't do that.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I'm always happy to see Calgary up there on the list, but I find this particular annual report to be very subjective. On the whole though, we do in live a good spot.

 

[Oddball]

This Guardian article, also includes several other rankings. I think they're all that way. Very few cities make repeats on multiple lists. Though too their credit, Vancouver and Toronto do.

I like the Economist one because small-medium cities often get their due. Not just the global megalopoli.

 

[UrbanRED]

This Guardian article, also includes several other rankings. I think they're all that way. Very few cities make repeats on multiple lists. Though too their credit, Vancouver and Toronto do.

I like the Economist one because small-medium cities often get their due. Not just the global megalopoli.

I like the Economist one too, but the one criticism I have for it is that typically low-density cities tend to be skewed up in the list (for a multitude of reasons). Sprawling suburbs forever do not make a good city.

 

[Always_Biking]

That and the cost of housing. Almost all the cities in the top 10 are expensive for housing.

 

[Oddball]

That and the cost of housing. Almost all the cities in the top 10 are expensive for housing.

Form what I've heard, cost of housing/living is typically what holds back Nordic and Swiss cities from finishing higher in the rankings that they do.

I like the Economist one too, but the one criticism I have for it is that typically low-density cities tend to be skewed up in the list (for a multitude of reasons). Sprawling suburbs forever do not make a good city.

I wonder if Calgary's ranking will improve as downtown densities. The metric that held Calgary back is "culture/environment." Depending on how they define environment, I'm sure we do well there, but culture is absolutely our weak point. As Calgary's more urban neighbourhoods mature that should hopefully help.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I'm going to be a devil's advocate for a bit. While I may not be a fan of suburban sprawl, I actually like cities that offer a variety of options, not just all density (Hong Kong or Cairo for example) or all sprawl (say...Phoenix, or Atlanta). A lot of people prefer to live in the burbs, and are happy there. The real issue with sprawl is cost and sustainability, and if new suburban development can continue to improve and address that, I see no issue with having both. The goal in the end is to have happy residents.

 

[Beltline_B]

I love the inner city, and have no desire to live in the burbs, but they have their place, and I can understand why people want to live there.
I agree with @Surrealplaces. The end goal is for all residents to be happy...as long as it's feasible.
Now that people recognize there is an associated cost with said burbs there's a conscious effort to do better. IM happy with the direction we're going.

 

[JesseLikesCities]

I gotta say, for some reason I love the look of a sprawling city with a downtown skyline reaching for the sky. I know it isn't cost effective but growing up in Cochrane I used to love coming into Calgary and seeing how much further the city had grown out every time. So much so that when I built cities out of lego I'd mimic this, I'd build sprawling suburbs in my room with a symmetrical skyline in the middle of the city.

 

[UrbanRED]

I'm going to be a devil's advocate for a bit. While I may not be a fan of suburban sprawl, I actually like cities that offer a variety of options, not just all density (Hong Kong or Cairo for example) or all sprawl (say...Phoenix, or Atlanta). A lot of people prefer to live in the burbs, and are happy there. The real issue with sprawl is cost and sustainability, and if new suburban development can continue to improve and address that, I see no issue with having both. The goal in the end is to have happy residents.

I agree on the diversity of options - but I'd say in Calgary's case we tend to skew too much to the sprawl side of things.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I agree on the diversity of options - but I'd say in Calgary's case we tend to skew too much to the sprawl side of things.

I agree on that. Luckily we have a healthy core, and and inner city in general that is thriving and growing.

 

[AJX]

I agree on the diversity of options - but I'd say in Calgary's case we tend to skew too much to the sprawl side of things.

Definitely. We need to look at building up some of the neighborhoods that surround the core. Tuxedo, Killarney, Thorncliffe, Brentwood, Altadore etc We are doing that to some degree, but need to be more aggressive IMO.