[nec209]

Last question what makes the city look bad?

1 is it the graffiti
2 is it the crime
3 is it the homeless
4 is it the people asking for money
5 is it all the people on the street
6 is it the old homes or old buildings.
7 is it all the cars on the road.

[trueviking]

surface parking

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/498811592_a0d6f75a82_b.jpg

[MonkeyRonin]

Parking lots and ugly-ass suburban inspired architecture, with low density.

[Cambridgite]

Eww. What city is that?

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Haha. Go Winnipeg!

Pick up the trash people, sweep the streets and take some pride in whatever city you live in by not discarding your trash (including cigarette butts) in the proper places. Nothing is simpler to do and adds as much value as tidiness and this applies to almost every city in North America. I said almost because maybe there is a clean one somewhere, but I have yet to find it on this continent.

[Kevin_foster]

I think all of the things you mentioned in your list I LIKE about the city - these things are part of a city.

What makes a city look bad? Crime, Cleanliness, Lack of things to do, lack of inspiration (i.e. we live here only because we have to, not want to)

[Coldrsx]

Last question what makes the city look bad?

1 is it the graffiti
2 is it the crime
3 is it the homeless
4 is it the people asking for money
5 is it all the people on the street
6 is it the old homes or old buildings.
7 is it all the cars on the road.

all of the above except for cars on the road...but all cities have the above. It is much more than that.

[240glt]

6 is it the old homes or old buildings.

What's wrong with old homes & old buildings ?... assuming you didn't mean RUN DOWN old homes and buildings;)

[204]

6 is it the old homes or old buildings.


WTF? This nec209 is ESL-iscious. What gems...

[feepa]

WTF? This nec209 is ESL-iscious. What gems...

He may not have the language mastered, but at least his spelling is bang on, unlike some others who have english as a first language ....

[1ajs]

you have to go to a city to get a feel and realy see if its truly a ugly, beutifull or meh city....

winnipeg is not ugly by far it does have some surface lot issues realy visible from above but when your on foot it does not quite seem as bad as it looks... espeacialy when you need a parking spot... and trust me all those spots are filled during the day... but when you have lots that never get used then thats when it truly starts to get ugly or when the lots are left to rot
scrowling to the right you can see some more of the holes but at least they get used
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5447/panofu5.jpg

somtimes all it takes to make a city look bad is somthing as simple as a celeberty geting stuck in the midle of the river......

[Marc B.]

I am in agreeance with True Viking. Surface parking lots, especially south of Portage, are the cancer of this city.

I like #5, all the people on the street, if by street you mean sidewalks.

[nec209]

Pick up the trash people, sweep the streets and take some pride in whatever city you live in by not discarding your trash (including cigarette butts) in the proper places. Nothing is simpler to do and adds as much value as tidiness and this applies to almost every city in North America. I said almost because maybe there is a clean one somewhere, but I have yet to find it on this continent.

Well true but are people going to pick up the trash ?

[Xelebes]

He may not have the language mastered, but at least his spelling is bang on, unlike some others who have english as a first language ....

*rumbling furniture*

Awesome timing man!

[Xelebes]

Well true but are people going to pick up the trash ?

If they take pride in their city, yes.

[vid]

Even worse than surface parking is unpaved vacant lots of dirt, weeds, and shrubs, which are especially bad if they're fenced off with that orange construction fence. There is such a lot across from my house that would make a great community veggie garden/park area.

[SpongeG]

empty streets and boarded up store fronts

[trueviking]

Eww. What city is that?

yeah, there are a few parking lots in the southern part of winnipeg's downtown that absolutely kill me....surface parking for me is the single biggest city killer.

[MolsonExport]

surface parking

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/498811592_a0d6f75a82_b.jpg


Looks an awful lot like London (Ontario). Ditto.

[Only The Lonely..]

Viking showed us this pict about a month or two ago, Houston Texas makes Winnipeg look like freakin New York City in terms of density.

Now here's a city with a lot of surface parking.


http://static.flickr.com/54/119172270_834daaec77.jpg

[1ajs]

www.denverinfill.com check it out

[feepa]

Viking showed us this pict about a month or two ago, Houston Texas makes Winnipeg look like freakin New York City in terms of density.

Now here's a city with a lot of surface parking.


http://static.flickr.com/54/119172270_834daaec77.jpg

Thats a rather old picture of houston

[204]

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5447/panofu5.jpg


Why are some of the buildings blacked out in this pic? (and the vertical lines on the tall building near Assiniboine?

[vid]

He used a low exposure. The lighting conditions were all wrong too. He should have waited until a sunnier day to take that picture.

[1ajs]

Why are some of the buildings blacked out in this pic? (and the vertical lines on the tall building near Assiniboine?

huh?
messed up and under exposed them did not relize till after i took the shots... when i started to stich them....... wish i had not forgoten my 2nd set of bateries for my camera or i would of had a spectacular sunset pano :(

[nec209]

Viking showed us this pict about a month or two ago, Houston Texas makes Winnipeg look like freakin New York City in terms of density.

Now here's a city with a lot of surface parking.


http://static.flickr.com/54/119172270_834daaec77.jpg


That is vey bad it looks horrible:(

[DizzyEdge]

www.denverinfill.com check it out

That is freaking awesome.

[borgo100]

graffiti makes cities look awesome

[elsonic]

1 is it the graffiti
graff NO tags YES - professional murals are a big bonus to a bland streetscape

2 is it the crime
street crime is repulsing, Enron-Aliburton crime is invisible

3 is it the homeless
homeless people every corner or more is not appealing and not inviting in the mean time, but it is much deeper than the ugliness of a city : it is a simple demonstration that the economy is not fair or compassionate or that the housing stosk does not fit the needs of the citizens - failure of the system

4 is it the people asking for money
see above

5 is it all the people on the street
streets are made for people!! they turn the street into a living theatre

6 is it the old homes or old buildings
age has nothing to do with architectural value - old can be better in many ways

7 is it all the cars on the road
you can breathe the answer

[nec209]

1 is it the graffiti
graff NO tags YES - professional murals are a big bonus to a bland streetscape

I guess graffiti if it is art is okay but gang graffiti is not good.

I will find a picture later to explain.

[borgo100]

when people do graffiti for the art side of it, its pretty awesome

http://img214.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3188515872d880b4995bvx4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5663/3188515872d880b4995bvx4.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

[Brokenhead]

http://static.flickr.com/54/119172270_834daaec77.jpg

That just looks strange. Big buildings, lots of surface parking.

[Nunavuter]

Mediocre architecture is fine by Toronto City Council.

What they fear is height.

As simple as this may sound, it is easier to have a 12-storey abomination built in this city than a 60-storey wonder.

Should some poor architect have designed the Chrysler Building in 2007, City Council would face local NIMBY groups decrying the monstrosity that might cast a shadow, for fifteen minutes, on odd-numbered Wednesdays, in the fourth week of April.

That's what killed the original Sapphire Tower design, so i shit you not.

[vid]

That happened here, a highrise along a major arterial was cancelled after a local group was afraid of it's potential shadow (It would have fallen along a commercial strip and health centre in the morning, maybe 5 houses at noon, and more commercial strip in the evening, never covering more than 10 houses at a time when counting that the sun rises and sets in a slightly different spot every day) and the traffic it would cause. (The road it was to be built on, at that particular spot, was at 65% capacity and the city's official plan states that it will eventually be five laned). Basically, it was entirely doable, but because of Nimbys, was cancelled. Instead, they have got three ugly four storey condos and an old folks home, which have blocked the views of the city for about 25 houses located behind them. :)

[niwell]

That's what killed the original Sapphire Tower design, so i shit you not.

Of course all iterations of the Sapphire Tower were basically crap. I mean, regardless of your archictectural leanings, there's no way that thing could have looked good. Height aspects aside.

[someone123]

Vinyl siding:

http://www.pbase.com/halifaxphoto/image/30637431/medium.jpg

Empty lots:

http://www.pbase.com/halifaxphoto/image/66314829/medium.jpg

[1ajs]

crapy photos also do

[nec209]

Well Vinyl siding or the stone look is nice if people look after it.

Like all the warm spanish homes.

[habsfan]

1 is it the graffiti
graff NO tags YES - professional murals are a big bonus to a bland streetscape

I agree with Elsonic. Graffiti can be nice, especially profesional murals. We have great examples of this on St-Laurent Blvd. in Montreal. I find they can add life and colour to our cities. Tags on the other hand are horrible.

by teh way, that picture of Houston is DISGUSTING!:yuck:

[Phil McAvity]

Last question what makes the city look bad?

1 is it the graffiti
2 is it the crime
3 is it the homeless
4 is it the people asking for money
5 is it all the people on the street
6 is it the old homes or old buildings.
7 is it all the cars on the road.

I think you really ran out of ideas after number 5 since heritage buildings are some of the most cherished buildings around. Regarding number 7, lots of cars on the road make a city look bad? Where would they look better? On the sidewalk? :shrug:

[Tony]

Well Vinyl siding or the stone look is nice if people look after it.

Like all the warm spanish homes.

Warm Spanish homes with vinyl siding and stone? :shrug: :???:

When I think Spanish, I think stucco and terra-cotta tile roofs.

[vid]

Ah, stucco. :)

[Epi]

Last question what makes the city look bad?

5 is it all the people on the street
6 is it the old homes or old buildings.


You raise some good points. Nothing like old buildings and people to screw up a perfectly good city!

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/1886/0435xe7.jpg

[WhipperSnapper]

Mediocre architecture is fine by Toronto City Council.

What they fear is height.

As simple as this may sound, it is easier to have a 12-storey abomination built in this city than a 60-storey wonder.

Should some poor architect have designed the Chrysler Building in 2007, City Council would face local NIMBY groups decrying the monstrosity that might cast a shadow, for fifteen minutes, on odd-numbered Wednesdays, in the fourth week of April.

That's what killed the original Sapphire Tower design, so i shit you not.


Sapphire is an abomination designed by someone more used to Canadian Tires while Nathan Phillips Square is the centre of Toronto's universe. Bad taste aside, I'm glad you aren't chief city planner.

P.S. If the city fears height then how have L Tower, Four Seasons, Ritz , Shangri-La, Trump, etc. gotten approval - some eventually re-submitting for easy increases while actual NIMBYs push Four Seasons to above 50 storeys