View Single Post
  #44  
Old Posted Feb 23, 2008, 11:58 PM
Architype's Avatar
Architype Architype is offline
♒︎ Empirically Canadian
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: 🍁 Canada
Posts: 11,934
^I'm not sure when the Hilton is supposed to start, but I think it has been approved.

Re: Paradise & Sprawl
^Yes, I agree, but mostly because lots of Nfld's infrastructure was substandard when it was built. Since Topsail Rd is Paradise's Main Street, improvements should be made along it. However, Paradise is an example of urban sprawl; I don't think anything is built there except single detached housing. This makes public transportation and walking to services impossible. Today's planning is supposed to be focused on "smart urban growth" (higher density and integrating services with housing), but this is difficult to implement in our society. The government however, has made sure that St. John's (city) has been given much of the available undeveloped land in the region. This is meant to create more easily governed and controlled metro area growth.

There is a theory that by building more highways and freeways, you are faciltating more sprawl, and therefore more traffic, which leads to congestion, which eats up fuel and costs money and time. The St. John's area, for it's size, is actually well served by its higways in recent years, but some of the important links and collector roads are missing.

While sprawl isn't as big a problem in St. John's as it is in larger places like Phoenix, L.A., and Atlanta, some of the same problems exist, such as those arising from gas prices, congestion, and the effects of non-walkable communities on people's health. Suburban living is not a part of traditional Newfoundland, but walkable communities are.

Anyway, that is my way of thinking.

You will find lot's of topics on this website about urban sprawl, and it's effects.

Last edited by Architype; Apr 28, 2008 at 5:15 AM.
Reply With Quote