Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
Interesting idea for a thread.
I wonder if we are truly seeing an urban renaissance, or is it simply a perfect storm of factors:
- the long-term trend migration to urban areas from rural areas continues unabated across the country
- immigration continues at near-record levels, and immigrants tend to settle in urban areas
- we are rapidly reaching the saturation point in terms of traffic congestion, road capacity and sprawl (and financial means to address/support them) in our large and medium-sized cities (even places like Halifax have surprisingly intense traffic jams now), which is pushing public officials to favour denser development patterns
|
At this point the smart money would be betting on when this revival comes to an end. Too many urbanists tend to forget what drove people to the burbs in the first place: overcrowding, crime, desire for green space. Factor in the advent of autonomous fully electric cars in the near future, and I'd be scoping out sites for the next generation of subdivisions.
You can already see signs of the urban decay in Vancouver: overpriced, shrinking units; overcrowding into existing units (ie a family of 4 in a one bedroom); lack of park space; increasing street disorder.