Quote:
Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper
I have to see that housing development in streetview.
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It is a trippy view of the Port Royal development from the air (the one I assume you meant with the very cookie cutter looking houses). In person at street level, it is actually a very pretty development, with a healthy mix of all housing types (SF, row house, apartments (condos and rentals). And the location is gorgeous, surrounded by water on all sides, and even has a little water ferry connection to mainland New West quay across the river. But my favourite part (maybe I'm just weird) is how it exists right beside industry still active. The Fraser is very much a working river, and from the tip of Queensborough (Port Royal) you can really see it. There's a huge auto import facility across the river which gets massive RoRo ships. There's the ubiquitous Fraser log booms moored right in front of the apartments, and a wood products transload depot to the west. My favourite part though is an active train line running right through the development, it adds character and avoids it seeming too Stepford-y (ie. how it looks from above). There is a high-rise at the very tip of the peninsula, aptly named "The Peninsula" but otherwise all building form is very street friendly, and no more than 5 stories. Queensborough is a very odd little neighbourhood, but it has an appreciable vibe. A part of New West but geographically separated by the river.
Because of this post, I looked up New West stats and was surprised just how fast it has grown. 81% growth since the 1991 census, that's very impressive on its own. But even more impressive is that by 1991, the city was already fully built out more or less (the city has a very small land mass that has been very urban for a long time). So that 81% growth has been through densification and infill of an already urban city. The result is a population density of 5,052.4/km2, second only to Vancouver (5,749.9/km2) for highest in Canada. But to have such a high growth rate in an established, already dense urban space is quite the feat.
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