Gated Communities across Canada - Page 3

artvandelay · #41 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 10:20 PM**

I also think torture would be an option as well. Shooting them might be in poor taste.

Wharn · #42 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 10:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by artvandelay

I have a deep-seated hatred for gated communities; I probably hate them more than anyone else on this forum. So much so that I think anybody who decides to live in a gated community should be shot.

I agree, Comrade. How dare those bourgeoisie bastards try and show us up by placing a gate on a road? They deserve to die! Glory to the Revolution! (I seriously hope that you're just trolling/being sarcastic)

Quote:

Originally Posted by patm

I want to shoot all the people who live in condos that are built to subpar standards and thus encourage the development of more of these paper thin walled, unlivable units.

There, does that not sound like dictation?

Please don't shoot me- I just moved in because the rent was cheap

MonkeyRonin · #43 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 10:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Is there a huge difference between horizontal gated communities and vertical gated communities (condo towers)?

Yes. One is a private building that is part of a greater urban community, one is a completely self-contained, private community of its own. Individual buildings typically have limited or nonexistent public access. Whereas typically public infrastructure like roads and sidewalks do.

yaletown_fella · #44 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 11:07 PM**

I could care less if the property I purchased was in a gated community as long as it's a decent investment and aesthetically pleasing. However, the whole Sugerland style artificial lake crap is where I draw the line.

artvandelay · #45 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 11:27 PM**

In all honesty I have nothing against gated communities. I don't think they are neccesary given our low crime rate and I wouldn't want to live in one, but there is a certain segment of the market that finds the gated community lifestyle to be desirable and that is entirely their business.

I don't know what the law is like in other parts of the country, but here in Alberta you cannot have a gate on a publicly maintained road. So there are some cost savings to the municipality as the homeowners association is forced to pay for road upkeep.

Also, the holier-than-thou Canadian attitude that appears on this forum occasionally is very tiresome.

yaletown_fella · #46 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by artvandelay

In all honesty I have nothing against gated communities. I don't think they are neccesary given our low crime rate and I wouldn't want to live in one, but there is a certain segment of the market that finds the gated community lifestyle to be desirable and that is entirely their business.

I don't know what the law is like in other parts of the country, but here in Alberta you cannot have a gate on a publicly maintained road. So there are some cost savings to the municipality as the homeowners association is forced to pay for road upkeep.

Also, the holier-than-thou Canadian attitude that appears on this forum occasionally is very tiresome.

Couldn't agree more. Just live and let live

vid · #47 Posted **Dec 8, 2012, 11:55 PM**

The basic argument in favour of gated communities that I am getting from this discussion is, "they're good because they let parents slack off and let kids play in the street".

Ultimately, I feel for the kids who have to grow up in those kinds of places. I am not opposed to them, I just think that people should seriously consider what that degree of isolation does to people before they make the decision to move into one.

Gated communities aren't always "totally safe". Treyvon Martin lived in one.

waterloowarrior · #48 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 12:02 AM**

Here is a gated condo tower community near downtown Ottawa, adjacent to its major transit transfer station Hurdman
http://goo.gl/maps/Zmwx7

Some of the private townhome communities will have gate-like entrance features but no physical gates
http://goo.gl/maps/8KGuh

SignalHillHiker · #49 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 1:07 AM**

They're probably illegal in Newfoundland as well, though there are plenty of homes with private, gated driveways.

Bishop's Gate is about the only subdivision in the city that I'd expect to have a gate - and even it doesn't.

Architype · #50 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 1:47 AM**

Sorry, wrong thread lol.

Nfld doesn't need gated communities, yet !

It seems one of the few advantages of having gated communities is that the city doesn't have to maintain as much infrastructure.

Mister F · #51 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 2:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Yes. One is a private building that is part of a greater urban community, one is a completely self-contained, private community of its own. Individual buildings typically have limited or nonexistent public access. Whereas typically public infrastructure like roads and sidewalks do.

Agreed, it's a ridiculous comparison, a red herring brought up by people who like gated communities. The vast majority of condo towers are on public streets and are an integral part of the wider neighbourhood. They often have shops on the ground floor or public open space, some even have malls.

Andy6 · #52 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 4:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister F

Agreed, it's a ridiculous comparison, a red herring brought up by people who like gated communities. The vast majority of condo towers are on public streets and are an integral part of the wider neighbourhood. They often have shops on the ground floor or public open space, some even have malls.

Well, in a condo I'm using a private swimming pool and weight room, rather than ones that are out "on the street". Same with private laundry facilities rather than a laundromat. Plus I'm enjoying private outdoor spaces rather than the public park. In addition to that, I enjoy 24-hour security at the front desk that keeps the riff-raff out of all of this.

How is the appeal of any of those things any different than the appeal of a gated community to gated-community dwellers? At most, the difference is one of degree, and not even all that great a degree. Exactly the same impulses are behind both.

SignalHillHiker · #53 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 4:42 AM**

I agree that condos share quite a lot in common with a gated community - and may even prove to be a near-universal second choice for those who wish to live in gated communities.

But they are far less destructive. The footprint is much smaller: you can fit in one city block the same number of people that would cover vast expanses of land in a gated community. And the condo encourages and increases density, which makes living together in cities and sharing the burden of municipal services more affordable for everyone.

Also, the psychological impact is less. Walking by a condo building you wouldn't get past the front desk in is not nearly as striking as driving along a fence for kilometres, with obscene wealth on one side and average existence on the other.

waterloowarrior · #54 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 5:03 AM**

^ in some areas you can get that effect. For example, here's one in downtown Ottawa with 500-1000k condos and fences/gates surrounding the private amenity area, with a homeless shelter right across the street. http://goo.gl/maps/LxgTM It's right beside a walkway where they play classical music to keep homeless people from loitering.

memememe76 · #55 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 6:43 AM**

The so-called gated communities in Surrey seem like townhomes/duplexes developments with a gate. They exist in relatively busy parts of the city and don't take up that much space.

P. Alouishous · #56 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 4:07 PM**

the luxurious gated Alexandra Park community in Toronto:

http://goo.gl/maps/fzfwI

Welkin · #57 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 4:14 PM**

Interesting thread. By the way, has anyone ever wondered why Heaven is a gated community? Saint Peter, Pearly Gates (you would think that they would have gone with gold instead of pearls) and all that stuff. Maybe the Americans are just trying to copy God.

freeweed · #58 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 7:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welkin

Interesting thread. By the way, has anyone ever wondered why Heaven is a gated community? Saint Peter, Pearly Gates (you would think that they would have gone with gold instead of pearls) and all that stuff. Maybe the Americans are just trying to copy God.

You sir, win the Internets!

leftimage · #59 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 8:46 PM**

Here's the closest thing to ''gated'' in Montreal, an infamous fence that runs along l'Acadie boulevard in ''Park Ex'' (Parc extension) - one of the poorest neighborhoods in Canada - that separates it from one of Montreal's wealthiest suburbs, TMR (Ville Mont-Royal).... quite obviously meant to keep the poor out.

From wiki: This fence originally had several gates built into it, which then became a subject of controversy when they were locked one year at Halloween, preventing children from Park Extension from trick-or-treating in TMR. The Mount Royal town council responded by removing the gates. As of 2007, the gates were restored, with signs stating that this is for the safety of children and pedestrians.

Park ex is to the left. The fence is slickly covered in hedges and stretches for about 3km.

Mister F · #60 Posted **Dec 9, 2012, 10:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy6

Well, in a condo I'm using a private swimming pool and weight room, rather than ones that are out "on the street". Same with private laundry facilities rather than a laundromat. Plus I'm enjoying private outdoor spaces rather than the public park. In addition to that, I enjoy 24-hour security at the front desk that keeps the riff-raff out of all of this.

How is the appeal of any of those things any different than the appeal of a gated community to gated-community dwellers? At most, the difference is one of degree, and not even all that great a degree. Exactly the same impulses are behind both.

Hotels have private pools. Goodlife Fitness is a private gym for members only. I don't think any reasonable person would call those gated communities. Having laundry facilities on site doesn't come from a desire for shutting out riff-raff, it comes from a desire for convenience. A typical condo building is fundamendally no different from downtown historic building with apartments on the upper floors. The public can't get up there either, and many of them have the same kind of amenities you're talking about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

^ in some areas you can get that effect. For example, here's one in downtown Ottawa with 500-1000k condos and fences/gates surrounding the private amenity area, with a homeless shelter right across the street. http://goo.gl/maps/LxgTM It's right beside a walkway where they play classical music to keep homeless people from loitering.

Public green space in a condo is just as common. I live in a building where anybody can use the internal driveway, and the public park next door was part of the development. I could just as easily post a picture of Maple Leaf Square to prove my point, but we both know that the typical condo building (especially a recent one) is somewhere in between that extreme and your example. Calling this or this a gated community is ludicrous.