jaycola
Active Member
I don't know if this string will have legs but I found this article interesting from yesterday's Toronto Star. Many good points are made but I can't agree with all that was said.
http://www.thestar.com/article/645216
It discusses issues of urban sprawl and the future of cities and communities brought up at a recent Ontario Heritage Conference.
Here are a few points I found interesting.
While I agree that the success of cities will depend a lot on a local diverse economy, more locally grown food production, walkable neighbourhoods and modern mass transit, I can't see how cities like Toronto (GTA) can contract while we continually add tens of thousands of new residents to the city every year.
Why are skyscrapers less energy efficient to run than 6 story buildings?
Less land is required for a taller tower and are there not savings as a result of economy of scale?
They talk about a shift from the cities to smaller communities. Can we not fix suburbia? That would seem like a better use of resources already in place.
http://www.thestar.com/article/645216
It discusses issues of urban sprawl and the future of cities and communities brought up at a recent Ontario Heritage Conference.
Here are a few points I found interesting.
"Suburbia is "the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of world," said Kunstler. "We squandered our national treasure on both sides of the border on constructing an infrastructure for daily life that has no future.""
"Rather than scrambling to continue a lifestyle built around the car and the trappings of suburbia, it's time to redefine our way of life, they said, not only in the way we travel, but in the way we occupy the land, do commerce and produce food. Both foresee a return to smaller-scale local-based economies and a need to produce food close to home, on the "agricultural hinterlands" that have been sacrificed for suburban development.
"...the suburbs' decline will not be "like Godzilla coming and people screaming," but a tremendous demographic shift is coming and people will eventually relocate. He believes it will be to towns and small cities. "
"Cities are also in trouble, suffering from problems of scale and big metro-plexes like Toronto and Vancouver are going to contract substantially, although the old centres of the city will intensify,"
"The skyscraper will be in big trouble – these building types are strictly a creature of the cheap energy fiesta. There is no reason to believe we can afford to run these things down the line. You gotta stop building towers. No more towers – no more buildings over six or seven storeys high, period."
"...the future in communities where food and goods are produced locally; places with affordable housing, walkable neighbourhoods, public transit, public parks and civic squares. Friedman also said communities should be intergenerational, housing all ages in the same developments and that no one should have to drive to buy the daily necessities..."
While I agree that the success of cities will depend a lot on a local diverse economy, more locally grown food production, walkable neighbourhoods and modern mass transit, I can't see how cities like Toronto (GTA) can contract while we continually add tens of thousands of new residents to the city every year.
Why are skyscrapers less energy efficient to run than 6 story buildings?
Less land is required for a taller tower and are there not savings as a result of economy of scale?
They talk about a shift from the cities to smaller communities. Can we not fix suburbia? That would seem like a better use of resources already in place.