Why do Canadians prefer huge houses squeezed together in the middle of nowhere?

[DinoDoc]

Maybe Canadians cluster together for defense - if a gang of rabid Quebecois is attacking then it's better if you have several armed neighbors in earshot.

Are the Canadian breed of Frenchman more vicious than the Eurotrash kind?

[snoopy369]

Are the Canadian breed of Frenchman more vicious than the Eurotrash kind?

Yes.

[regexcellent]

Think about it: Polar bears versus ****ty cheese?

Also compare French defense of France during World War II to Canadian invasion of France and saving France's ass during World War II.

[Uncle Sparky]

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2012/09/27/li-katz-house.jpg[/img]

It took a while, but those houses reminded me of something and I just figured it out -

[C0ckney]

What I find most noxious about smart growth, though is the "walkability" aspect. Personally, I like the fact that my neighborhood isn't walkable; I'm pretty confided the low through traffic means less crime. That is something that is a problem in Rochester. Up here I generally don't have to deal with traffic, though; regional population decline means we have crumbling infrastructure that is nonetheless more than sufficient for our needs.

personally, i couldn't live somewhere where it isn't possible to walk to do your shopping or socialise. there's a neighbourhood like that in rio called 'barra da tijuca'. it's horrible, there's no community, you don't see anyone on the streets because everyone drives, no streets commerce, no life, just a series of condonminiums and malls. it's just so plastic and sterile.

[regexcellent]

I don't think that kind of thing is sterile at all, personally. I like the look and feel of suburbs. I also like the space, and in particular the fact that I never have any difficulty finding parking.

The problem with "walkable" neighborhoods is that they by necessity are not very "drivable" and being able to drive somewhere is more important than being able to walk there.

I talk with my neighbors pretty frequently, even though I am in the most suburban of suburbs. There's also a neighborhood association, and a neighborhood pool where people hang out. So maybe the suburban neighborhood you're talking about just sucks.

[DaShi]

This is an Alpert-like post. Has TMM never left his hometown? These kinds of developments are common throughout the US.

[Fake Boris]

Now that HC has improved, Regexcellent is shaping up to be a fun replacement.

[regexcellent]

Is there something wrong with me having a preference for living in the 'burbs?

[Asher]

He's actually kind of right. Sprawl is only a big problem if you do it wrong.

There's no need to artificially jack up the population density. In places like Calgary or Edmonton, where it's a whole ****load of flat land, you can pretty much build for miles and miles as long as you build enough freeway to support it. Phoenix has below-grade interstate highways that allow it to support a large amount of traffic. For its population, Denver has huge sprawl but not major traffic issues. It's geographically very similar to Calgary in terms of terrain features. On the other hand, there's Los Angeles which didn't build enough highways and infrastructure to support its population and is now totally ****ed.

The problem is there is always that bottleneck to the downtown core. What was more than sufficient 50 years ago isn't nearly sufficient now. The number of freeways and the size of them will just continue to grow over time as you get closer to downtown. So what, you demolish more old neighbourhoods for them?

Urban sprawl is bad for a two main reasons:
1) Infrastructure becomes very expensive (not just road networks, but even **** like water and sanitation)
2) Public transit becomes impractical, forcing people to own cars and drive in bad traffic

All for what, so you can have extra space between houses? I can't hear a damn thing that goes on in my neighbours' houses (they're so well insulated and air tight these days), so why does it matter? It doesn't bother me at all.

For the people who must have more space, they have options -- buy an acreage outside of the city or live in a suburb outside of the city (Airdrie, Okotoks for Calgary).

New developments in the city have strict population, transit, and walk-ability requirements. And that's a good thing. It means in my new subdivision, there's a mix of detached homes (what I have), attached homes, town homes, "garden homes", and in the near future condo towers (up to 18 stories, as per the zoning). All of them are being created around a large commercial zone where business parks and stores are being set up. All of them are connected with discrete pathways (for biking/walking) in addition to roadways. In the middle of all of it is a transit hub which currently contains a "bus rapid transit" to downtown (a bi-articulated bus which goes just from that stop to downtown and back), and will be upgraded to an LRT line in the coming years as the density warrants it.

It's the intelligent way to manage city growth, so we don't end up like Los Angeles or even most US cities...

BTW - Calgary's downtown parking is 2nd most expensive in North America ($472.50 per month). Only NYC is higher.

The reason it's so expensive is because for decades the city has kept the number of parking spaces downtown very small. Ever since they built the LRT lines downtown, that was the plan. It's being used as a model for many other cities now, as it's one of the most cost effective public transit systems in the world.

[regexcellent]

Artificially making it more difficult to commute downtown by car is kind of stupid. I have no problem with high parking prices, as long as the money is reinvested into more parking, such as garages. Calgary is a large city by North American standards but not super-large, and it's in an area with lots of space, so the idea that parking ought to be more expensive than in a place like San Francisco or Montreal where space is constrained by geography is ridiculous.

[Asher]

Artificially making it more difficult to commute downtown by car is kind of stupid. I have no problem with high parking prices, as long as the money is reinvested into more parking, such as garages. Calgary is a large city by North American standards but not super-large, and it's in an area with lots of space, so the idea that parking ought to be more expensive than in a place like San Francisco or Montreal where space is constrained by geography is ridiculous.

I must say I find your American viewpoint fascinating.

You don't seem to understand why someone wouldn't want 20 lane freeways with massive parkades everywhere downtown.

[giblets]

Using far more resources to get people to work and home again is kind of stupid.

[C0ckney]

I don't think that kind of thing is sterile at all, personally. I like the look and feel of suburbs. I also like the space, and in particular the fact that I never have any difficulty finding parking.

The problem with "walkable" neighborhoods is that they by necessity are not very "drivable" and being able to drive somewhere is more important than being able to walk there.

I talk with my neighbors pretty frequently, even though I am in the most suburban of suburbs. There's also a neighborhood association, and a neighborhood pool where people hang out. So maybe the suburban neighborhood you're talking about just sucks.

barra da tijuca isn't a suburb, it's a new part of the city, even though it's far away from the centre. there are lots of businesses there, as well as apartments. a lot people go to work there (i used to work there myself, which is how i know the place), but many people who live there work in the centre. the problem is that if you make a neighbourhood in such a way that you have to drive to even buy a few groceries, everyone has to have a car. which then creates traffic problems.

i don't see why being able to drive somewhere and being able to walk there are mutually exclusive. it's a matter of sensible urban planning. in a big city people should be able to make a reasonable choice between using a car, public transport, walking and cycling.

i think barra sucks (although in fairness the beach is nice), but it's very popular with some. a lot of the new rich, and what you might call the aspirational middle classes live there. the place stinks, it's built on area that was swamp and hills. they bulldozed the hills and drained some of the swamp, but it still reeks to high heaven. those who work in the centre sit for several hours every day in traffic getting to and from work before retreating to their gated, overpriced condominiums where they don't know the guy living in the next apartment. if that's success, they can keep it. but it's their choice i suppose.

[Hauldren Collider]

Artificially making it more difficult to commute downtown by car is kind of stupid. I have no problem with high parking prices, as long as the money is reinvested into more parking, such as garages. Calgary is a large city by North American standards but not super-large, and it's in an area with lots of space, so the idea that parking ought to be more expensive than in a place like San Francisco or Montreal where space is constrained by geography is ridiculous.

Pittsburgh parking is expensive--I pay about 100 a month on my lease for a spot at my apartment building. More than it cost me to get parking in Rosslyn, Arlington (right across the river from DC) when I worked there a few summers ago (although I was reimbursed for that). Pittsburgh is also very constrained by geography. Intersected by three rivers and surrounded by mountain foothills. And you're telling me that Calgary, a city in the middle of ****ing nowhere, with nothing around for basically as far as the eye can see, is more expensive? ****ing morons.

By the way, you would think that being in a city would make it easier to get to places. In pittsburgh, this is definitely not the case. Back home in Fairfax, even with traffic, I can drive to a grocery store or a mall in 5 or 10 minutes. In Pittsburgh during the week, even though I have a car, it takes at least 20 minutes to get anywhere. Double that if you ride the bus.