I can talk the talk, but this is really going to test that ……

I live in a fairly walkable town outside one of the most walking and transit oriented cities in the US. I’ve always been a transit and walkable communities advocate.

My town is centered on a train station/bus/taxi/scooter/bicycle hub and we have a traditional walkable “Main Street” with shops and restaurants that we pedestrianize for the summer. We have a new rail trail that will eventually connect to a statewide network, a riverwalk and even kayak rentals in the middle of downtown

Higher density housing is centered on the downtown, dominated by 4-6 story apartment/condos, including residential over commercial. Works great. Surrounding that is a belt of 2-3 story multifamily houses, townhouses, and small apartments. I’m the first street zoned for single family, but I can still walk to the town center, and take the train into the nearby major city.

I even spoke up in favor of new statewide zoning, requiring “as of right” zoning for large apartment buildings near transit …… maybe you see where this is going ……

When I was out walking my dog this morning, I saw construction …. apparently there are a couple huge 6 story apartment buildings going in just a couple blocks away. It all seemed like a great idea until it was my neighborhood. It was a great idea when things were grouped by size. But now it’s a behemoth towering over three deckers and the like, and even looming near single family housing.

I’ve “talked the talk” but really don’t know if I can “walk the walk”. This really seems excessive for the neighborhood.

What do you think? Could you still support higher density housing when it means something twice the height going into your neighborhood, hundreds of tenants where now it’s 3-10 per building? What would you do when you get what you were asking for but it’s in your neighborhood and way out of scale?

  • Daniel QuinnEnglish
    17•4 months ago

    Remember that the beautiful, vibrant neighbourhoods we campaign for aren’t monocultures, but diverse spaces for all kinds of living (within reason). 4-6 storeys is expected, as are 1-3 and even 26. The magic is in the planning and use, not so much the verticality.

    Have a look at Vancouver’s West End for example. I lived there for around 10 years and it’s really doing a great job in all the right categories. There’s some single family homes, some town homes, small apartment blocks, historical homes, and some skyscrapers, all situated around mixed use commercial/residential areas, parks, cycling, and transit. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty great for North America.

    Amsterdam, our favourite model (I lived there for 5 years) also has a broad mix of densities. Though it definitely favours 2-4 storeys, there are many different elevations and I lived in a gorgeous 6-storey apartment block off the Veemkade for some of the greatest years of my life.

    So don’t worry so much about the height. Worry about the spaces between and how they’re planned. Is the transit good, are they prioritising people over cars? Are there parks and other walkable spaces, as well as space for cafés and grocers? That’s the magic right there.