"back to the center"
« Previous EntriesUrban families after the great reset
Friday, May 29th, 2009As energy becomes expensive and major cities increase their status as economic drivers, families who live in them will inhabit smaller spaces than many do today. Some are already there, and from their lifestyles we can glimpse into the future.
Melanie, her husband and two children live in their 950 square foot condominium in Vancouver’s Yaletown […]
Think ahead: 3 bedroom condos needed
Friday, October 24th, 2008During the last real estate cycle, condominium living became popular in many cities. Most buyers were singles or either young couples without kids or empty-nesters. With perhaps Manhattan and Vancouver being notable exceptions, families with young children have generally not been among the new inner urban residents.
In part, this is because few new condominiums offer […]
Telecommuting is so ex-urban
Saturday, August 16th, 2008Sure, working from home occasionally can offer a productivity boost. Getting away from the phone and co-workers is sometimes necessary to accomplish large, solitary projects or catch up on a dozen loose ends.
But everyone working from home, connecting via the internet and VOIP or video conference to each other is not going to happen. As […]
Back to the future
Sunday, August 10th, 2008In the Philadelphia area (link via Planetizen), city officials representing older neighbourhoods and inner ring, older suburbs are now working together to promote these communities as great alternatives to far flung, distant suburbs:
They are places that have been long suffering as homebuyers the past few decades have opted for more spacious homes on large lots […]
End of the Megalopolis?
Friday, June 27th, 2008What if the costs of operating an automobile permanently reach or exceed $10 per gallon and alternative fuels cannot offer any savings just an alternative?
Then, we may see the end of the Megalopolis — although not the end of the mega-region.
On CBC’s The National Wednesday night a person interviewed (James Kunstler, I believe) in Kelly […]
The end of the car-tropolis?
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008Will the car-tropolis come to an end? Or will America’s suburban style of living survive peak oil. A few weeks ago I suggested that current gasoline prices will not bring down American suburbia. I still believe this. At current prices in the US, people could buy more fuel efficient vehicles and continue the lifestyle […]
The “Pocket book point”
Saturday, May 31st, 2008 Great editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding gradual changes happening in America as gasoline prices rise. John Timpane notes that transit ridership is gradually increasing and attitudes are slowly changing away from exurban sprawl and toward “elegant density.”
So, no, we haven’t reached the tipping point - we’ve reached a pocketbook point. When things really […]
Floating semi-cities?
Saturday, March 29th, 2008The Creativity Exchange ran a post this week about The Freedom Ship - a floating city complete with airport, university, office space, and residences priced from $180,000 to $44 million. The Freedom Ship is supposed to circumnavigate the globe every 12 months, which seems a little challenging — those Atlantic and Pacific storms might be […]
Downtown living as the new frontier
Thursday, January 31st, 2008Following up on my last post, here’s a new perspective on downtown living — it’s the “new frontier.”
In the late 20th century, many downtowns became somewhat lawless states of nature. Homelessness, crime, gangs and / or other urban ills often prevailed. But rents were cheap.
The first group in — the artsy, alternative, bohemian and sometimes […]
New suburban dream
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007It’s the New Year, coming up and a time to think ahead, so here are my thoughts on Suburbs!
The suburbs, for the most part, are toast. They have three possible outcomes in the twenty-first century: as slums, salvage yards, or ruins.
- Howard Kunstler in the Freakonomics Quorum on Cities
I actually disagree with this statement. […]