residential development
« Previous EntriesStealth density vs high rise density
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Living in walkable, urban neighbourhoods is becoming trendy. And communities are defined as “walkable” when virtually everything you could need from groceries to clothes to plumbing supplies can be acquired on foot.
But to support those businesses, you need a dependable large supply of consumers. Walkable places therefore tend to have higher housing density than less-walkable […]
Building suburbs in “the city”
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010Are some cities starting to transform into suburbs? Here’s how I see the dynamic (and then I welcome your responses):
Aside from their frequent auto-dependence, suburbs often offer the characteristic of “sameness.”
Homes in each subdivision all tend to be the same, or at least very similar.
The same type of people tend to purchase them–one subdivision will […]
A whale in the city:unexpected eco-consequence
Thursday, May 20th, 2010A few weeks ago a grey whale swam into Vancouver’s narrow, False Creek inlet. It swam, fed off bottom dwelling critters, and generally delighted hundreds of spectators who came to watch it swim past the new Olympic Village and over to the condo community of Yaletown.
In my childhood, this was a dirty, aging heavy industrial […]
Households as both renters and owners
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Several friends of mine own a condominium unit but don’t live there. Instead, they are renters when it comes to their family home (a larger condo, a townhouse, or the main floor of a small house).
Is this a uniquely Vancouver experience, or the start of a broader urban trend in North America?
Here’s how it has […]
Between rental and ownership: new forms of home tenure coming?
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009America’s crisis of real estate values and negative home equity has many urban theorists wondering whether home ownership is bad for the economy and bad for many individuals and families.
Richard Florida is one of them:
Two American dreams - of homeownership and of unfettered economic mobility - may be in conflict, as homeownership, especially in downturns […]
Urban 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 […]
Car-free communities in the 21st century
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 Older neighbourhoods in European and some North American cities often work well as pedestrian and cycling zones because they emerged before the automobile existed. Any new community, by law, typically has to allow for automobiles both in roadway allowances and parking regulations.
But what would happen in the 21st-century if you built a community that deliberately […]
Condo units in the downturn: vertical sprawl
Sunday, March 1st, 2009Well located, condominium units in Vancouver’s uber-chic Yaletown have become as challenging to sell these days as a generic single family home in the suburbs. As the residential real estate market has softened, it has hit some homes harder than others.
The economic principle of “scarcity” has been evident. Where there is “geographic constraint” or a […]
Trailer parks
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Apparently trailer parks could become an affordable yet highly livable housing options.
They do offer some advantages over apartment block living, but providing similar density levels:
fresh air flow with windows on all walls;
accessibility for those who struggle with stairs;
expandability (you can add up as well as out);
options to own or rent;
with good landscaping the possibility of […]
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 […]