For a long time, city planners & political leaders have been allowing smarter housing densities mostly along the frontage of busy streets, & not many other places. It has big health implications. We should be allowing housing density MANY blocks off transit streets. Transit support, better health. - ThreadSky

brenttoderian.bsky.social • 20 days ago

For a long time, city planners & political leaders have been allowing smarter housing densities mostly along the frontage of busy streets, & not many other places.

It has big health implications.

We should be allowing housing density MANY blocks off transit streets. Transit support, better health.

Comments

bedwardstiek.bsky.social•19 days ago

Isn't the root problem to solve getting the cars off those arterials rather than putting the housing further back?

amoralorealis.bsky.social•19 days ago

Both.

notwelcomematt.bsky.social•19 days ago

I saw a new townhouse development behind a slip lane for the two busiest streets in Surrey yesterday. I imagine every kid who lives there will have asthma.

plannerjacky.bsky.social•19 days ago

📌

tallentire.bsky.social•19 days ago

These blocks fronting onto busy roads to act as blockers are so weird. They could at least have their backs turned to the road as was common in such developments 50 years ago eg Byker Wall.

brenttoderian.bsky.social•20 days ago

I’m working on a city-wide plan for an evolving suburban city where 3 storey apartment buildings would be allowed everywhere, 4 storey apts with “corner convenience” at every corner and 6-storey “urban villages” at bigger corners, and much wider denser urban transit corridors than just the frontage.

chris-begley.bsky.social•19 days ago

I have lived in rentals in Vancouver West End, Berlin, Munich, and Somerville MA - all wonderful, and common denominator is that EVERY street in those areas is rentals. Never lived on a thoroughfare

physgal.bsky.social•19 days ago

I’d much rather have a 3 storey apartment building next door than yet another ugly white mini mansion.

cyclopsdave.bsky.social•19 days ago

Houtem Castellum?

gmarkham.bsky.social•20 days ago

This makes so much sense. My neighbourhood is almost exclusively SFHs for blocks. I'd really like to see some diversity here, including three-story rowhouses, scatterings of apartment blocks, etc. It would make for a much livelier 'hood.

pmi73.bsky.social•19 days ago

When I walk around the older (and wealthy!) neighbourhoods in Toronto such as Rosedale and Forest Hills I often come upon these 4 storey apartment buildings in the middle of all the mansions. I’ve often wondered about the zoning that allowed that to happen.

riverdaleboy.bsky.social•19 days ago

No zoning regs at the time, other than maybe "use" conflict mitigation in the broadest sense.
https://asrengineers.ca/post-torontos-zoning-bylaws/#:~:text=1921%20%E2%80%93%20Toronto%20adopts%20its%20first,based%20on%20fire%20access%20needs.

pmi73.bsky.social•19 days ago

Yeah, that makes sense. Probably explains all those four-plexes in the Beach, too. So much more interesting than the kilometres of identical sfh’s.

riverdaleboy.bsky.social•19 days ago

A city doesn't have to be interesting. It would be nice if it worked better, but those days are gone in TO.

pmi73.bsky.social•19 days ago

I want it to be interesting, beautiful, vibrant, safe AND work well. I’m not throwing in the towel yet. 😊

riverdaleboy.bsky.social•19 days ago

Those are from the 20s when the amusement park folded

westside-backyard.bsky.social•19 days ago

It's probably the zoning that stopped that happening.
In Vancouver those older low rise apartments are all from the 60s or earlier - some the 1920s
https://doodles.mountainmath.ca/posts/2023-02-06-a-brief-history-of-vancouver-planning-development-regimes/

pmi73.bsky.social•19 days ago

Right - good point. An example of government possibly trying to fix something with negative consequences down the line but now it’s the status quo and hard to change.

reverendblair.bsky.social•19 days ago

Excellent. Make sure to include commons spaces for gardening and just hanging out and such.

janneyb.bsky.social•19 days ago

"much wider denser urban transit corridors than just the frontage."
I don't understand this. Does it mean towers on high-speed roads?

danielpssantos.bsky.social•19 days ago

Well played, sir! I'm also working on a smaller town-wide plan where two floors is the norm, and we're using a similar approach. It makes me so happy to see some common threads in here.

mikethemadbiol.bsky.social•19 days ago

📌

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