doady
Senior Member
There may be some exaggeration to make the point but I'd have to agree completely with the observation 'W. K. Lis' is making here.
So you agree with the observation that historic villages akin to those pictured of France have been destroyed here due to road widening? Anyone else?
As for me, I have yet to see any example of a village (and an actual village, not a hamlet) that was destroyed due to road widening and policies prohibiting mixed uses in the post-war era. If any of you know of any such village that has been destroyed by these practices please inform us so that we can mourn and express our outrage.
You have a problem. There is a difference in development here and in Europe. My son had a friend who came here for 2 years while his father got transferred here for a job. When they left the mother said they want to live in the city (Bacalonia) which means she said they need to live in an apartment. Unlike the North America notion that to live in the city you can only reasonably do it as a family if it is a house. I asked her do they not have tall apartments there and she said people do not want them. There are some 12 storey located further out.
Look at Yorkvillle which use to have all those Victorian houses converted to shops and then torned down for a boutique hotel. Plus there is a condo there now and a garden centre, Where is the character of why people went to Yorkville? Its no longer there. Those condos are sold based on the character of the street but people don't realize once the condos are built they are the reason why the character changes. Same thing will happen to King St and restaurant row. The same thing with St Clair and the list goes on. I could understand building condos 6 storey high and then ground level store fronts with retail/business etc, But usually ground level = grand lobbies
Most new apartment high-rise buildings don't have storefronts? Really?
Perserving the historic low-rise neighbourhoods and limiting all development to 6 storey or lower is something I agree with... in principle. In practice it seems unrealistic. Those houses got converted to shops for a reason. I think if such a strict height limit were instituted it would result in he descruction of even more Victorian houses. Plus, Toronto to become a polarized city like Paris. And even the houses in central Paris got replaced once upon a time.
How many houses are still left in central Barcelona?