Quote:
Originally Posted by J.OT13
I look at suburban skylines like Mississauga and Burnaby and find it amazing how massive they seem.
How does Metrotown in Burnaby and Downtown Mississauga compare to the traditional big cities' respective cores in terms of number of jobs, population, size, shopping, entertainment and all around urban feel?
And are there any other suburban cities with this kind of downtown?
For those from Metro Ottawa, downtown Gatineau (aka Hull) doesn't count since it's more of an extension of central OT.
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I've lived in the Metrotown area for about 5 years now, and it's feeling more urban all the time. Urban canyons are starting to form, and it has a crazy amount of busy stores and restaurants. In some areas, you can still tell that it has a suburban history though. A couple blocks north of Kingsway (the main strip) and you've suddenly gone from high-rises to post-war single family homes. The neighbourhood also surrounds the 2nd biggest mall in Canada, which ruins a lot of the street life, but the streets are getting more vibrant all the time.
Brentwood, Downtown Coquitlam, Downtown Surrey, Lougheed, and Edmonds are other suburban hubs in Metro Vancouver that are following the Metrotown model. Downtown Richmond is also densifying fast, but more in the form of concrete/glass low-rises and mid-rises.
Downtown New Westminster is actually the most urban part of Metro Vancouver outside of the city proper, because it's older than Vancouver itself. It flies under the radar, but it has a walkable, organically urban feel with a ton of heritage buildings and mid-rise density, similar to Downtown Victoria, but more gritty and obviously less touristy.
Unfortunately, Downtown Vancouver (and the surrounding area) is still the only place with a high concentration of office towers and night life though.
Edit: Pinion just reminded me of Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. It's kind of in the same category as Downtown New Westminster I suppose, but with more modern glass towers and fewer heritage buildings (gentrification due to wealthier residents).