Suburban Skylines

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

which of these pseudo-downtowns have dense pedestrian traffic? That, to me, is the true litmus test...not banal tall glass office buildings or condos.

yeah, i wouldn't call either example i posted a pseudo-downtown, clearly just edge cities. labtec mentioned the area around suntrust park (the battery) as being fairly lively during games, and it's ok as a fake town center i suppose, but of course not a real downtown.

buckhead is kind of a hybrid - i would say it's actually fairly walkable. you have a couple of a subway stations around the newer office district (not super walkable) but the village is a mile away, and that is quite walkable.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8393...7i16384!8i8192

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I think wealthy American suburbia should use this modest suburban Toronto development as a template:
https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-t...-near-toronto/

Maybe propose this to the bluebloods in Darien, CT, or the technocracy in Palo Alto, CA.

If that was proposed in Palo Alto, I think the natives would burn the bay area to the ground

[JManc]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

If that was proposed in Palo Alto, I think the natives would burn the bay area to the ground

Or at the very least spit up their soy mocha lattes all over the dash of their Model 3's.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I think wealthy American suburbia should use this modest suburban Toronto development as a template:
https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-t...-near-toronto/

Maybe propose this to the bluebloods in Darien, CT, or the technocracy in Palo Alto, CA.

For this to happen state governments would need to:

1) Plan growth and transit regionally (Greater Golden Horseshoe, Metrolinx, GO Transit)
2) Get more involved in mandating where growth is allowed to happen (Places to Grow Act)
3) and where it is not allowed (Greenbelt Act).
4) They will have to be involved as an appeal body for new development as a way to override local towns and cities rejecting projects (Ontario Municipal Board / Local Planning Appeal Tribunal)

Then the Toronto model can exist.

[Labtec]

Originally Posted by cabasse

yeah, i wouldn't call either example i posted a pseudo-downtown, clearly just edge cities. labtec mentioned the area around suntrust park (the battery) as being fairly lively during games, and it's ok as a fake town center i suppose, but of course not a real downtown.

buckhead is kind of a hybrid - i would say it's actually fairly walkable. you have a couple of a subway stations around the newer office district (not super walkable) but the village is a mile away, and that is quite walkable.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8393...7i16384!8i8192

https://goo.gl/maps/t6doFTs1zUNC6CJNA a walkable high-end shopping district of Buckhead.

[dave8721]

Various Beach skylines of South Florida Miami Beach's Mid Beach up to North Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, up to Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale beach up in the distance:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wmg93/51873845076

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Love the reflection in the water

[Metro-One]

I like the linear beach skylines of Miami!

Always surprises me how Toronto gets all the talk on this thread for Canada, when Vancouver has a massive spread of suburban skylines.

A good recent picture capturing a few (none of these are the downtown skyline)

Foreground is North Vancouver, the main subject of the picture is Brentwood, and on the left in the background is Surrey Central and on the right in the background the eastern edge of Metrotown.

Brentwood

797 Eyremount Drive West Vancouver-4 by ONIKON Creative, on Flickr

[Northern Light]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ but doesn't Canada have civil courts where "concerned citizens" can just tie up anything that they don't like in indefinite litigation without end?

Maybe Canada just isn't as lawsuit-happy as the the US is? Or maybe Canadian courts just have much lower tolerance for those kinds of painfully transparent stall tactics?

I think the gist of the answer to your question is already out there.

But maybe I can build on that a bit.

1) The Ontario Land Tribunal IS the first place any appeal of a land-use decision must go. You can't go to civil court first, its not a choice.

The venue for dispute is decided by law.

2) OLT decisions can't be easily appealed.

3) Finally, certain types of decisions can't be appealed at all.

Let me then elaborate on the above.

****

On #2

Neither the failure to comply with the rules, nor the exercise of discretion, is a ground to set aside an OLT decision on an application for judicial review or an appeal, unless the OLT’s failure or exercise of its discretion causes a substantial wrong affecting the final disposition of a proceeding.

Taken from: https://www.osler.com/en/resources/r...mental-matters

*****

On #3

Limits on appeals

Under the Planning Act, there are specific matters that cannot be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Generally, there are no appeals for matters related to:

- official plan policies and zoning bylaw provisions authorizing additional residential units (for example, basement apartments, accessory units)

-official plan policies and zoning bylaw provisions that relate to inclusionary zoning

-official plans/amendments that implement certain matters with previous provincial approval, such as source water protection boundaries, A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe employment and population projections, and Greenbelt Plan boundaries

-official plan policies and zoning bylaw provisions that designate and zone lands identified as a Protected Major Transit Station Area (lands around stations/stops for rail, subway and certain other forms of transit that are protected by official plan policies)

-to accommodate densities (number of people, jobs and building floor area per hectare) that support transit

Taken from:

https://www.ontario.ca/document/citi...unal#section-1

[Metro-One]

In Canada Metrotown (Burnaby: Vancouver) and Mississauga are compared frequently, but while I can see where some of the base assumptions come from of them being “the same,” I find Metrotown to be far more visually appealing and inviting. While neither are urban utopias I don’t find Metrotown anywhere near are depressing, detached and stark as Mississauga. Maybe it is the relatively finer grain of residential blocks, the mix of some older mid density, the topography, or the more mature and lush greenery.

To put it simply, I would far prefer to walk around Metrotown than Mississauga.

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

https://www.collierscanada.com/en-ca...ada/can2005987

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

In Canada Metrotown (Burnaby: Vancouver) and Mississauga are compared frequently, but while I can see where some of the base assumptions come from of them being “the same,” I find Metrotown to be far more visually appealing and inviting. While neither are urban utopias I don’t find Metrotown anywhere near are depressing, detached and stark as Mississauga. Maybe it is the relatively finer grain of residential blocks, the mix of some older mid density, the topography, or the more mature and lush greenery.

North York is more comparable to Metrotown as they're both in first ring inner suburbs and the most mature of the various suburban skylines. The comparisons to Mississauga are mostly because they're centred on malls.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

North York is more comparable to Metrotown as they're both in first ring inner suburbs and the most mature of the various suburban skylines. The comparisons to Mississauga are mostly because they're centred on malls.

North York is definitely a better comparison, but for some reason Mississauga is the one always cited

[Metro-One]

A good pic with Vancouver in the foreground, the Metrotown skyline (Burnaby) in the mid ground and Surrey in the background:

Originally Posted by Monolith

Vancouver and Mount Baker by Anthony Maw, on Flickr

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

A good pic with Vancouver in the foreground, the Metrotown skyline (Burnaby) in the mid ground and Surrey in the background:

Holy shit.

[vanman]

Here's the wider version.

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Here's a wider shot by Anthony Maw that includes the Brentwood/Gilmore skyline on the far left. Lougheed skyline is out of the picture further to the left.

Between Metrotown and Surrey skylines I think you can see the New Westminster skyline.

Even this wider shot shows only a slice of the Metro Vancouver skylines.

[/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2n77CcV]
Vancouver and Mount Baker Volcano by Anthony Maw, on Flickr