Here’s the city of Toronto, without anyone much noticing, banning tall buildings in most of its eastern downtown. Max heights mostly 30m or less. 1/ app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…#topoli
This very consequential policy was finished through public consultation that attracted fewer than 300 people, total. 2/
This is profoundly bad policy in terms of economic development, efficient use of infrastructure, housing supply, climate resilience. 3/
But the strongest public feedback from the neighbours was about “the effect of increasing development on heritage character” and shadowing, etc. 4/
This is the views of a few hundred people, mirrored certainly by some city planning staff, interfering in important ways with what’s best for the city and the region. 5/
The machinery of planning always favours anti-development locals. Even here *in the downtown* of the country’s fastest-growing city. 6/
“Respect local planning.” 7/
To achieve Barcelona-style midrise density, you would need to demolish and rebuild everything in sight 8/
A New Urbanist development in Ontario: Replacing a farmers’ field to build homes for retirees who will drive everywhere. theglobeandmail.com/business/indus…
This looks like it will be marginally better than the usual sprawl. But even in this drawing you can see it’s on the edge of farmland. 2/
“People should be able to take care of their ordinary needs within walking distance,” says Andres Duany 3/
Crucial point about what's happening: big pools of capital are buying old (often decrepit) buildings and pushing hard for higher rents and new tenancies
This is totally different from *building* new housing, which is what developers often get called out for.
“Cities are places of opportunity and cohesion, and people want to live there. Yet our planning and politics make this far too difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic is the moment to change that.” My piece @globeandmail: theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl… 1/
Cities aren’t dead. More of us should live there. 2/
Our society has experienced dramatic demographic changes, and planning policy isn’t catching up. 3/