I can talk the talk, but this is really going to test that ……
I live in a fairly walkable town outside one of the most walking and transit oriented cities in the US. I’ve always been a transit and walkable communities advocate.
My town is centered on a train station/bus/taxi/scooter/bicycle hub and we have a traditional walkable “Main Street” with shops and restaurants that we pedestrianize for the summer. We have a new rail trail that will eventually connect to a statewide network, a riverwalk and even kayak rentals in the middle of downtown
Higher density housing is centered on the downtown, dominated by 4-6 story apartment/condos, including residential over commercial. Works great. Surrounding that is a belt of 2-3 story multifamily houses, townhouses, and small apartments. I’m the first street zoned for single family, but I can still walk to the town center, and take the train into the nearby major city.
I even spoke up in favor of new statewide zoning, requiring “as of right” zoning for large apartment buildings near transit …… maybe you see where this is going ……
When I was out walking my dog this morning, I saw construction …. apparently there are a couple huge 6 story apartment buildings going in just a couple blocks away. It all seemed like a great idea until it was my neighborhood. It was a great idea when things were grouped by size. But now it’s a behemoth towering over three deckers and the like, and even looming near single family housing.
I’ve “talked the talk” but really don’t know if I can “walk the walk”. This really seems excessive for the neighborhood.
What do you think? Could you still support higher density housing when it means something twice the height going into your neighborhood, hundreds of tenants where now it’s 3-10 per building? What would you do when you get what you were asking for but it’s in your neighborhood and way out of scale?
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Remember that the beautiful, vibrant neighbourhoods we campaign for aren’t monocultures, but diverse spaces for all kinds of living (within reason). 4-6 storeys is expected, as are 1-3 and even 26. The magic is in the planning and use, not so much the verticality.
Have a look at Vancouver’s West End for example. I lived there for around 10 years and it’s really doing a great job in all the right categories. There’s some single family homes, some town homes, small apartment blocks, historical homes, and some skyscrapers, all situated around mixed use commercial/residential areas, parks, cycling, and transit. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty great for North America.
Amsterdam, our favourite model (I lived there for 5 years) also has a broad mix of densities. Though it definitely favours 2-4 storeys, there are many different elevations and I lived in a gorgeous 6-storey apartment block off the Veemkade for some of the greatest years of my life.
So don’t worry so much about the height. Worry about the spaces between and how they’re planned. Is the transit good, are they prioritising people over cars? Are there parks and other walkable spaces, as well as space for cafés and grocers? That’s the magic right there.
I finally got pictures
I think a lot depends on the actual architecture and the surroundings. I’ve lived in several 4-6 buildings and they were really different - in terms of contact with other neighbors, cleanliness, general vibe and quality of life, … I prefer them because resource consumption for single family houses is insane (at least with the types of buildings in Germany) and they allow for more space to be used for other things, like green spaces, while still keeping everything walkable.
I’ve also lived in those: from trash student apartments to higher end, and all have been really convenient to places. There’s nothing like walking out your door and having the convenience of everything city: from restaurants to nightclubs to baseball to the subway everywhere else. I don’t object to them per se (although I think allowing wood framed buildings that big is a mistake).
However it’s harder to support something so out of scale to a neighborhood.
Does that make me a hypocrite or NIMBY, or is it reasonable to expect something more like what’s there? I like to think it’s reasonable to object to something that out of scale but I can’t describe it without using the same language that NIMBYs do
Well, maybe it is NIMBY? I think it’s an understandable reflex: things change, there’s a some uncertainty how the neighborhood will be affected, the drawbacks are visible from the start but the benefits are somewhat abstract and in the future. So the first reaction may well be “I do not want that”. But you’re doing the important next step: reflecting this reaction and questioning what exactly it is that disturbs you and whether this is in line with your values/politics/ethics. Maybe this isn’t a great project. But if all you have is some vague feeling then maybe that’s just the discomfort of change and the project(s) will turn out alright?
Having grown up in both “single family zoned neighborhoods” (although they’re called something different from where I’m from) and “mixed density neighborhoods” (where 3-4 storey buildings and single family homes are put together), it just feels a little different for the first few days. You get used to it real quick!
