Tag: Development

Categories
Urban Planning

smart growth is supported by transit

smart growth is supported by transit

Recently in the news, planners have been saying that there’s a “missing middle” in the GTA housing market. They’re talking about a lack of low-rise and mid-rise buildings, ranging from low-rise stacked condos and townhomes to mid-rise buildings four to 12 stories high. This “missing middle” is important because it gives buyers and renters more options in the middle ground between single family homes and high-rise condos and apartments. The good news is the formerly elusive low- and mid-rises have started to show up, right where they make sense – along rapid transit routes.

As this Globe and Mail article says, developers are choosing to build low- and mid-rise buildings outside the urban core, where growth is expected. They see the value in low- and mid-rise buildings, because they have a lower capital investment than high-rises, and more buyers/renters per square foot than single family homes.

Markham Centre has been developing for several years, and it is a good example of an area which includes low-rise townhomes and mid-rise business and residential buildings in close proximity to transit, retail and commercial buildings. Davis Drive in Newmarket is also following the trend and has its first mid-rise building being built. This new building will provide much-needed rental housing for local residents. Yonge Street in Richmond Hill already has some mid-rise buildings, with more on the way. Vaughan is a bit different because high-rises are already being built around transit in the urban core of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC], with subway and bus rapid transit nearby the area can support more density and will be a popular location once all the new transit services are open. East and west of the VMC has everything from new streetscapes, Viva rapid transit, and a good variety of housing options from traditional single family homes, to mid-rise building.

We’re excited to see these transformations around the Viva rapidway routes in York Region. New buildings are located near the road so that tree-lined sidewalks, transit, shops and restaurants are right on the doorstep for everyone to enjoy.  It is inevitable that areas will continue to grow as populations increase but creating sustainable buildings located near transit is really “smart growth”. And, from a housing option, variety is good for both young and old.

 

Categories
General Studies Urban Planning

how transit and city planning work together

how transit and city planning work together

An exciting new urban planning report — Make Way for Mid-Rise: How to build more homes in walkable, transit-connected neighbourhoods — proposes actions that would help increase density along transit lines in the Greater Toronto Area. The report was released by the Pembina Institute and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association on Monday, May 4.

The nugget of this report is that the range of affordable housing choices for families would increase by building mid-rise, mixed-use buildings along transit lines. The report argues that mid-rise development supports “healthy lifestyles and local economies, since it can help increase walkability and put more people close to transit, while also supporting local business.”

So, should our communities “make way for mid-rise”? If we want our cities to have a better chance of developing the type of population density that supports a healthy neighbourhood with street life, walkability, and good transit, then, yes!

As the populations of York Region and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area increase, it’s the job of government, urban planners, and developers to ensure that the community infrastructure is properly accommodated, and resources like farmland and clean water are protected.

The Make Way for Mid-Rise report presents five ways to support increased density:

  1. Require minimum densities along rapid transit lines
  2. Eliminate minimum parking requirements
  3. Pre-approve mid-rise development along avenues and transit corridors
  4. Require retail planning before mid-rise is built
  5. Make parkland dedication rules more equitable

When transit planning and urban planning work together, the result can be what vivaNext is all about: great cities and great transit, hand in hand.

Take a few moments to check out the report, Make Way for Mid-Rise, and read more about the proposals in the Toronto Star.

 

Categories
Live-work-play Rapidways Urban Planning

How transit shapes development

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You’ve probably noticed that in several of my earlier posts, I have referred to the connection between transit and development. And you may have thought to yourself: “How can transit, which helps people get around, have anything to do with the kind of buildings that get built, and where they go?” Good question!

Historically, people have tended to settle and build at points along popular travel routes. And as places get built up, they attract more people, and more building. There is, and always has been, a linkage between the location of travel routes and the location of development. Here’s one interesting local example: archeologists working on the vivaNext project have focused their work on areas where creeks and the roadway intersect. Why? There is a greater chance of finding artifacts in such locations, because in the past, people travelling along those creeks would have stopped nearby for rest, for shelter, or to settle.

Another example in more recent Canadian history is that of the railways. When the railways were built across the country, little towns shortly began popping up all along the route. Many communities were built, or became as large as they did, because of the railways.

These examples demonstrate the strong relationship between transit and development. As a form of urban travel, transit creates natural stopping points along its routes. The more people there are using the transit system, the more activity there is at these points. Rapid transit–a form of transit that moves a high volume of people-creates stopping points with the potential to be visited by large numbers of people; this in turn spurs development.

Land use planners know this, which is why transit is a core component of York Region’s plan for managing future growth. Much of the new growth coming to York Region will take place in the areas closest to and along the transit routes. The transit routes have thus been planned in tandem with larger efforts to shape where growth will happen, tapping into the human pattern of wanting to build near travel routes.

We are already seeing proof that the pattern is once again playing out as expected, with many new developments being planned along the future vivaNext rapidways. Next time, I’ll talk more about the kind of development that you can expect to see along the rapidways.