Comments on: Pedestrian Scale Pondering During the Strike http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2008/12/16/pedestrian-scale-pondering-during-the-strike/ The source on how we live, work and play Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:08:01 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Jackson Couse http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2008/12/16/pedestrian-scale-pondering-during-the-strike/comment-page-1/#comment-8694 Jackson Couse Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:48:38 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/?p=5832#comment-8694 This growth of the suburban is about more than urban planning. North American society has been dominated by an economic system that requires people to live in suburbs. Nobody really wants to spend 2 hours a day driving, or be located in a place far removed from services. Unfortunately, affordable housing is limited in all city centers, including Ottawa's. I've watched housing prices rise in my neighborhood, which is historically a low-rent area. Some of the more marginal residents face a very tough situation, that can only be made worse by a this difficult reminder that living downtown is desirable. The growth of the city and decline of real earning power over the past three decades has forced city-livers to make a choice: live downtown and delay independence (having kids, moving out, buying a home), or live in the 'burbs and spend all that time in the car. As cities get even bigger, less walkable, and more exclusive, this organization is untenable. How do we make the suburbs a place that you don't have to leave to get services? This growth of the suburban is about more than urban planning. North American society has been dominated by an economic system that requires people to live in suburbs. Nobody really wants to spend 2 hours a day driving, or be located in a place far removed from services.

Unfortunately, affordable housing is limited in all city centers, including Ottawa’s. I’ve watched housing prices rise in my neighborhood, which is historically a low-rent area. Some of the more marginal residents face a very tough situation, that can only be made worse by a this difficult reminder that living downtown is desirable.

The growth of the city and decline of real earning power over the past three decades has forced city-livers to make a choice: live downtown and delay independence (having kids, moving out, buying a home), or live in the ‘burbs and spend all that time in the car. As cities get even bigger, less walkable, and more exclusive, this organization is untenable. How do we make the suburbs a place that you don’t have to leave to get services?

]]> By: Elizabeth M http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2008/12/16/pedestrian-scale-pondering-during-the-strike/comment-page-1/#comment-8296 Elizabeth M Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:00:56 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/?p=5832#comment-8296 I grew up in the woods, literally. So public transportation didn't even cross my mind til I moved to Philadelphia for a summer in college. While there, I felt liberated grabbing the trolley to get downtown. But then they had a transit strike. I never felt so stranded and totally stuck in my life. No car. Unfamiliar city. Too far to walk from my apartment to work. I had a landlord kind enough to drop me and pick me up at my internship most days since it was near her husband's office but otherwise I had to rely on cabs and the kindness of coworkers. To get to your question, I honestly don't know what could have helped in this no-transportation situation - a big part of it, for me, was a safety issue. So I guess I just wanted to share my limited mobility story and commiserate. I grew up in the woods, literally. So public transportation didn’t even cross my mind til I moved to Philadelphia for a summer in college. While there, I felt liberated grabbing the trolley to get downtown. But then they had a transit strike. I never felt so stranded and totally stuck in my life. No car. Unfamiliar city. Too far to walk from my apartment to work. I had a landlord kind enough to drop me and pick me up at my internship most days since it was near her husband’s office but otherwise I had to rely on cabs and the kindness of coworkers. To get to your question, I honestly don’t know what could have helped in this no-transportation situation – a big part of it, for me, was a safety issue. So I guess I just wanted to share my limited mobility story and commiserate.

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