Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames in 07
Again, energy costs and more gridlock will curtail sprawl, they are not physical barriers, but they are barriers none the less. True, Manhattan has the east river and the hudson that make you grow up vs out, however at some point people will decide that a 90 minute commute each way, all the while paying $2 per litre for gasoline isn't worth saving a few bucks on your property by being out in the burbs.
I like how Cgy is growing in population, but we have too many people who treat it like a small town. People will need to be comfortable with 1150 sq ft condos, and not feeling like owning 2 cars in a 2 adult home is a birthright.
I don't have kids so it's easy for me to say, but we have far too many burbs as it is. The city needs to focus on making central locations more appealing for younger families. I think the TOD's will do that.
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That is a nice picture and a good model to fight for but i am not sure it has anything to do with the fundamental realities of the market. Sounds more like an urban studies university student world!
As gas pricing rises our world fuel economy is increasing and alternative fuels are coming to market. People in other cities already go to far greater lengths at far higher costs to live in their respective suburban homes. Calgary is FAR from that threshold. 50 years or more away from that i would think, and that is assuming no fundamental change in the way we wish to live or transport ourselves.
However that is not my point really. Even downtown and around downtown we have FAR more land than most cities with comparable pricing. There are no downtown area land scarcity problems with room for literally thousands of towers within minutes of downtown.
So even if we hit some wall where no one could live in the suburbs anymore, we would still have FAR more potential units of living space than most other major cities around the world, which would thus undermine long term real estate prices.
Claeren.