the other 78% think it is cool and progressive to have a "brown" guy as their mayor.
Really? You think more than three-quarters of Calgarians are out-of-touch with Nenshi's politics and support him solely because they think it's cool that he's a minority? That comment places you among the likes of HOZ and Calgaryborn in the CP hall of shame for ignorant, stupid posts.
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I would say that 10% actually have a idea of what is going on and agree with you on his politics and the other 78% think it is cool and progressive to have a "brown" guy as their mayor.
That doesn't mean he is doing a good or bad job but my experience is that for the most part people don't have much of a clue as to whether a mayor or councillors are doing a good job and the hype around Nenshi has more to do with his popularity than any actions/policies he has had.
I have to disagree. 53% of eligible voters turned out, which is much higher than in previous elections. The majority of Calgarians saw the issues and cared enough to head to the polls. Of that 53%, 40% voted for Nenshi, leaving him still not having popular majority support among eligible voters. Now, his approval rating sits at 88%, which granted is high and I expect it to come down too, but it is a strong indication that his performance and brand of politics is winning people over, including what I can only assume are people who voted against him.
And I'm pretty sure him being "Brown" was a peripheral, not a primary reason for voting for him. Most people I know didn't vote him in because he's Ismali - it's because he struck the right chord with otherwise disenchanted voters.
I have to disagree. 53% of eligible voters turned out, which is much higher than in previous elections. The majority of Calgarians saw the issues and cared enough to head to the polls. Of that 53%, 40% voted for Nenshi, leaving him still not having popular majority support among eligible voters. Now, his approval rating sits at 88%, which granted is high and I expect it to come down too, but it is a strong indication that his performance and brand of politics is winning people over, including what I can only assume are people who voted against him.
And I'm pretty sure him being "Brown" was a peripheral, not a primary reason for voting for him. Most people I know didn't vote him in because he's Ismali - it's because he struck the right chord with otherwise disenchanted voters.
And that is much higher than it'll be next time. The last mayoral election was close, which incents people to vote as their vote matters more. The next mayoral election won't be anywhere near that close (unless Danielle Smith quits the WR to run or something equally unlikely) so voter turnout will decrease again.
I never liked Bronco either. So essentially you are saying McIver is a member of the old boys club. Like i said fast forward 10 years and you will see Nenshi's version of his newly created boys club. Wait till you see what Nenshi does with taxes too.
Can't wait. Hopefully he finally gets through his proposed 'one penny tax' on transactions, which would help pay for municipal infrastructure such as recreation centres and park improvments. Terrific idea.
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There's really no reason Calgary couldn't build up along smart growth principles as outlined in the latter half of that presentation. I also would be interested to see if anyone here had any fundamental problems with that vision.
If you care about the economic arguments of smart growth and more definitions of it:
Can't wait. Hopefully he finally gets through his proposed 'one penny tax' on transactions, which would help pay for municipal infrastructure such as recreation centres and park improvments. Terrific idea.
The one penny tax isn't Nenshi's idea. However, the way Calgary (and other municipalities) receive their funding a a complete joke.
We can never build the infrastructure that we need to build the way funding is right now. A penny tax, or something along those lines, would help out.
I never liked Bronco either. So essentially you are saying McIver is a member of the old boys club. Like i said fast forward 10 years and you will see Nenshi's version of his newly created boys club. Wait till you see what Nenshi does with taxes too.
Oh great teller of the future, can you please tell us if someone has purchased the Coyotes yet?
.... urban development and smart growth is efficient space planning, not 'human stacking'. The ignorant bunch of the pro-suburban crowd generally believe that urban development means high-density apartment complexes and slum living; in reality, density includes not only high-density development, but low-density development.
It includes so much more than 'human stacking' and I wish people would understand that.
So here is my issue with that video specifically, but densification in more general terms; there is an obvious correlation between density and living costs. The video uses NYC and San Francisco as examples, but those are rated as the 1st and 3rd most expensive cities in the U.S. to live in. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/expen...y?id=17118717#) I am by no means suggesting that Calgary will become anywhere near as expensive as those great cities, but there are some tough questions still unanswered that are making many people uneasy.
I guess my main concerns are that these other, quite dense cities are significantly more expensive to live in and have much, much better public transportation. Prices in this city are already crazy (and transit isn't great) so isn't it a legitimate concern that densification could push prices to an unsustainable level and result in massive damage to the economy?
I guess my main concerns are that these other, quite dense cities are significantly more expensive to live in and have much, much better public transportation. Prices in this city are already crazy (and transit isn't great) so isn't it a legitimate concern that densification could push prices to an unsustainable level and result in massive damage to the economy?
This is kind of backward economics. If you look at the video I posted he talks about the urban growth models as being more economical not less.
Really? You think more than three-quarters of Calgarians are out-of-touch with Nenshi's politics and support him solely because they think it's cool that he's a minority? That comment places you among the likes of HOZ and Calgaryborn in the CP hall of shame for ignorant, stupid posts.
Can't wait. Hopefully he finally gets through his proposed 'one penny tax' on transactions, which would help pay for municipal infrastructure such as recreation centres and park improvments. Terrific idea.
One penny on transactions? That's the first I've heard it phrased that way.
So here is my issue with that video specifically, but densification in more general terms; there is an obvious correlation between density and living costs. The video uses NYC and San Francisco as examples, but those are rated as the 1st and 3rd most expensive cities in the U.S. to live in. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/expen...y?id=17118717#) I am by no means suggesting that Calgary will become anywhere near as expensive as those great cities, but there are some tough questions still unanswered that are making many people uneasy.
I guess my main concerns are that these other, quite dense cities are significantly more expensive to live in and have much, much better public transportation. Prices in this city are already crazy (and transit isn't great) so isn't it a legitimate concern that densification could push prices to an unsustainable level and result in massive damage to the economy?
Great points; the financial side is something I'd like to research more on. However, I firmly believe in two things: Supply and demand, and associated costs savings.
For supply and demand, there needs to be a healthy inlfux of new townhomes / condos / houses in the inner city. The more developed and available to the consumer, the cheaper the prices become. I believe we need to start building more innovative residential properties in the inner city - not everything has to be a condo.
For associated cost savings, I firnly believe that prices, as a whole for the consumer, would go down. The amount saved in transportation costs and energy savings - two of the biggest benefits of urban development - would largely mitigate living costs (not completely, however). I currently live almost downtown and save a ton in both areas.
Infrastructure costs would also go down, as upgrading existing resources is much lower than building new infrastructure outright. The monies that paid for overpasses are now used to upgrade existing roads, and become available for even more transit-oriented options such as streetcars (which are clean and efficient such as the ones in Toronto and San Francisco).
There are also other intangible values that you are omitting from the equation too - proximity to amenities, social interation, and community integration and development.
I would say that 10% actually have a idea of what is going on and agree with you on his politics and the other 78% think it is cool and progressive to have a "brown" guy as their mayor.
That doesn't mean he is doing a good or bad job but my experience is that for the most part people don't have much of a clue as to whether a mayor or councillors are doing a good job and the hype around Nenshi has more to do with his popularity than any actions/policies he has had.
Of course you deal with clueless people all day. Only moon understands the world and how it should be run or how it's being run.
The rest of us are sheep blindly following the mayor because he's brown. Now of course you used a number like "10 percent" so you can deny ever calling anyone a sheep but you've pretty called all Nenshi supporters sheep who don't understand the issues and only approve of him because he's brown.
This is the first time in Calgary history we've had a popular mayor. I guess people only loved Ralph because he was white too.
One penny on transactions? That's the first I've heard it phrased that way.
I understood it to be a 1% tax.
Hmm, I thought it was a single-penny tax on each transactions. I'm pretty sure it was that.
If it is 1% though, I'd still pay it for sure. I value (and use) municipal infrastructure enough to be okay in paying that type of tax.
These facilities don't just build themselves, and our social fabric and standard of living is largely defined by the infrastructure that serves the people using it. You don't get new and exciting stuff for the city (and the city that we all love) for free. But that's just what I believe, and what I value.
