Toronto:
Location Matters: Redefining Living in the Suburbs and the City
RBC/Pembina Institute study shows affordability and easy access to transit, work and services are a high priority in GTA neighbourhoods. The majority of Greater Toronto Area residents would prefer to live in a walkable and transit-accessible neighbourhood in the suburbs or the city that would better suit their day-to-day life, according to an RBC-Pembina Institute study.
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Melbourne:
MELBOURNE’S urban fringe has been swamped with 35,000 unsold homes, prompting warnings the glut could trigger a further slump in property values, and fuelling criticism of the Baillieu government’s ”crazy” decision to expand the city’s boundary. …
The outer suburbs were usually the first and worst areas affected by an economic downturn, said RMIT planning expert Professor Michael Buxton: ”We are designing the world’s worst suburbs, the housing stock is terrible and they have very poor liveability. We are going down the same path as the US, where areas outside major cities have become suburban ghettos.”
Marcus Spiller, a former president of the Planning Institute of Australia, warns a glut of land and unsold homes would contribute to social dislocation and resentment in the outer suburbs.
”This is a troubling scenario of a city divided. We will wind up with two Melbournes, one that is prosperous and well served with infrastructure and employment opportunities, versus a second one on the fringes which is dislocated with property prices that are far less buoyant,” Dr Spiller said.
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San Bernadino, CA
The bankruptcy of San Bernardino, population over 200,000, should not surprise anyone. In fact, as we look at it more closely, we can see that a city that has fully embraced the post-WW II development model, riding its boom to the inevitable bust. … San Bernardino is interesting, however, because it really is the first major city that seems to be imploding under its own weight. …
From all outside appearances, it seems that the business of San Bernardino — the apparent reason for it existing — was to build San Bernardino. A full 13 percent of the work force is still in construction, with much of the other employment coming in secondary, service industries (education, health care, etc…). The city was #11 on the list of Top 101 cities with the largest percentage of males in the construction and extraction occupations (#16 for females). City budgets still show huge revenue projections for permit fees, plan review fees and development impact fees.
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Vancouver
“Re-engineering the suburbs is the next real challenge that we face” – Lance Berelowitz, in his address to the Global Civic Policy forum last month.
Hello Nanaimo? San Bernardino on the Line ― With Your Wake Up Call
http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/2012/07/hello-nanaimo-san-bernadino-on-line.html