maddyfish

A lot of wishful thinking here. More likely suburbanites will dictate that workplaces be moved to the suburbs. Already happening in Cincinnnati Oh. across the river from where I live. My wife works for a large regional bank, due to cost and employee complaints stemming from the outrageous crime in downtown Cincy, they moved their operation out to the burbs. They still maintain a sign on the big building downtown to maintain a apearances, but no actual work occurs downtown.

The problem for her is that they moved furhter into Ohio, her 3 minute car commute is now 15 minutes.


People may like and need to be closer to work, but they like to be safe and secure alot more.

cyclezealot

Maddy. I fear the way the suburbs are so speard out, how is it possible to bring jobs to people. The burbs are so spead out, how could a company find a middle location to satisfy all.

cyclezealot

Maybe you live in an area where buses are frequent. So many times I did errands on my bike in North County and I'd find bus racks full and I'd have to wait for over an hour for the next bus. Employers can't allow me to wait for my next month.
Of course if you have a flat 20 miles, guess that commute would be about one hour.

rajman

Glad to hear it GG. I'm staying in Kensington/Sunnyside now and was informed by a real estate agent about the zoning rules. Either they were mistaken, or they have changed them. I see that my profit estimate was close to the mark. Why wouldn't people want to make these kinds of returns on their investment? I suspect we'll see a lot of intensification, so long as approval for this kind of infill is relatively routine.

BTW - you didn't make it clear if accessory suites/basement suites were part of the redevelopment.

maddyfish

Why is it a company's responsibility to satisfy employees? When a company moves out to the suburbs, if the employees don't like the new location, too bad. Just find a new set of employees who do appreciate the new location.

slagjumper

I just bought a washer and dryer from a dude in suburban Pittsburgh (Murrysville) who is moving to the city. Says it will save him 2500 a year. He is about 22 mile from work now and will be 2 miles from work when he moves.

I own 2 duplexes and recently got 15 responses to a "for rent" posting on Craigs list. Ninety percent where from local suburbanites wanting to move closer to jobs or school.

I think that there will always be some rich, childless, introverted, and style-free folks who will want to live in the 'burbs. I feel sorry for the suburban schools though. I am sure people will move out.

Unless of course they bring back the EV1. But hell will freeze over before that happens.

Roody

Gosh, I'm glad you're not making the decisions about how to run a company! Most chief executives believe that one of the primary criteria for choosing a business location is the quality of the local workforce. Most also believe that contented employess are more productive and less likely to quit and find work with a competitor. But I guess you were absent the day they taught that in business school!

GGDub

I'm not sure, but there was something in the news about changing the rules about basement suites in the province I while back.

anitra

Personally, my husband and I moved <b>out</b> of a city to bring us closer to our jobs. (Close enough to bike!)

But we live in Massachusetts, which doesn't seem to follow the same rules as the rest of the USA. (We lived in Worcester, but our jobs are both about 1/2way between Worcester and Boston. I think they call it the "exurbs".)

Brian Sorrell

But biking Temecula is no picnic! The place is a freakin' high-speed SUV parade.

The problem with Temecula's urban planning is that all of the resources like grocery stores, restaurants, retail, etc. are located in one area. Hence, everyone needs to go to that one area to get stuff. The resulting congestion is ridiculous, e.g., on Winchester Road and Rancho California, etc. They need more local markets or resources within their sprawling housing developments.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not down on the suggestion that they try to get hi-tech jobs and such locally. It's just that their problems run deeper, in my estimation.

Orikal

Houston is much like this. Obviously we have central business disctricts such as downtown, the Galleria, Greenway Plaza, and the Med Center, but outer ring suburban areas are sprouting their own "work zones." Even the Woodlands (about 25 miles north of Houston) is expanding exponentially and has quite a substantial workforce, and consequently, a very nice business district.

0_emissions :=)

You guys don't have smarts yet? they've been here in Can. for awhile!

0_emissions :=)

This happens almost everywhere. In Cowtown it's the same: People are buying old apartment buildings which have been ratbagged out, and turning them into 'luxury' condos give me a break.

Platy

I have two relatives who have each done well for many years in small scale real estate remodeling and investing. In the past they always went in the direction of more and more suburban type development.

Last year something changed. One relative went on and on about how great it would be to live in the small town of Mineola, Texas and commute to Dallas on Amtrak. The other relative was talking about a surge of people who were suddenly wanting to live in the oldest downtown neighborhoods of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Dahon.Steve

I happen to think there is NO shortage of housing for those with money can live in any city in the world. There's plenty of luxury housing in New York City right now for anyone with the cash. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of affordable housing and I don't see this being rectified any time soon. I like your idea of increasing density but you would be surprised at how towns fight for any new developement because of the social implications. (Schools, Police, Fire, Sanitation). Then there's the additional cost of parking that must be taken into consideration along with this increase in density. Any new building in my town must build new parking space or the tenants will end up taking the street parking. The whole situation would be alot easier and cheaper if everyone was car free but that is not the case.

Falkon 

The mentality of most people is smaller = more dangerous. That's one of the reasons people have for justifying their SUVs. Facts and reasoning have no place. It feels safer, so it is safer. I for one wouldn't mind a smart.

folder fanatic

Temecula California is a prime example.

But biking Temecula is no picnic! The place is a freakin' high-speed SUV parade.

The problem with Temecula's urban planning is that all of the resources like grocery stores, restaurants, retail, etc. are located in one area. Hence, everyone needs to go to that one area to get stuff. The resulting congestion is ridiculous, e.g., on Winchester Road and Rancho California, etc. They need more local markets or resources within their sprawling housing developments.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not down on the suggestion that they try to get hi-tech jobs and such locally. It's just that their problems run deeper, in my estimation. -Brian Sorrell, Location: Riverside, CA

I wanted to ride my bike to the Riverside National Cemetary to visit my father's gravesite a while back. I decided against it when I noticed that Van Buren Bl. is a freeway fast, overcrowded with SUVs, narrow no sides to speak of road. When we entered the cemetary, the speed bumps would seriously jar and bounce about even a very slow moving bike (we drove fortunally). So I decided to pass on bike riding in Riverside (and add another car to the mix).