Urban density in a pandemic; 15 minute neighbourhoods; Communal garbage
It's the return of the Local!
When I started writing this newsletter a wise person Tweeted to me that the idea behind it was a good one, but warned I should come up with an easy-to-follow format or else it would be difficult to carry through. I knew they were right, and yet I went ahead and hit “send” anyways.
After a few editions I knew I better come up with a formula or I’d abandon the project altogether and then… the pandemic hit and here we are, seven months since I last even attempted to put together a newsletter of interesting things happening in the world of Canadian urbanism (or whatever you want to call the focus of this thing— urbanism through a rural Canadian lens?)
But the whole time the issue of what’s LOCAL to us has become even more important as our worlds are constrained — from a few blocks to a few municipalities, depending on how you’re feeling about the whole travel thing and the rules for where you happen to be.
So I’m going to start up again but I’m setting myself a rule: 3-5 topics/links only. No treatises. Short and sweet which should make this easier on you, and on me. I’m not saying it will never expand but for NOW it seems wise to set up some constraints. And so….
Urban Density is Not A Problem
In the early days of the pandemic, it was easy for laypeople to look at cities and urban density as a problem and think it might be wise to retreat to a more sprawling, suburban lifestyle with lawns and parks and the like. And while I certainly am thankful for my own setup it’s worth noting that:
“Density and crowding are different things. Crowding is what happens when, because of a lack of sufficient housing, families and roommates are forced into tight quarters designed for a smaller number of inhabitants. That crowding can increase the spread of a contagion. Density in cities—where people can live in uncrowded homes near neighbors, services, and commercial corridors—doesn’t.”
See also: “In a pandemic, big cities are islands of safety” and “It’s a pandemic myth that density makes us sick.”
That said, I’m interested in the return of the idea of 15-minute neighbourhoods in Edmonton, where the city is working on a plan “for people in all parts of the city to be within a 15-minute trip of amenities and transportation”, across Canada, and around the world.
My own neighbourhood was clearly designed with the 15-minute model in mind, but unfortunately over the years it’s become less livable.
In Praise of Second-Tier Cities
In Calgary Jen Gerson finds all she really needs to be happy in her home is “a good coffee shop; a bookstore to browse; a few fun streets to wander around once in a while.”
“In many ways, quarantine living has put our cities on an equal level. When we spend most of our days in our home, when we cook instead of going out to eat, when we interact with people through the screen instead of in shops, when poetry readings are done online instead of in a bookshop, it almost doesn’t matter what city you call home. What matters, instead, is the space (big or small) you’ve created for yourself…
“Look around you—what kind of town have you built for yourself?”
Having lived through B.C.’s two worst wildfires seasons in 2017 and 2018, I can relate to Californians becoming obsessed with air-quality apps.
And because it’s been seven months, “How to tell if you live in the suburbs.”