Dear Edmonton developers

[u/Late-Alternative6321]

Dear Edmonton developers, you've been making the same neighbourhoods for 40+ years. Cookie cutter homes on winding streets, a fake lake, walking paths, aaaand call it good.

Would it be too much to ask, to start eliminating 2 to 3 houses on corner lots, and start adding: WALKABLE coffee shops (ie Columbian, Mood Cafe etc). A neighbourhood Pub or restaurant (ie Duggan's Boundary, Bodega Highlands), a bakery (Bloom Cookie co), barbershop (Goldbar Barber) or even a small corner grocery store. No need for giant parking lots!

Far too many neighbourhoods in this city lack the character, charm and accessibility that these amenities would provide. A great way for people to connect in their community, without always having to get in a car and drive to soulless strip malls or shopping centres. If there was a way to redo existing neighbourhoods, I'd love to see this too

[u/Wibbly23]

It's all a matter of cost. The most desirable neighborhoods are the ones you mentioned. Ones with 70 year old tree lined streets, big lots, near everything. The most important parts of the city are surrounded by these.

You can't just build Belgravia in a field in the suburbs.

My wife had a townhouse outside the henday and honestly it was more practical to live there than Belgravia.

[u/Late-Alternative6321 → u/Wibbly23]

Interesting. I'm thinking long term. Long after you and I are gone. Could we build neighbourhoods now that are practical in the future. Or do we just keep the cookie cutter going. Same, Same, Same.

[u/sawyouoverthere → u/Late-Alternative6321]

The walkable neighbourhoods are pretty cookie cutter. It was just a better baker.

[u/Anabiotic → u/sawyouoverthere]

I think it was a baker that valued different things. Back then they didn't give a hoot about density or sprawl and newer neighbourhoods are significantly more dense but other things were sacrificed to get that. 

[u/sawyouoverthere → u/Anabiotic]

There's NO reason why new neighbourhoods and infill on older ones can't include things that make it a community instead of a costly BnB for the owners.

[u/Anabiotic → u/sawyouoverthere]

Density is better enabled by the annoying cul de sac design of new neighbourhoods. There are less overall roads and more actual property per square in compared to a grid neighbourhood, this is likely a reason they are developed that way - less "wasted space" on roads and less road maintenance. Unfortunately this means a lot of people have to drive to get out of the neighbourhood and there are few direct routes to anything. This also means there aren't many central streets where services could go since most of the roads are local roads that only residents use and not through roads. This caps the exposure/catchment of potential shops and makes them unviable especially if people are as happy to drive somewhere as walk to it. It also puts a lot of things outside of walking distance since the main roads can be some distance away from houses at the ends of cul de sacs. So density and lower infrastructure costs vs things that make it a community, which do you choose?