Instead of trying to force unwilling workers back to the office, Canadian cities should instead focus on developing downtowns that people genuinely want to visit and experience.
Articles on Downtown cores
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Turning excess office space into apartments isn’t a panacea for the housing shortage, but it’s producing thousands of new units yearly and is more sustainable and economical than new construction.
Developers have overbuilt office and commercial space in US cities for decades. Now, in the wake of pandemic shutdowns, many downtowns face hard choices about the future.
US cities are starting to reform laws that required developers to provide minimum amounts of parking. But there’s more they can do to loosen the auto’s grip on downtowns.
Self-driving cars may someday drop off their owners downtown and then leave to find free parking. What would that mean for cities of the future?
It’s easy to over-estimate crowding and traffic in highly visible downtown cores and underestimate the vast growth happening in the suburban edges of our metropolitan regions.
Top contributors
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Professor, School of Urban and Regional Planning; Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Ontario
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Managing Director, State Smart Transportation Initiative, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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John Rennie Short is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Postdoctoral Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
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Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Interior Design, Miami University
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Trustee Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University
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Research scientist, Western University
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Director, Urban Development Program; Professor, Geography & Environment, Western University
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Professor of Geography & Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University
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Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Professor, Department of Paediatrics; Professor, Brescia School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Western University