Can the existing suburbs have New Urbanism ideals integrated?
RH: In bits and pieces, yes, though it’s a big challenge. Existing residents tend to resist increases in densities, and/or attempts to introduce small-scale commercial activity into residential areas. Australia has aimed at intensification by allowing, and encouraging, home owners to build ‘granny-flat’ extensions or, on large lots, additional structures. They’ve met with rather limited success. By the way, don’t overlook the fact that there are New Urbanist developments in southern Ontario. In fact, the largest such development in North America is Cornell, in Markham. The real problem is that individual New Urbanist developments, even on the scale of Cornell, don’t make much difference. Most households still end up owning two-plus cars, because the wage-earners have to commute someplace else. East 43rd Street in Hamilton. A suburb built on a grid of streets, circa 1950s. TS: Where do you think the desire to change the existing suburbs will come from – government, consumers, builders o
