HOWEVER, I use the Arconia in OMITB as a prime example of premium, spacious, yet dense* housing in a setting with virtually zero mandated space for cars.
* #GentleDensity; not a tower-block. Each apartment’s ~14 rooms with high ceilings; tons of space.
The frustrating thing about Senate Bill 50’s demise? It was blocked by myths about housing values in urban environments: the mid-rise buildings it proposed allowing would raise home values, not lower them
#gentledensity #housingcrisis
www.ft.com/content/2afa...
www.brookings.edu/articles/gen...
Many urbanists, myself included, call out all the boring technical jargon (& 3-letter acronyms…the worst) we use in the various city-buildings professions. But I’m also clearly a fan of “branding” good ideas so they’re memorable (eg my #GentleDensity term).
What are your fav urbanism idea “brands?”
8/9 The letter challenges tower-default thinking. Ground-oriented density better matches household needs without triggering "demovictions."
Support individual end-users building secondary suites and infill developments instead. #GentleDensity #SecondarySuites
#Infill
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#Infill #ZoningReform #GentleDensity #MissingMiddle #UrbanPlanning #BuildingIN
#Toronto, join in today at 2 pm for the live stream to look at a calmer way of creating neighbourhoods and community. Or watch the replay on your own time. #walkable #gentledensity
Red tape shouldn’t stand in the way of solving the housing crisis.
#HousingCrisis #Toronto #Multiplex #MissingMiddle #GentleDensity #PlanningFail #BuildingIN
We’ve waited long enough. Let’s not waste this moment. #TOpoli #HousingTO #Sixplexes #GentleDensity
1. Wrongheaded sounding move by a city councillor in Edmonton, a city that’s generally been making good strategic moves around doing density better.
2. #GentleDensity is meant to support raising density that’s too low, not lowering density that’s smart and strategic (I coined the term in 2006).
Municipal finance matters.
Development charges, parkland dedication, and other cost obligations directly shape the viability of new housing — especially smaller-scale infill like multiplexes. These aren't minor barriers. #GentleDensity
Seems good.
#toronto #sixplex #gentledensity
“Branding” good city-building ideas isn’t about attention—that usually fails. It’s best when it’s trying to solve a communication problem. For example, I came up with #GentleDensity in 2006 in Vancouver because we needed to talk about needed change in neighbourhoods that WASN’T about tall buildings.
The entrance gate to the Belnord, used as the exterior for the Arconia on “Only Murders in the Building.”
#GentleDensity is probably what you're looking for.
Ever seen the building in #OnlyMurdersInTheBuilding? "Arconia"; aka "The Belnord"
170+ wonderfully grand, spacious, apartments on a footprint you'd squeeze ~70 x modest (EU-sized) 3-bed houses-with-car-parking.
pic: @matthewsoberman.bsky.social
Transit Friendly Planning News - mailchi.mp/njtod/news-m... - DCA launches NJHOMES for middle housing • NJDOT State Aid grant period open • Austin TX streamlines density bonus program • Transit funding crisis • Parisian ecodistricts - #transitfriendlyplanning #NJHOMES #gentledensity
Let’s build smarter, and faster, now.
#HousingCrisis #InfillHousing #UrbanPlanning #GentleDensity #BuildingIN #CanadianMunicipalities
If cities are serious about housing solutions, they need to act like it.
Let’s stop punishing good projects.
Let’s build more of them.
#MissingMiddle #GentleDensity #TorontoHousing #LanewaySuites #BuildingIN #InfillHousing #UrbanPlanning
3/8 New Democrats propose similar concepts: building on federal land with non-profits to create 100,000+ rent-controlled units. CMHC has already revived "pre-approved home designs" featuring "gentle density" multiplexes.
#HousingPolicy #GentleDensity
Let’s keep the momentum going! Who else is working to make infill the default? Drop your thoughts below. 👇
#InfillDevelopment #CompleteCommunities #GentleDensity #HousingSolutions #UrbanGrowth #BuildingIN
why hasn't COV allowed these type of rental buildings as a right, already? #gentledensity #vanpoli #vanre
Photo of gorgeous historic 3-4 storey compact housing in thin pre-car streets.
Some historical precedents for ground-oriented denser housing choices (what I dubbed #GentleDensity and what @danielparolek.bsky.social called #MissingMiddle) make you melt.
This is Schnoor Quarter in Bremen, Germany.
Nothing stops us from building something like this today, except our rules.
...Because the future really should be better than the past.
#TimeForTrams for movement
#GreenUp for streets & squares
#GentleDensity for beautiful buildings
#MetrolandModel to pay for it
#BringTheDemocracyForward to de-risk planning
Whether we like it or not, “BRANDING” our good city-building ideas WORKS for spreading & strengthening those ideas. A good example is #MissingMiddle Housing via @opticosdesign.bsky.social, which has been even more effective than my #GentleDensity.
What are YOUR FAV better city-building idea brands?
Adding density doesn't necessarily require high rise apartments. Even something as little as adding 4-5 apartments above an existing business can help breathe life into a neighborhood and encourage an area to become more walkable. #StongTowns #GentleDensity #Lynchburg
No one ever complained that a town has too many squares. Why #GentleDensity is often the right approach for people, prosperity& planet … 👩 💵 🌏
Want to make need for individual car ownership rare? Follow @VeridianLiving lead and Do this 👇
#bikeshare
#gentledensity
@holz_bau www.instagram.com/p/Ce9lRMEv8Ev/
Just like a forest, #gentledensity cities are not only the most beautiful, but they are also the most climate beneficial.
Funny how sustainability = beauty
We don't need Bladerunner cities to solve housing crisis.
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