4 ms·
Hong Kong and Tokyo somehow manage to stay creative and interesting despite being more expensive per square foot than the new Toronto. The difference, in my un
by alex_c 7y ago
Hong Kong and Tokyo somehow manage to stay creative and interesting despite being more expensive per square foot than the new Toronto.
The difference, in my uneducated opinion: commercial and retail space in those cities goes up. It is not strictly at street level, as in Toronto. Look up and you will see signs for bunny cafes, stationery, restaurants, all kinds of small/odd fashion stores...
All the condo districts in Toronto look the same: a small sliver of retail on the ground floor, invariably Rexall, Rabba's, or Aromas. And that's pretty much it.
Would love to hear from someone more familiar with urban planning on this topic.
- ylem 7y agoDidn't Tokyo actively encourage building?
- TimPC 7y agoToronto is fairly encouraging of building as well. It's just that it's the fastest growing city in the western world so demand is growing faster than supply. Most cities have problems with staying creative in the face of high rents because most artist jobs pay very poorly (unless you're one of the few who makes it big). It's pretty terrible that musicians, writers, painters and sculptors tend to be in salary brackets where they can never retire and never own a home unless they become huge. The art and culture of a city will suffer greatly if the next generation of artists is entirely forced into corporate jobs with part time on art. This is even more true if those jobs require creativity reducing the creative energy available for art.
- FalconSensei 7y agoToronto is building a lot, but you basically see more expensive condos that are already sold out for people who doesn't even live there