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What would you think of a combination of high density and large green space? Lay out a city like a fractal with the interior being dense, but you're always clos

What would you think of a combination of high density and large green space? Lay out a city like a fractal with the interior being dense, but you're always close to woodlands, open fields (farms?), or parks. I know zoning boards are incapable of maintaining such a structure without constantly making exceptions for developers, but what would you think of such an arrangement?

rowanajmarshall 5y ago
That's not far from London, a pretty dense city as they go, but also one that just about, technically speaking, counts as a forest thanks to the number of trees [1]. I live in one of the densest boroughs of London, on a main road, and I've got ample access to parks and green space. [1] https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/did-you-know-that-london-is-the-worlds-largest-urban-forest https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/did-you-know-tha...
- Pasorrijer 5y ago
  Toronto is very similar. Outside of the very dense core, but still very much in Toronto proper, you can get lost in forests and ravines and have to be on the lookout for coyote!
vineyardmike 5y ago
> I know zoning boards are incapable of maintaining such a structure without constantly making exceptions for developers, Also not a lot of undeveloped cities either to try it out. For what its worth, something similar (but less dramatic in scale) was already tried before [1]. People tended to not like it. The park space made it a lot harder to get around. You lose the "its ony three block away" nature of cities when you add lots of dead space, and things like rain cover along sidewalks become a problem. One of the major things that make city streets "walkable" and enjoyable is stuff happening on the street frontage. The complexity of various shops, eateries and city amenities abutting the sidewalk mean there is reason to be there and things to do. You lose that when you recess a building. I think a much better approach is just to cede some land to be in-city-grid parks, and take over some minor roads and alleys as green-walks where the road is reduced (eg. curved to force slow traffic) or removed, and theres lots of trees and gardens and walkways. Basically get that green space from incremental reclamation, and protection of existing opens spaces. Leave actual city structure as it is. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_in_the_park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_in_the_park

rowanajmarshall 5y ago

That's not far from London, a pretty dense city as they go, but also one that just about, technically speaking, counts as a forest thanks to the number of trees [1]. I live in one of the densest boroughs of London, on a main road, and I've got ample access to parks and green space. [1] https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/did-you-know-that-london-is-the-worlds-largest-urban-forest https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/did-you-know-tha...

Pasorrijer 5y ago
Toronto is very similar. Outside of the very dense core, but still very much in Toronto proper, you can get lost in forests and ravines and have to be on the lookout for coyote!

vineyardmike 5y ago

> I know zoning boards are incapable of maintaining such a structure without constantly making exceptions for developers, Also not a lot of undeveloped cities either to try it out. For what its worth, something similar (but less dramatic in scale) was already tried before [1]. People tended to not like it. The park space made it a lot harder to get around. You lose the "its ony three block away" nature of cities when you add lots of dead space, and things like rain cover along sidewalks become a problem. One of the major things that make city streets "walkable" and enjoyable is stuff happening on the street frontage. The complexity of various shops, eateries and city amenities abutting the sidewalk mean there is reason to be there and things to do. You lose that when you recess a building. I think a much better approach is just to cede some land to be in-city-grid parks, and take over some minor roads and alleys as green-walks where the road is reduced (eg. curved to force slow traffic) or removed, and theres lots of trees and gardens and walkways. Basically get that green space from incremental reclamation, and protection of existing opens spaces. Leave actual city structure as it is. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_in_the_park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_in_the_park