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Vancouver has it's sprawly suburbs, too. There's Surrey, Burnaby, White Rock and Langley. You could even include Blaine, Washington in Vancouver's sprawl, despite the border.
Well I haven't seen any of those, but Surrey (and at least one other who's name I don't know) have impressive skyline/downtown areas from afar. don't know if that means they are more urban or not than US suburbs.
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True. But you can say the same thing about urban areas. Personally, I think small towns offer the most unique lifestyle.
maybe, but at least people who live in urban areas are part of that area, are a citizen of it. I live in the city, I spend my time here, my money here, I add to the community and take part in what it has to offer. I'm proud to be able to say I'm from somewhere, to be a citizen of this place.
if you are from a no name subdivision 30 miles from a city center, where can you say you're from? what is there to be proud of in your home town? Be proud of the city you're near but you hardly ever go to, and have very little to do with?
To be from a place with no identity, no personality or soul, that's no fun. Even if I was born in the city of Detroit I'd wear that loud and proud on my sleeve, because at least it IS somewhere, and there is at least SOMETHING to say about it, even if it's bad.
small towns, rural areas, those are places to say you're from. you're right, small towns can have tons of character. But when I think "sprawl" I think identical sub divisions and suburbs where there is no central core, no real heart to the place. nothing to know it for.
Because it's wasteful and environmentally selfish, not to mention more costly.
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Originally Posted by 1208
I was recently in Vancouver, BC which is very densely built, more so than most US cities. It had a great atmosphere, tons of people out and about (despite the weather) and tons of things to do in a short area. It was never boring, everything was in walking distance and there was always something going on. This is what dense development creates: a vibrant, engaging community.
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Originally Posted by jm02
Because it's ugly, a waste and land and energy, discourages entrepreneurial start ups in favor corporate behemoths and ultimately leads to a vapid way of life.
+1 to the bolded quoted comments...they pretty much sum up how I feel about it.
I don't think that's the case at all. I think some of us Texans get very defensive about it and want to make our cities seem "victimized" of bashing. I know many people would bash cities for whatever reasons, but I doubt that cities like Houston or Dallas are bashed "just because" and its sprawl is only used as some type of excuse.
You know, people spend way too much time attaching things that have nothing to do with sprawl to sprawl.
It lessens the argument (which IMHO is a correct position) that sprawl is bad for society if you say:
-Sprawl breeds bad people
-Sprawl breeds uncreative people
-Sprawl stymies innovation
None of those things are true, nor are they the exclusive domain of city dwellers.
Creativity, personalities, and innovation are part of the human condition and what type of town or dwelling you reside in has no bearing on that.
I absolutely agree with this. I think of guys like Wes Anderson who is from the Houston area and things like that make me think that perhaps sprawling cities inspire more creativity than others would think.
I mean, sure I agree that creativity and all is part of the "human condition" but if you think of cities which are "bad in nature" and in this case, assuming that "sprawl" is bad, there is always some type of inspiration. Look at Wes Anderson's characters, and believe me I've thought of this before in my strange way of rationalizing, but it kinda makes me wonder that perhaps there's a correlation with the way he writes his characters - distant, and flawed. Rushmore has the complete feeling of a suburb high school. Not that people who live in suburb's are flawed... I guess I'm just saying that sprawling cities can garner as much inspiration as urban cities.
Heck, even the film "Blade Runner" was influenced by Los Angeles... so there you go.
I absolutely agree with this. I think of guys like Wes Anderson who is from the Houston area and things like that make me think that perhaps sprawling cities inspire more creativity than others would think.
I mean, sure I agree that creativity and all is part of the "human condition" but if you think of cities which are "bad in nature" and in this case, assuming that "sprawl" is bad, there is always some type of inspiration. Look at Wes Anderson's characters, and believe me I've thought of this before in my strange way of rationalizing, but it kinda makes me wonder that perhaps there's a correlation with the way he writes his characters - distant, and flawed. Rushmore has the complete feeling of a suburb high school. Not that people who live in suburb's are flawed... I guess I'm just saying that sprawling cities can garner as much inspiration as urban cities.
Heck, even the film "Blade Runner" was influenced by Los Angeles... so there you go.
some of the world's most renowned art was made under Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany and during the Dark Ages. Repression, or in this case homogeneity and blandness can really turn on the creative impulse in some people.
blade runner...wasn't the whole thing about the massive, impersonal, soulless city structure? no soul, no personality, everyone just lives in their little cube and avoids
it's not the suburbs I hate but the way they seem to isolate people and fragment communities. little gates to keep everyone else out, no sidewalks so you can't be forced to meet people, no contact with life outside your little pasture...
people are against sprawl because u have to purchase one of these:
And dont have the luxury of riding one of these:
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