Cities that design for beauty succeed

Bruce Mau (one of our own) says that as a city, we’re competing with beauty. We have an opportunity to design a beautiful city and contribute to culture and wealth in our downtown. This same opportunity does not exist on the Kingsway.

Even though I appreciate that some longtime Sudburians think we should design around what taxpayers want, we need to design a city around our youth first, then sort out how we’ll better serve our aging population. Otherwise we’ll end up like Elliot Lake and cater to retirees and seniors. That’s not growth—that’s called fading away, and we’ll get swallowed whole by Southern cities like Barrie or Newmarket. The young people of Sudbury feel disenfranchised, and most I speak to are planning their exit strategy. We have a golden opportunity to do something about it now. Growth is the only way forward.

Beware of those who claim to have all the answers

If there’s something I’ve learned during my time in the U.S., it’s that you should be very skeptical of people in power who claim to have all the answers. I’ve met Dario Zulich on a few occasions, and I believe that he has good intentions. However, I do worry that he’s found an opportunity to build a monopoly and capitalize on a city that is both confused and in flux. Buying the Wolves, a basketball team, the water tower, should’ve been a warning sign. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, it’s fantastic for him and his businesses (both real estate and industrial)—but not so much for us. Although I admire Zulich for having a vision, I don’t think it’s the best move for Sudbury long-term.

While Zulich’s people have released a PR campaign, the community has spoken and come together on their own dime to push for a downtown arena and events centre. That says a lot.

Massive parking structure in Santa Monica, CA.

But what about parking?

Parking is easy. It can be solved with parking structures above and below ground if the need is truly there. When there’s money to be made, the market will sort it out. Plus, I don’t think we should be placing such big bets on vehicles in the future. Uber is looking to move into town soon and other small cities are taking the lead by partnering with Uber as an add-on to public transit, we may not be driving around as much in the near future as ride-sharing becomes more prominent. It’s happened already all over the world, and it will happen in the North.

Look to the rust belt and you’ll see that retail has been contracting for years. Malls and shopping centers have been left abandoned due to the rise in online shopping across North America. Sears has filed for creditor protection (and they’ll be closing the New Sudbury Sears Home store). Earlier this year, Warren Buffett confirmed the death of retail as we know it. Amazon just purchased Whole Foods and has mastered same-day or next-day delivery. The world is always changing and this is the future we’re all going to be living very soon whether we like it or not. Designing around big box stores and parking convenience is the wrong approach.

Not to mention—centralizing things incentivizes transit and healthier options like cycling or walking. The recent trend of many young people snatching up homes in the Donovan or West End is obvious (they’re the only homes we can afford), and both of these neighbourhoods are walking distance from downtown and would benefit them greatly. Thanks to some local businesses, those corners of the city are thriving. Kathleen St. was called the hippest corner in the city just last week. Let’s use that momentum and keep the ball rolling.

Barcelona, one of the most densely populated cities.

Say NO to urban sprawl

Sudbury has been blessed with a massive land area, but that doesn’t mean we should continue building outward. Hundreds of amazing cities around the world deal with small square footage and have been highly successful. You don’t need to look far to see examples of this: Montréal and New York City (specifically Manhattan) are on islands, and San Francisco is on a peninsula. All three are densely populated economic and cultural powerhouses. Cities expand and retract. In fact, most of Europe’s cities are shrinking.

We have no immediate plans to grow our population (the data shows it is and will continue to shrink), so designing for this type of growth is not a great idea at the moment.