In my recollection those local convenience/variety stores (we had one at the corner of our block) offered grocery staples, sweets, tobacco products, newspapers and maybe some paperbacks, but what seemed to make them work was that they were family owned and operated with the family living above the shop. This appears not to be a lifestyle of choice these days. Here in Arlington, Virginia we see a good many of these mixed use projects with the street level aimed at commercial/retail tenants. However, post pandemic they are having trouble filling these spaces and I think their expectations may not have reflected a realistic assessment of what goods and services would really be needed for the new residents.
>> "but perhaps the biggest one in Toronto is the fact that commercial uses are taxed at about three times the rate of residential and the assessments are out of date..."are mainly because local governments want to minimize taxation on homeowners as they are most likely to vote in local elections."
Silly idea in thinking that Govt, which caused this problem in the first place via its policies, is going to have the wherewithal, the brains, and the political will to actually fix the problem correctly.
It's clear that not many here truly understand how politics work - or the length of time it will take due to the entrenched bureaucracy that depends on status quo. They also don't understand that the highly touted Socialist idea of having "unbiased" technocrats make decisions for the betterment of all. After all, the only difference between them and us is that their paycheck is signed by a govt agent.
The other thing to consider is that this whole walkable neighborhood idea depends on a certain threshold of housing density. Across the vast majority of the US that’s simply not the case, especially in the suburbs where most residents live (as opposed to the inner core.) And, modern society likes conformity and corporate blandness. The UK and Europe as a whole is far less monopolized by corporate redundancy than is the United States, which makes it more difficult for small businesses to compete and remain profitable.
While 40 Cities in the US are gravitating to this "from the past" idea, it is turning out to be the "15 minute Surveillance neighborhoods" where govt's are trapping their citizens even to the point of taxing their travel, on the roads their taxes pay for, in the cars that they have bought, if they cross some random border too many times in some period of time.
Look at the pushback in London where the surveillance cameras are being taken out by citizens believing that "enough is enough".
And we're also seeing the "Rack'em and Stack'em" policies starting to happen to migrate people back into the cities that they fled by any number of means or policies (generally misnamed for the masses thinking "this must be good". Look what Biden is now doing here in the US with "30 in 30" policy if you think I'm just a conspiracy nutter. What are the ramifications just with that?
Lloyd, it's already starting to happen in my state. This started about 10 years ago, went silent two years later, and it now starting to stick its head up again with the "flatlanders" trying to escape the high tax and regulation environs...
Yes, that is true. But having to ignore the majority of the people on this thread is not why I come here. Once in a while there is some really good ideas that come up in these threads from these articles.
I suspect that you could probably make a pretty solid link between the decline of small, accessible, useful retail in many neighborhoods and the rise of Amazon and other online retail behemoths. We all get drawn in by the lures of cheap and easy and seldom think about the downstream impacts of our actions. When looking for the source of our problems the best place to start is often in front of a mirror.
I love the taxonomy of usefulness. If it were employed here, maybe we wouldn’t have so many damned real estate agents hogging all the storefronts. But it probably wouldn’t get rid of the banks.
It’s strange to see stores repurposed as housing. I haven’t seen that in the US.
A neighborhood we used to live in was very nice, and great to walk in - it had a lot of trees, and you could walk to the school and a park with a swimming pool. It didn't have any retail at all, which led us to eventually move when one family member could no longer drive. I was quite disappointed to hear that it USED TO have a plaza with a convenience store, but the neighbors didn't like the traffic, and it was torn down to build town houses. Nice to have more homes - too bad everyone now has to drive to get bread and milk!
Yup. It’s such a relief to walk to most things. My neighborhood ha a pharmacy, gym, and grocery store. We’ve got the restaurants and bars, too. Adding to the vibe are a record store and bookstore. It’s heaven.
In Edinburgh, I used to live near this post office & off-licence (a beer/wine/spirit/other alcohol store) where you could also get some basics like a pint of milk - though tbh I only ever used it for the post-office things, though it was by far the best post office I've ever encountered
In my recollection those local convenience/variety stores (we had one at the corner of our block) offered grocery staples, sweets, tobacco products, newspapers and maybe some paperbacks, but what seemed to make them work was that they were family owned and operated with the family living above the shop. This appears not to be a lifestyle of choice these days. Here in Arlington, Virginia we see a good many of these mixed use projects with the street level aimed at commercial/retail tenants. However, post pandemic they are having trouble filling these spaces and I think their expectations may not have reflected a realistic assessment of what goods and services would really be needed for the new residents.
>> "but perhaps the biggest one in Toronto is the fact that commercial uses are taxed at about three times the rate of residential and the assessments are out of date..."are mainly because local governments want to minimize taxation on homeowners as they are most likely to vote in local elections."
Silly idea in thinking that Govt, which caused this problem in the first place via its policies, is going to have the wherewithal, the brains, and the political will to actually fix the problem correctly.
It's clear that not many here truly understand how politics work - or the length of time it will take due to the entrenched bureaucracy that depends on status quo. They also don't understand that the highly touted Socialist idea of having "unbiased" technocrats make decisions for the betterment of all. After all, the only difference between them and us is that their paycheck is signed by a govt agent.
The other thing to consider is that this whole walkable neighborhood idea depends on a certain threshold of housing density. Across the vast majority of the US that’s simply not the case, especially in the suburbs where most residents live (as opposed to the inner core.) And, modern society likes conformity and corporate blandness. The UK and Europe as a whole is far less monopolized by corporate redundancy than is the United States, which makes it more difficult for small businesses to compete and remain profitable.
While 40 Cities in the US are gravitating to this "from the past" idea, it is turning out to be the "15 minute Surveillance neighborhoods" where govt's are trapping their citizens even to the point of taxing their travel, on the roads their taxes pay for, in the cars that they have bought, if they cross some random border too many times in some period of time.
Look at the pushback in London where the surveillance cameras are being taken out by citizens believing that "enough is enough".
And we're also seeing the "Rack'em and Stack'em" policies starting to happen to migrate people back into the cities that they fled by any number of means or policies (generally misnamed for the masses thinking "this must be good". Look what Biden is now doing here in the US with "30 in 30" policy if you think I'm just a conspiracy nutter. What are the ramifications just with that?
Oh g-d please not 15 minute city conspiracies. Everyone is just going to flee from comments.
Lloyd, it's already starting to happen in my state. This started about 10 years ago, went silent two years later, and it now starting to stick its head up again with the "flatlanders" trying to escape the high tax and regulation environs...
...only to keep voting the same way.
It's ok, Lloyd. It's not hard to figure out who to ignore in these comment sections..
Yes, that is true. But having to ignore the majority of the people on this thread is not why I come here. Once in a while there is some really good ideas that come up in these threads from these articles.
I don't ignore the majority! Lots of interesting, constructive commenters here. I just ignore the predictable provocateurs.
I suspect that you could probably make a pretty solid link between the decline of small, accessible, useful retail in many neighborhoods and the rise of Amazon and other online retail behemoths. We all get drawn in by the lures of cheap and easy and seldom think about the downstream impacts of our actions. When looking for the source of our problems the best place to start is often in front of a mirror.
I love the taxonomy of usefulness. If it were employed here, maybe we wouldn’t have so many damned real estate agents hogging all the storefronts. But it probably wouldn’t get rid of the banks.
It’s strange to see stores repurposed as housing. I haven’t seen that in the US.
A neighborhood we used to live in was very nice, and great to walk in - it had a lot of trees, and you could walk to the school and a park with a swimming pool. It didn't have any retail at all, which led us to eventually move when one family member could no longer drive. I was quite disappointed to hear that it USED TO have a plaza with a convenience store, but the neighbors didn't like the traffic, and it was torn down to build town houses. Nice to have more homes - too bad everyone now has to drive to get bread and milk!
Yup. It’s such a relief to walk to most things. My neighborhood ha a pharmacy, gym, and grocery store. We’ve got the restaurants and bars, too. Adding to the vibe are a record store and bookstore. It’s heaven.
In Edinburgh, I used to live near this post office & off-licence (a beer/wine/spirit/other alcohol store) where you could also get some basics like a pint of milk - though tbh I only ever used it for the post-office things, though it was by far the best post office I've ever encountered
Lloyd, you should come to our town sometime & check out this bar. Not just because of it's notoriety but due to what it represents: Older area that at one time was home to many small businesses. As it gets gentrified, the opposition grows to making/keeping it walkable. If you do come, you need a reservation! (https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/controversial-licenced-patio-gets-approved-for-the-ward-8590940) & (https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/icymi-ninety-nine-years-every-one-of-them-in-the-ward-8627901)
I used to go to bars in Guelph when my daughter was in University there, they were always good and always crowded! Great town.