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Best Canadian City

tomika!

By tomika!
in Urban Design & Architecture

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doady Crossroads

doady

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kywildcat, You'll have to go to Canada for a visit. Canada is very much known for an Urban Lifestyle. Even its small cities are very urban. For instance, Calgary shows 214 buildings in Emporis. Vancouver shows 533 buildings. Calgary is about the same size as Louisville. Louisville shows 57 buildings in Emporis. Vancouver is about the same size as San Antonio. San Antonio shows 71 buildings. To say how much the 533 is for Vancouver, LA has 457 buildings.

Canadian cities not necessarily more urban. Like in the case of Calgary, which 100 years ago had a population of only 4,000, and therefore most of it's development was based on the car. Canadian cities are generally much younger than American cities. The difference with Canadian cities are that they are more compact, because high-rise living is more popular here. But high-rises do not equate to urbanity.

If you look at Toronto, which has over 1,600 high-rises, which is the the second most in North America, half of those high-rises are located in the suburban parts of the city proper as tower-in-a-parks. One of Toronto's suburbs actually has more high-rises than Miami and Atlanta and almost every other American city, but it is still just a suburb.

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swags Whistle-Stop

swags

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Well, living in Toronto, I'm going to be a little bias. I love Toronto, although admittedly it has some issues. I've lived here all my life, and I've yet to even begin to explore all of Toronto's unique neighbourhoods. It's really quite amazing... that's what people say about Toronto, that it's the "city of neighbourhoods".

Other than that, I've been in pretty much every metropolis in Canada at some point in my life, with the exception of St. John's, NFLD. I would have to agree with those who have previously said that Vancouver and Victoria are prime destinations. Vancouver is just amazing because of it's location, climate, and density... and Victoria is amazing, especially from a touristy point of view. Calgary I found to be very spread out... it's downtown is very "new", and still, to me, trying to find it's identity. (I could talk about pretty much every city in Canada, but I'm only going to mention the ones that stood out to me when I visited them).

Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan actually surprised me. I was expecting very flat topography, and boxy 60s/70s office buildings... however, I was impressed by the city parks, and the heritage architecture in these cities.

Ottawa, our nation's capital, is an amazing city, if you ever have a chance to visit it, do. My cousins live there, and I visit all the time... it's just fantastic. The parliament buildings are a treasure, and there are so many other prominent heritage buildings in the downtown core that can take days to discover. Also, there are quite a few newer buildings worth mentioning... like the new War Museum, the Aviation Museum, and the art gallery. Not to mention the beautiful geography of the region.

Montreal, Quebec City... much has been said about Montreal, I think we all know enough about it. Quebec City, I must say, is pretty boring outside of the heritage districts. Chateau Frontenac is crazy, and the Old Town is an international treasure. Take time to explore the unique culture right on your doorstep.

The primary city in the Atlantic region is Halifax... once again, a beautiful city. Smaller, but some of the older neighbourhoods there are eye-popping. Also, you can't beat the view of the harbour from the Citadel, and the waterfront area is a treat.

So in conclusion to a far longer post than intended, certainly the cities that pop out in my mind are Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City in Halifax. They stand out in beauty and atmosphere.

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jacerw99 Crossroads

jacerw99

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I have been to Toronto and Vancouver (not yet been to Montreal but I am dying to go), and this is a really tough choice. I definitely like the older, more hardcore feel of Toronto. And the architecture in Toronto is much more varied. But I tell you, there is just something about Vancouver... the people, the shocking beauty of its natural surroundings, the vacation atmosphere. I think there is more to do in Toronto but I think I'd have to go with Vancouver overall. You just can't beat the beauty of it.

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zed Whistle-Stop

zed

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Victoria is probably my favorite city anywhere. It's about the right size for a city (about 325k metro) with a gorgeous marine location, mild climate, a university, plus tons of outdoor recreation in the immediate area. The only downside is that you must ferry or fly to get off the island. But as a city, in my opinion it beats all of the larger metro areas mentioned.

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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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Victoria is a beautiful city. I remember arriving there by seaplane, so you are right about it being slightly difficult to get to. Still, it is a lively and handsome place. There's nothing like enjoying a curry in the Bengal Room at the Empress or having afternoon tea in the lobby. I like the scale of Vitoria- very human and not overwhelming.

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tonybologna Unincorporated Area

tonybologna

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I just moved to Montreal to do my MBA from the Pittsburgh area and all I can say is wow what a difference. The city is very densely populated in the core- you can move anywhere in the city and have everything you need within a few block radius- grocery store, pharmacy, high end retail, whatever. Montrealers take pride in fashion and their food. Some of the pastries are to die for. Montrealers are also very health conscious and take take consider healthy foods and excersize as a part of everyday living. As a result, women in this city are the hottest i've seen anywhere. I never thought as a 26 year old I would find older women attractive, but women in Montreal really keep themselves up no matter what their age.

In addition, Montrealers are very open about their sexuality hence it is not common to see banker women walking down the street holding hands not to mention the plethora of adult oriented venues. The nightlife is just amazing- there are also numerous places for the 25+ crowd to go. Whatever music scene you are into it is there- whether it is grunge, heavy metal, alternative, electronic dance which is huge, plus many operas, symphonies, and theater performances.

In the summer time, Montreal really comes alive with a festivals nearly every weekend that attracted tens up to a hundred thousand people. These include the international jazz festival, Formula One racing weekend, GLBT festival which is the largest in North America, and the Just for Laughs comedy festival.

In constrast, Pittsburghers have seemingly abandoned their city for big homes in the suburbs. Some would complain of taxes, but Montreal has 15% sales tax, property taxes higher than Pittsburgh (4%), plus the Canadian Government takes 30-50% in taxes from your paycheck (yet there is rarely the store about taxes on the news). I noticed in this forum that it is has been pointed out that Pittsburgh metro has the lowest crime rate- well this really doesn' t matter because the ratio of people actually living in the city to the total metro population is the lowest in the nation- hench Pittsburgh is all suburb and no city. Also along these lines, the new developments in the south side and the waterfront in homestead are just an ugly suburbanization of the city. Station square could just as easily fit in monroeville as it does in the south side. Not to mention the ugly homes they are building on bedford avenue in the hill district- they have replaced what was once medium and high density housing with suburban detached homes with yards and a driveway- just a stones throw from downtown. I couldn't think of more inappropriate land use. I also have to rant about the new PNC tower in the planning. This tower calls for 350,000 sq ft of office space, ground floor retail, a restaurant, and 30 top floor condos. With an office vacancy rate of 21.4% and the lowest rent per square foot in the country, why does downtown pittsburgh need more office space??? Haven't numerous buildings gone up for sherrif's sale because they aren't making a return on their investment? Why doesn't pittsburgh build high and medium density housing for all incomes (not just the highest income bracket) so that commercial and retail development will naturally FOLLOW instead of being FORCED? I will post pictures of Montreal soon.

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