Comment 30152

By LL (registered) - website | Posted April 15, 2009 at 14:47:16

Meister:

Before you give us all a history lesson, you should actually read the history. The first wave of mass single-family homeownership in North America were the streetcar suburbs of the early 20th century. These developments supported light rail just fine and are often the best neighbourhoods in North American cities (think of the Annex or Bloor Village in TO).

North America has a rich history of light rail that preceded mandatory motoring. Hamilton has an amazing history of light rail. There are people still alive today who can tell you about taking a streetcar from Dundas to Stoney Creek.

Also, it's not homes that take up the space in car-centric suburbs. It's parking lots, extra wide streets, gas stations, car dealerships, car washes, driveways. A lot of this EXPENSIVE infrastructure also lays idle at night.

When I think of sprawl, I don't think of open space. I think of space that's crowded with cars. And even if the buses are less efficient at night, overall the system is still more efficient than the mass motoring system.

LL believes that the problems of the city reflect deeper social contradictions

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