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While protecting farmland is key, I know that something must be done to effect the trend of urban sprawl. Coming up with some type of solution to this issue that has long term sustainability has been difficult. History has shown us that everyone who explicitely tried to target urban sprawl has bitten off too much to chew. Concepts like new urbanism, Vancouverism, and all the other various “isms” have attempted to make a systematic change in the way people look at cities and the way people choose to live. Frankly, people are not going to make significant changes to the way they live simply because you come up with some fancy name and some urban planners thell them that that is the way it should be done. This is where these solutions have gone wrong. Too much scope and too many stakeholders.
I contend that we simply make the end of urban sprawl a business decision. Ater all, business typically holds the most power in a society. Throughout the many posts I have made on this blog I wrote many times of the effects that real estate values have on urban sprawl. By catering to city core real estate developers, I believe we could significantly reduce urban sprawl.
Plain and simple, developers want to make money. In order to make money, they typically want to build big. By adding a dozen stories to their building, they are going to be able to make more money on a project. This is why I believe the city needs to change its zoning laws. By allowing more units to be placed on the same property, density will certainly increase and condos can be sold with smaller margins. This should result in more, cheaper housing available in the downtown core.
Now, how sustainable is this. The opportunity is certainly there. Changing city zoning will, without a doubt, cause developers to build taller buildings. This in turn increases the density in the downtown core. Also, building a condo building in the downtown core will become more profitable, reducing the benefit of building in the suburbs. As for people and capital, they tend to come together. If the government was to change the zoning rules, developers with significant capital would come to them.
Of course, while there is always a risk of a real estate collapse or recession hurting the demand for these condos, well priced condos at the bottom of the market tend to perform better in these types of markets. First time buyers would still be buying in this situation.
Overall, I believe that there is the potential for simple changes in zoning rules to take a big bite out of urban sprawl.
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