Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1086

A reader recently shared an article with me called: Why Seattle builds apartments, but Vancouver, BC, builds condos . Thanks for that.

It’s a good summary of the differences between these two markets and why over the last five years less than 4% of all new residential units built in Seattle have been condos. The story is obviously very different in Vancouver.

It’s also a good reminder that incentives matter . Capital has a funny way of flowing to where the returns are greatest.

Chart: Sightline Institute

Marcus Gee of the Globe and Mail recently published “ a made-up story about Toronto that never appeared, but should .”

It goes like this:

Toronto city hall is pressing a prominent developer to put up a taller building.

Mayor John Tory is telling Big City Condo Corp. that the condominium it has planned for the downtown corner of Maple and Oak streets is simply too small. The proposal calls for a 25-storey residential tower. Mr. Tory said it could easily rise to 40 or even 50 storeys.

He dismissed complaints from locals who said the tower would overshadow the neighbourhood and put too many more cars on the street. The intersection is well served by public transit, with two lines crossing there. The mayor called it a golden opportunity to create urban density.

He insisted the city must build up instead of out if it wants to avoid more sprawl. “We love tall buildings,” he said. “We need more of them. We can’t keep spreading out and out and out. We need to grow up, and I mean that quite literally.”

Again, this is made-up. And if you’re from Toronto, you knew that. 

We are still grappling with the urban intensity that should come along with being an important global city.

Photo by Redd Angelo on Unsplash

The Economist recently published an article called: How and why road-pricing will happen . If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that there’s been lots of talk and support over the years on this blog for dynamic road pricing.

It’s politically unpopular, but it’s an incredibly rationale way to deal with traffic congestion. 

In Singapore – home of the world’s first congestion charge zone (1975) – they constantly monitor traffic congestion. As soon as average speeds drop over a three-month period, they simply raise the charge. Congestion gone.

We know this works, but for many reasons road pricing is highly divisive. According to The Economist, there are a few reasons why this is going to become a bit more politically palatable.

For one, the take from gas taxes and vehicle duties has been declining in Britain over the past couple of years. Electric vehicles will only exacerbate this trend. So governments are going to be forced to look elsewhere for money.

Secondly, traditional tolls and congestion charges are becoming increasingly ineffective. Today in central London, private-hire vehicles are said to make up about 38% of all car traffic – almost double the share of traditional black taxis. 

These are cars circling around the city, picking up passengers. Blunt charges based on suburbanites entering the city in the morning and leaving in the afternoon is simply not capturing the way that many of us move around our cities today.

In other words, urban mobility is undergoing dramatic changes and the revenue and congestion management tools are going to need to adapt. If you’re interested in this topic, check out the full article here .

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash