Living Skies& Lifeless Streets

By PJ BellSchool of Community and Regional Planning University of British Columbia

1 April 2016 Prepared for PLAN 542

At times, I feel as though I am living a double life. In Vancouver, I walk, ride transit, and cycle rain or shine, scoffing at drivers who are stuck in traffic in their idling, polluting vehicles. I live in one of Kitsilano’s many basement suites and I shop at the local stores just down the street. I enjoy a relatively active and sustainable lifestyle.

Unfortunately, each time I return to my hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan, I instantly revert to old habits. The first thing I do is reattach the car keys to my key chain. When I need to run errands, I hop in one of my family’s three vehicles and often drive to a big box store. Even in the summer, cycling is reduced from primary transportation mode to recreational activity. Despite being a SCARP-educated urbanist who should really know better, I am quickly taken over by the suburban, auto-oriented mindset.

This mindset—the idea that driving everywhere is simply “the way it works”—is deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of most Saskatchewan residents. The province is known as the “land of living skies,” which refers not only to the stunning prairie cloud formations, sunrises, and sunsets, but also to the fact that this view is largely unobstructed due to the wide open landscape. Saskatchewanians tend to enjoy wide

open spaces, and the low-rise, low-density built form that prevails throughout the province reflects this. Unfortunately, this desire for space, combined with the lack of natural barriers to growth, has resulted in classic urban sprawl and automobile dependence. While the skies may be alive, the wide, suburban streets are often lifeless, save for the occasional passing motorist.

Throughout my time at SCARP, I have struggled to figure out how the progressive urban theories and principles that I am learning would apply back home in Saskatchewan. Like Canadians as a whole, the majority of Saskatchewanians prefer the suburban lifestyle, and there is significant inertia on the part of developers, politicians, and citizens supporting this type of development. Growing up in Regina, the fancy suburban home was the be-all and end-all of housing types; it is what you aspired to, and in fact, many of my fellow high school graduates—especially those who have never lived outside of Regina—have already begun happily purchasing their own suburban homes.

The suburbs, like the private automobiles that enable their existence, are not simply going to vanish, no matter how unsustainable and lifeless they may be. Therefore, it is crucial to find a way to subtly mix more

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“urban” into the suburban design while showing suburbanites the advantages of this new form of development.

The first step is to introduce a greater mix of housing types into the suburbs, which have typically been dominated by low-density single family homes. It is possible to build sustainably at a density of only 40 units per hectare, which means that suburbs could be made sustainable with some strategic densification (L. Beasley, personal communication, January 16, 2016). Harbour Landing, one of the newer developments in Regina, took a small step in this direction, offering duplexes, townhouses, and low-rise condominium complexes in addition to an ample supply of single family homes. However, the extremely wide roads and bland vernacular leave much to be desired and represent an inefficient use of space.

A significant weakness in the Harbour Landing development is its choice of commercial and retail space. The “Grasslands” retail area welcomed a Walmart Supercentre and many other box stores, which brought with them acres of surface parking. The resulting streetscape is hostile and unwelcoming to pedestrians, meaning that even nearby residents are more likely to drive than walk to their destinations. I have personally driven a very short distance from store to store in that area because walking is so inconvenient and dangerous Grasslands was even used as an example of “banal and forgettable” modern suburban development in Beasley and Barnett’s book “Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs,” although the authors were kind enough not to identify it as being in Regina.

Coopertown, one of Regina’s newest proposed developments, appears to be an improvement over Harbour Landing. There is a relatively large percentage of high-density (100 units per hectare) and medium-high density (50 units per hectare) residential development in addition to a mixed used urban centre that acts as a walkable transit hub rather than a large parking lot (Dream Development, 2015) (Figure 1). The design guidelines encourage front porches and rear garages that are accessed via a laneway, which both opens up the front of the house to the street for social interaction and creates opportunities for densification through laneway housing. A full 15% of Coopertown is still dedicated to low density single detached homes, but this will help to satisfy those residents who remain unconvinced by urban, mixed-use developments.

Another fairly progressive Saskatchewan example is the Aspen Ridge development in Saskatoon. While it too contains a significant amount of single detached homes, there is a major focus on creating a dense “urban village” (Saskatoon Land, 2014) (Figure 2). Another large positive step is the attempt to create a grid-based street network, which vastly improves connectivity and access for pedestrians and transit. There are still a few cul-de-sacs, but compared to the typical North American suburb, it is refreshing to see such a pronounced grid. Unfortunately, the overall density of Aspen Ridge is just 21.3 units per hectare, which is not dense enough to promote true sustainability.

Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood has a density of about 40 units per hectare (Girling and Kellett, 2005) and is a fantastic example of what prairie planners and developers should be striving for. There is a great mix of densities and housing typologies in the neighbourhood, yet this is achieved in a very subtle way. When I first moved in, I thought it just an average, single family neighbourhood. However, upon closer investigation, you begin to notice a number of multiple-dwelling households,

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Figure 4: Coopertown Land Use Plan

Figure 1: Coopertown Land Use Concept Plan

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Living Skies &

Lifeless Streets

basement suites, and laneway houses, in addition to the mixed-use units along the major corridors. The tight grid and small blocks make it eminently walkable, while the local shops are interesting and serve the neighbourhood’s needs without requiring a massive amount of surface parking. The residential streets are also quite narrow, which lowers the speed of traffic and makes walking and cycling much more enjoyable.

In order to shift Saskatchewan development towards this model, politicians, developers, and residents need to be convinced that there are urban forms other than the classic single family home in a sprawling suburb that can meet—and exceed—all of their desires. “Urban village” developments such as Coopertown and Aspen Ridge are a good start as long as they are designed and implemented successfully; ideally, these developments will demonstrate what is possible if people are willing to step outside of their comfort zones, sacrificing square footage for convenience and community.

However, these incremental developments alone will not change the mindset of Saskatchewanians rapidly enough, especially given the urgency of climate change and the immense momentum of current urban sprawl. Other major changes need to

take place concurrently with these new suburban designs.

Much more focus needs to be placed on developing the existing downtown cores. Both Regina and Saskatoon have the opportunity to further activate these areas by introducing more residential and mixed-use developments alongside the necessary amenities, such as grocery stores, improved public facilities, and engaging programming. Currently, there are very few opportunities for residents to experience this type of urban lifestyle, so by default they choose the suburbs.

These changes need to happen alongside a major re-prioritization of roadways. The private automobile currently dominates all roads, and while these vehicles will likely always play an important role on Saskatchewan roads, the power balance needs to shift. Transit services must be significantly improved as they are simply not competitive with the private automobile. This would require intelligent investment in express routes, increased frequencies, and potentially dedicated lanes to make trip times comparable between transit and private automobiles.

In addition to creating a robust transit network,

Figure 2: Aspen Ridge Land Use Concept Plan

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active transportation must be prioritized. While cold weather is often toted as a prohibitive factor, Saskatchewanians are tough and know how to bundle up. As long as walking and cycling routes are safe, convenient, and prioritized in terms of snow clearing and traffic flow, they will be utilized, especially if denser infill development results in shorter commuting distances. Improving active transportation and transit would also open up prairie cities to car sharing, as these systems work best in places with multiple reliable transportation options.

At the same time, Regina and Saskatoon should be implementing policies that make it more expensive to own, operate, and park private vehicles, especially in the downtown core. The combination of these policies would result in fewer cars on the road and fewer vehicle kilometers driven, significantly improving the environmental sustainability of these cities while creating healthier, happier communities.

These changes will not be easy. They will require a convincing display from wise and passionate planners, firm political will, and a receptive public. Not everyone will be convinced, as the suburban dream is difficult to abandon. However, with gentle and strategic densification, a re-prioritization of the road network that still grants motor vehicles ample space, and investment in downtown cores, it is possible to achieve this cultural shift. While there

is undoubtedly great urgency in making cities more sustainable, these changes will need to be relatively small and incremental; Saskatchewanians still need to be able to see those gorgeous Living Skies.

ReferencesBarnett, J., & Beasley, L. (2015). Ecodesign for cities and suburbs. Washington: Island Press.

Dream Development (2015). Coopertown Secondary Plan. Retrieved from http://www.regina.ca/opencms/export/sites/regina.ca/residents/city-planning/.media/pdf/coopertown-np-v6.pdf

Girling, C., & Kellett, R. (2005). Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods: Design for Environment and Community. Retrieved from http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=3546343

Saskatoon Land (2014). Aspen Ridge Neighbourhood Concept Plan. Retrieved from https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-clerk/reports-publications/AspenRidgeConceptPlan-June2014.pdf

Image CreditsCover: ReginaSuburbProperty.ca (2016)Figure 1: Dream Development (2015)Figure 2: Saskatoon Land (2014) Figure 3: Jean Huang (2014)

Figure 3: Saskatchewan’s Living Skies