We need to stop expanding…

We need to stop expanding the boundaries of cities and focus on intensification instead!

The things that people want in a big detached home can be fulfilled within the city boundaries with smart planning, which includes larger balconies for private outdoor time, condos that have rooftop gardens and larger park spaces on the property for community gardening and leisure, and legislating condo/townhome builders to use soundproofing methods between units to cut the noise.

When we sprawl, not only does that cost the city more in road and utility maintenance, but it makes it far less likely that people will use public transit as it takes longer to get into the city center where events are happening. If we are truly concerned with cost savings, lowering emissions, and a thriving local economy, we need to build within the existing boundaries.

Sprawl does not solve the affordability crisis, as the homes are often too big and too far from public transit. I say this as someone who uses public transit regularly - getting in and out of the suburbs is very time consuming. If we want to deal with the problem of traffic on city and provincial roads, we need to stop making cars such a central part of our lives.

Detached home developments use far more materials to build and are way less efficient for heating and cooling than townhomes and condos, which make them more expensive there too.

Sprawl permanently ruins land, especially when it is established woodlots that are being destroyed. While you can plant new trees, it takes a lot longer to develop the plant and animal diversity that is a part of established wooded areas.

Farmland should also be preserved, as we cannot keep intensifying how much we grow on one area of land. Crop rotation and resting fields will need to be a part of our future farming plans, and this will require us to preserve arable land from development.

We need to stop prioritizing the profits of land developers and the desires of people to consume more land and more materials - sustainable development must happen within the city limits or not at all.

Thank you for your time!
-Meagan