For London, this is a dense development

Just driving by this area one might be tempted to call this a snout nosed subdivision. In my opinion, that would be wrong. These are examples of the garage forward look. There is a difference. One, the snout, is a subset of the other, the garage forward.

Think of the old dictum form follows function dictum.This style of housing offers short driveways, no laneway behind the home to be cleared in winter and ample parking inside the garage and on the driveway. This is a very functional design. It is no wonder it is popular with new home buyers.

These homes are placed well forward on relatively narrow lots. Many of the homes have small, but covered, porches. Critics, who think a porch must wrap around a home on a least two sides, would not be satisfied. I say, "Forget the critics." The look is good and one stays dry while looking for the house keys in wet weather.

If you look carefully, you will see a young woman sitting on the top step of the second home in on the right. I also saw people sitting on their little front lawns. It is a pleasant and inviting neighbourhood. I'm not surprised folk like to sit outside, enjoy the evening, and greet their neighbours as the stroll by.

Critics don't know walkable

Many new subdivisions are pleasant places for an evening stroll.

Today was possibly the warmest day of year. It hit at least 22-degrees centigrade. Nice.

I live in a rapidly expanding area of London. New homes are springing up like proverbial weeds. Originally the area where this picture was taken was going to be London's first foray into new urbanism. The plan collapsed.

The little community centre with traditional shopping, that the local paper had claimed was so important to the area's success, mutated into a common neighbourhood shopping centre. It is just where you'd expect it, at a nearby major intersection. Although one could walk to shop, and some folk do, most people drive. No surprise here, unless you are a believer in new urbanist myths.

Londoners want walkable neighbourhoods and the suburban developments are not answering that need, or so the local paper is always telling its readers. I'm flummoxed. Why do they say such stuff when reality so clearly is proving these claims wrong?

The new neighbourhood streets had lots of people out strolling, enjoying the warm spring evening. Young couples were everywhere, some with children and some without. New streets, new homes, new dreams. A few of the young people living here today will still be living here when they retire, I'd bet on it. This is a neighbourhood.

What the critics don't seem to understand is that give people a safe, clean street, lined with good housing and people will walk. In the short time I was taking pictures, I said hello and got smiles from half a dozen area residents. Yes, this is a neighbourhood, and a good one.

Male grackles fighting

Two male common grackles exhibiting their aggressive nature.

It was quite the battle: fast, vicious and long. Two male grackles pecked, clawed and beat their feathers as they struggled to get the best of the other combatant. No clear idea why these two were going at it but it might have been a dispute over food, they were under a bird feeder stocked with corn — a favourite grackle food. Or, it might have been a mating display. A female was watching from a safe distance.

Is this a good neighbourhood?

Recently a fellow I rather admire, claimed Londoners want condos like the ones shown above. He says they are selling very well — so well that the developer has applied to city council’s planning committee for permission to begin construction of the second phase. This is ahead of schedule.

This building actually looks quite good — better than in my picture, that's for sure. Still, it has a problem, a big problem. Location. It sits on the edge of a highrise jungle that may be the largest, densest grouping of apartment towers in the entire city.

For a more in depth look at this area of London and an introduction to the Palmer Park Historic Apartment District, please click the following link: Maybe ReThink London should remember Detroit.

Neighbours

When I see apartment towers almost in the backyards of nearby homes, I wonder if the home owners knew tall apartment buildings were planned for their neighbourhood. Is this apartment building too close to the one story homes? What do you think?

Cardinals return to southwestern Ontario

It has been a colder and wetter spring than normal but that hasn't stopped birds, like the bright red cardinals, from returning to southwestern Ontario. The nice thing about a spring like this year's is that the buds on the fruit trees are not seduced by warm weather into bursting into flower too early. Last year was a warm spring and the almost inevitable late frost killed the blossoms, just about destroying the fruit crop.

Even mini urban cores losing businesses

The TD Canada Trust in downtown Lambeth has closed.

Some years ago, Lambeth was a separate little town on the south edge of London. It liked to be known as "Lovely Lambeth." Well, the little place isn't quite so little anymore, nor is it as lovely, nor is it an independent little town. It has been annexed into the expanding London urban monolith.

Within walking distance of many Lambeth homes, it still closed.

London's downtown is suffering. And the former commercial core of Lambeth is also suffering, and for some of the same reasons: For example, competition from suburban development is killing the old main street businesses.

London lost a number of its bank branches in the core. As businesses left, I imagine a lot of the commercial business also left.

Driving through Lambeth I noticed that one of the few banks in the town core has closed. It has moved to a suburban outdoor mall a couple of kilometres away.

I wonder what a dying downtown in a real small town says about the new urbanism theories? The Lambeth downtown is located in the middle of an older, grid patterned neighbourhood. The TD Canada Trust bank that has closed was within a short walk of lots of homes, and it had adequate parking at the side. Yet, it closed.

The new bank has a drive-thru but is more than two kilometres distant.