I think safety is a big issue, but not the only one. For families to live downtown, you need to check a lot of boxes for it to be an option
-Both parents need to work downtown, or near downtown
-Close family also likely need to live close (most people with children love close to grandparents, uncles/aunts for child suppprt)
-Social network needs to live close (most people won't live downtown when their peers are mostly in the suburbs).
-Good schools (parents don't want to put kids in poorly rated inner city schools)
-Travel times (traffic of downtown makes it very difficult to commute during rush hours. Limits options for extracurricular activities or entertainment for parents).
-Housing prices (land is typically more expensive in the core and cheaper in the suburbs)
-Safety (Real and perceived. Just because homeless people wandering around might not be a threat to you, when kids are involved, the metric changes. Parents don't want to take the chance that there is a possibility of their kids being harmed)
-Parking....yes parking (other visitors need easy access to parking, otherwise other families are more reluctant to visit. Nothing like being in the center of the city and people reluctant to come downtown to visit.)
And then overall, what exactly wre the benefits to living downtown? Suburbs have more amenities, safety, less density, less traffic, more entertainment options. I'm confused why someone would want to live downtown unless they had no other choice with a family.
Being single, or without kids is a whole different story. Downtown just isn't practical for families.
Wełl I have to disagree with most of your statements, as it sounds more like someone coming up with weak excuses to stay in the suburbs or someone who lives in a small town.
1.why do both parents need to work downtown? Its more convenient but not necessary.
2.Close families will be close regardless of proximity to living to each other. I was extremely close to my uncle, he lived in Calgary, my grandparents lived in southern Alberta, my moms siblings lived in the Philippines but all were very close.
3. Social Network is partially formed from where you live so eventually ones social network would consist of doentown neighbors. My social network lives all around the city, as I think most others do to.
4. There are good schools near the core and if there is more population there will be other schools. What do you consider a good school? As far as I can tell Victoria school is a great school and I know that St. Joseph's and St. Catherine's schools are great schools.
5. Travel times are a moot point if working downtown, if one has to travel out of the core the comute typically is easier due to traveling opposite to most other commuters. Also extra curricular activities, hmmmm. The Citadel, the Winspear, the AGA, the RAM, the convention center, Roger's Place, community rink at Roger's Place, downtown movie theater, the restaurants, ymca, central library, the macewan arts building and theater.
6. Housing prices may have an edge for now in the subburbs but add more family units and that may change.
7. Safety. I've had a few friends live in and around the core and when I've asked them about safety they all said that it was never as bad as it sounds. I also too believe that the more there are residents living, working, moving in the core, the safer the neighborhood gets.
8..visitor parking, there is decent free parking for visitors in buildings unless one wishes to throw large parties all the time.
Downtown/central living has a great many advantages as long as you have the mindset to accept it. If you don't want to live in an area, one can find all kind of excuses not to live there.
Oh one last issue, shopping. Currently there aren't a ton of retailers in the Edmonton core, but if a short train ride is ok, now there is Kingsway, Southgate, Bonnie Doon, Millwoods town center, and sooner than later WEM all along the LRT network.
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