[Marcanadian]

I'd be more comfortable calling Toronto a sea of highrises rather than skyscrapers. There are clusters of highrises all around the city, especially in the suburbs, which isn't very typical of North American cities.

 

[Mongo]

Interesting list, but irrelevant. We are supposedly talking about what is under construction right now -- of which there are 8 over 200m in Toronto right now, not to mention another 6 officially proposed and another 10 or so rumoured to be in the works. This is right up there with almost any city in the world. While there are surely a lot of 100m buildings or even 150m buildings missing from the SSP lists for non-North American or European cities, I doubt that there are very many 200m+ buildings that are not included, in any city.

I stand by my results.

 

[Red October]

Jesus this is getting annoying.

Who cares if Toronto isn't Shanghai or Guangzhou? I don't want Toronto to be like any of them.
They may have buildings, but the culture and diversity in Toronto is miles ahead of those cities. There is a reason Toronto consistently ranks in the top 10 for most liveable cities in the world, ranking right up alongside Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria. Where is Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc on those lists? That's what I thought.

No, Toronto is not building as tall as some of these overpopulated countries or economies run amok. We are building the most in North America, most in the Western Hemisphere, and here's a thought, our buildings are actually occupied (looking at you, Dubai). Despite the fact that a large city in a country of 30 million is not as big as a large city in a communist country of 1.6 billion, we are doing very well globally.

 

[kkgg7]

Jesus this is getting annoying.

Who cares if Toronto isn't Shanghai or Guangzhou? I don't want Toronto to be like any of them.
They may have buildings, but the culture and diversity in Toronto is miles ahead of those cities. There is a reason Toronto consistently ranks in the top 10 for most liveable cities in the world, ranking right up alongside Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria. Where is Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc on those lists? That's what I thought.

No, Toronto is not building as tall as some of these overpopulated countries or economies run amok. We are building the most in North America, most in the Western Hemisphere, and here's a thought, our buildings are actually occupied (looking at you, Dubai). Despite the fact that a large city in a country of 30 million is not as big as a large city in a communist country of 1.6 billion, we are doing very well globally.

Here we go again. Diversity, top 10 "livable". Other things about a city, as you argued, "who cares".
I almost fainted when reading in terms of culture, Toronto is miles ahead of China's two largest cities, both date back to the 10th century. I am impressed with Torontonians' eternal self-centered confidence.

 

[TonyV]

Jesus this is getting annoying.

Who cares if Toronto isn't Shanghai or Guangzhou? I don't want Toronto to be like any of them.
They may have buildings, but the culture and diversity in Toronto is miles ahead of those cities. There is a reason Toronto consistently ranks in the top 10 for most liveable cities in the world, ranking right up alongside Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria. Where is Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc on those lists? That's what I thought.

No, Toronto is not building as tall as some of these overpopulated countries or economies run amok. We are building the most in North America, most in the Western Hemisphere, and here's a thought, our buildings are actually occupied (looking at you, Dubai). Despite the fact that a large city in a country of 30 million is not as big as a large city in a communist country of 1.6 billion, we are doing very well globally.

Hi, Architect. You post intelligently. Try to recognize a troll when you see one, and just ignore him or her, like the rest of us try to do.

 

[Red October]

Here we go again. Diversity, top 10 "livable". Other things about a city, as you argued, "who cares".

Uhh.. the people who live there might? Business moving to a city? People moving to a city? Anyone who is cultured at all?
There is a reason boatloads of overseas companies are looking to set footing in Toronto.

I almost fainted when reading in terms of culture, Toronto is miles ahead of China's two largest cities, both date back to the 10th century. I am impressed with Torontonians' eternal self-centered confidence.

Funny how you read "culture" but missed "diversity". Shanghai is older, but Toronto is the most diverse city in the world, and that is a true fact. Toronto also isn't located in a communist country where censorship and freedom of expression are limited by M16s and the People Liberation Army. So yes, Toronto IS miles ahead of those cities.

Hi, Architect. You post intelligently. Try to recognize a troll when you see one, and just ignore him or her, like the rest of us try to do.

I generally do ignore trolling repetitive posts like these, but I also like things to be cleared up for the uninformed who may come to this thread and actually believe this nonsense. One less ignorant person in the world.

 

[adma]

Here we go again. Diversity, top 10 "livable". Other things about a city, as you argued, "who cares".
I almost fainted when reading in terms of culture, Toronto is miles ahead of China's two largest cities, both date back to the 10th century. I am impressed with Torontonians' eternal self-centered confidence.

So speaketh he who'd have gladly done away with this.

Which doesn't speak much of the sensitivity one'd ideally expect from a denizen of a "dating back to the 10th century metropolis".

 

[agoraflaneur]

I would agree that communist censorship does inhibit the cultural growth of China's great megacities. But Toronto is not as interesting as Shanghai, which has been fascinating for thousands of years, nor as interesting as Hong Kong, which isn't nearly as hobbled by centralized government as Shangai - Hongers would vehemently deny your claims. Shenzen has no such history though. It is a popup city such as the world has never seen before - which in and of itself is fascinating.

On the other hand, with hordes of people thronging to the cities, TheArch's point about livability is spot on - though TO badly needs infrastructure to maintain the quality of life here. The masses in China provide a market that tiny Ontario can't ever replicate (our whole population fitting into Shenzen). But again, I don't like to taste my air. Seeing across the street is nice, too.

So if we can pace any of these world cities with 6 million people we are doing just fine. We aren't going CRAZY with supertalls everywhere, but perhaps we won't see a huge bust, either.

One wonders how many empty buildings the Chinese can build before reality sets in, as it has in Dubai, Ireland, the US etc. I've heard it estimated that there are 65 million unused apartments in China (with millions barely able to afford any accommodation), while commercial space is also quite oversupplied. But maybe they will just bulldoze things - there are speculations of doing that with the oversupply in the US, so we shouldn't say China is unique at all, either.

Anyway, I would just like a bit better of architecture here during this phase of our boom. No need to compete with shear numbers on the global stage - that is not our forte, nor should it be. We're doing quite fine as things stand.

 

[Tewder]

Here we go again. Diversity, top 10 "livable". Other things about a city, as you argued, "who cares".
I almost fainted when reading in terms of culture, Toronto is miles ahead of China's two largest cities, both date back to the 10th century. I am impressed with Torontonians' eternal self-centered confidence.

Liveability, diversity and culture are unimportant to you... but super-sized tall buildings are? So for you Paris must pale in comparison to cultural centres like Shenzen? Dude, your time here is up...

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

This sort of city vs. city BS is why UT came to be in the first place.

AoD

 

[TonyV]

This sort of city vs. city BS is why UT came to be in the first place.

That may be so, and that activity may be valid, sometimes, but I believe that everyone in Canada knows that comparing any of the three largest cities in China to any of the three largest cities in Canada is rather pointless. May as well "compare" Toronto and Windsor while we're at it.

We are also aware that Shanghai has satellite office parks bigger than downtown Edmonton. I can't find a less appealing concept.

Given the chance, I think I'd pay a visit to Stockholm or San Francisco before Shanghai. And just think, neither San Francisco nor Stockholm has a supertall, yet. But they score very high in quality of life. Go figure.

While I'm here, I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about the 9-day traffic jam.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

TonyV:

I think we should learn from what works at other cities, while mindful of context. Comparing whether one city is better than another, particularly when using the metric of tall buildings is just ludicrous. This ain't a washroom/locker room for teens, and those who behave in such a manner take careful note - there is always SSP/SSC for that.

AoD

 

[TonyV]

TonyV:

I think we should learn from what works at other cities, while mindful of context. Comparing whether one city is better than another, particularly when using the metric of tall buildings is just ludicrous. This ain't a washroom/locker room for teens, and those who behave in such a manner take careful note - there is always SSP/SSC for that.

Very well said, and I do wish that Toronto would take a serious look at how London, admittedly a huge, old world capital, has embraced transit. I returned from there almost a month ago, awestruck at how well put-together the tube and surface routes are. At the same time we remind ourselves that London still had to slap on a congestion tax to discourage automobile use. Wait, that's a good idea too, isn't it?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

TonyV:

Yeah, though London is of a different context as well - 10M in the metropolitian area with a smaller footprint = higher density, which is much more amendable to (if not downright necessitate) a good subway network. We don't have that pattern of urban form here. I don't think a broad based congestion tax is useful in our context, vs. selected tolling during rush hour.

AoD

 

[agoraflaneur]

Alvin,

I agree with your sentiments, some of which I was trying to get across myself. It is indeed pointless to compare places, especially with the guide of height. I suppose it is just an exercise in speculation. However, to many who look around the world and want to choose a place to live is not pointless, but instead one of the most pressing questions of life. Construction activity in a place can also be a barometer for desirability, as people move and demand housing.

So, Houston, Austin and Dallas are booming but San Fran construction has come to a halt. Does that mean Texas is best!? Of course not, but it does represent a trend, one which I doubt will end any time soon, and presents us with the future in nascent form. Economic prospects are indeed better in Texas.

The same goes with Chinese megacities, which are breeding grounds for the future of Asia, at least. Hopefully we will never have the density that in my opinion plagues them, but the way they build their cities will mark humanity forever - an experiment in living untried anywhere in the West but NYC.

I don't find these comparisons banal, but instead illuminating of our world. Still, save the "my scaper is bigger than yours" for others, indeed.