Re: Geography thoughts - Vancouver Island

I've been there, a bunch. Love the place. Victoria is a terrific 
little city. I have some connections there (no one in a position of 
power tho) and I know that locals would be open to this if approached 
right, and there is tons of open space on the island. However, 
immigration to Canada is a hurdle that I haven't been able to figure 
out. Anyone know good resources for this?

--- In [email protected], "turpin <turpin@y...>" 
<[email protected]> wrote:
> It seems to me that the real geographic issue with respect to a car-
> free town is the nature of the boundary between it and adjacent 
> roadways, and how the town might control this boundary. Any 
> neighborhood in an urban core will be both limited and influenced 
by 
> the nature of what surrounds it. 
> 
> There is a real sense in which being "car free" is a constraint as 
> well as a benefit. Most people (not those here, obviously, but we 
> have to think of neighbors who will influence the area) would view 
a 
> somewhat middle ground as optimal. By living near the edge, in this 
> boundary zone, they walk out their back door to the pleasant 
> pedestrian "car-free" zone (or even drive to it!), and drive out 
> their front when they go on a longer trip. Most likely, the car-
free 
> area itself would not expand beyond its initial development, and 
> neighborhood businesses would focus on the boundary, relying on the 
> usual road infrastructure.
> 
> That's not a bad picture. Such a neighborhood in San Antonio would 
be 
> quite attractive. People drive for many miles to traipse down the 
> riverwalk. 
> 
> To do something more radical, though, the car-free town must 
control 
> its boundary. It is no accident that the most walkable cities are 
the 
> ones that have boundary limitations imposed by geography. 
Manhattan. 
> Venice. San Francisco. 
> 
> Of course, the desire to control the boundary conflicts with the 
> requirement to locate this new development where there are economic 
> and educational opportunities. The space around metropolitan areas 
is 
> already laced with road infrastructure.
> 
> Someone -- maybe on another board? -- proposed somewhere on 
Vancouver 
> Island as a possible locale. I think that would be an almost ideal 
> location. The economic and educational opportunities would lie in 
> Vancouver, itself a very attractive metropolis, with a very 
walkable 
> downtown. The link would be by ferry, which has two advantages. 
> First, a ferry route, unlike a subway or roadway, does not allow 
> development between the new development and the metropolis. This 
> helps control the boundary, and prevents the kind of "edge 
> development" that turns "pedestrian, new urban" towns like Seaside, 
> Fl, into tourist attractions within a strip of highway development. 
> Second, commuting by ferry is more pleasant and desirable than any 
> other form of mass transit. The drawback is that this is a pretty 
> wide strait, and I imagine any ferry ride would be an hour and 
some. 
> 
> Vancouver Island is reputed to be quite beautiful. I suspect the 
> chief problem would be finding a developable site. All the good 
sites 
> likely are chockful of resorts, B&Bs, and meeting facilities, or 
> permanently sequestered as parkland. (I'm just guessing -- I have 
> never been to the island myself.)