Here's something to consider: Tokyo's busiest metro stations are directly connected to malls, office spaces, and sometimes even apartments that are jointly owned and operated by the same companies who own and operate the trains/tracks/stations. Transit-oriented development like this is what makes places like Tokyo shine. If everyone's a 5 minute walk from a bodega/kombini and laundromat, you very rarely need to take the train at all. There might be a grocery store/produce market at the train station by work, so you can grab fresh produce or other groceries on your way home. Appointments and department stores are near train stations too.
Phoenix’s new metro station is connected to a mall that’s been closed since 2020, and is expected to be completely demolished. And a giant parking lot.
I'm not sure if you brought it up in the video, so forgive me if I missed it, but I think the developer was able to secure the no-parking deal by requiring that tenants do not own or bring cars in the first place, which kind of takes care of the no on-site parking concern, except those delivery spots of course.
That's kind of amazing that car-free folks can get dedicated housing catered to their lives. I would love more complexes like this for TOD apartments. Rent prices weren't too outrageous for a new complex in Tempe, like $1.5K for a 1 bed apartment, with perks like the annual transit pass.
It is unlikely that the residents don't own cars. If you are given free access to the light rail it is highly likely the car is just in a carpark close to the light rail line at another stop. If you got the money to even live here you also already have a steady job that likely required you to have a car.
That's because the best green and urban solutions are free-market-driven, rather than Big Government driven. Create grassroots demand and education in order to create supply.
It is not car free, they have 200 parking spots, a little number because the developer is saving costs pushing it as car free. The whole place is a very inhumane design.
@@jbradhicksranging between $15-1800 per month depending on unit size. The thing is a lot of the new neighboring developments in the valley also built parking garages for resident use, but the cost averages 60k per parking space in these garages, and costed the developer a lot of money they gotta get back over time via higher rents, even if they didn't want to adhere to parking minimum laws. Developers usually have no choice to build at all because of that....which usually results on new apartments of sizes similar to the ones in Culdesac to be $2200/$2400+ . I've toured a lot of brand new builds, and saw that pattern persist in most of these brand new developments with hundreds of units of their own.
I stayed here for a week last month, and really loved my experience there. I echo the "empty" feel critique. And while I totally get it, the gated entries to main residence areas made the place feel a little hostile towards non-residents. Would love to see the community be more inviting to general foot traffic from the nearby neighborhoods and apartment complexes.
It's almost *too* tight for a development in this kind of area. I think increasing the density, increasing the spacing between buildings a bit would be a bit better. As it is, I worry there aren't enough "eyes on the street" and Jane Jacobs would say. To maintain safety as a result they would need to close off parts.
Unfortunately it is incredibly rare to find an apartment complex in the Phoenix metro without gated access. Only the really old and/or the "affordable housing" developments (that are really just what market rate should be) are lacking them. Phoenix is one of the least inner-connected cities I've ever seen. You can't even drive directly through most neighborhoods without making several turns and potentially having to turn around at a dead end or two.
How accessible was it? It looks good but a lot of walkable neighborhoods are designed with the assumption everyone can walk. So are car centric of course, but I think it's important we don't leave wheelchair users etc out of the plan. Everyone lucky enough to get old will deal with a mobility issue at some point but I keep seeing these ideas for people focused design that completely ignores this.
@@aprildawnsunshine4326 It's not accessible unfortunately. The gates to enter a complex are heavy, and there is no automatic door opener option. There were also no elevators to access the 2nd floors, which we readily noticed with our heavy luggage. I agree that accessibility should be a part of these efforts.
I mean, yeah, you probably think "car-centric suburb" when you hear culdesac, but, at their core, cul-de-sacs are neighborhoods that are designed to completely discourage through traffic and non-resident cars, so given that this neighborhood has no traffic at all (I'm pretty sure you're not actually allowed to live here if you bring a car, which is probably how the developer secured a no-parking deal with the city), the name actually makes sense.
@@aynt_2065 if people say its cringe/terrible, it doesnt matter what the word 'meant' because thats not how language works. meanings shift constantly so cul-de-sac = suburbs is whats relevant now. 'youtube' makes no sense unless you acknowledge that the word tube has changed drastically
I couldn't help but notice the amount of bikes and e-bikes on residents patios. It feels like a miss to not have some other sort of secured bike parking so people don't need to lug their e-bikes up a flight of stairs and through their apartments, etc.... I know personally it is an issue where I live as well (we keep our bikes inside). Enjoyed the video!
This whole idea is a miss just because a few people either don’t own a car or dislike the idea of a car doesn’t mean that everyone should have to be forced into these kinds of dystopian kind environments 👀👀🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
Lived in Cary NC and bicycling everywhere was great, you can bicycle from the waling paths, onto suburbs, onto sidewalks, back onto walking paths, and dirt paths in the parks. I want to live in Peachtree Georgia some day or somewhere similar. By the way, towns with public universities often have great bicycling as well, I used to love bicycling from Cary MC to Chapel Hill where UNC is, lots of nice winding beautiful little hilly bicycle trails.
While this idea is interesting, I don't believe it's sustainable to build disconnected neighborhoods like this. Hopefully, this will at least increase the popularity of walking neighborhoods across the country and inspire changes in existing downtowns, cities and neighborhoods. I am just concerned this project will be dead in the next decade as we have already learnt that the congregation of people into cities is a natural process and city planning should follow the movement of people not the other way around. In a way this is no different from the suburban experiment where we could end up with loads of these new neighborhoods (for let's be honest rich people) disconnected from each other with no real way to expand it into a real semi dense city.
@@pavld335 you're right. I mean also disconnected from other perspectives. Like who is reasonsible for the shared amenities upkeep? Is it the city or the company building this? It falls in a weird in between. Practically, yes it is connected to the rail line but that doesn't necessarily mean it's well connected or well provided for. As mentioned in the video as well, the grocery store is not a full fledged one so would one still need a car to get actual groceries? How is the rail line connected to other amenities etc... I suppose it's more in the broader sense of urban fabric
It’s an apartment complex, so the landlords manage the upkeep of the amenities. There are plenty of accessible grocery stores just two stations away. For very bulky grocery trips, you can rent an EV for $5/hr or do delivery if you really have a need.
Definitely understandable. For some context, I grew up in the burbs of Phoenix and have actually lived in culdesac now for the past 2 months. It's still in the early stages so it's gonna have its kinks, but it has pretty good promise
I may have missed it, but are there enough employment opportunities inside the community for every resident to work and live in the neighborhood? If there are do they pay enough to afford to live in the neighborhood? I'm going to assume these are around "luxury" apartment prices, the kind that the average person needs at least one roommate to afford, so if they're paying the grocery store workers $15/hr and not giving them living space in the community this turns into a bit of a dystopian mess instead of the pleasant walkable dream it appears to be on the surface. Edit: just checked and the most affordable is $1459 for a 638sqft 1 bed 1 bath. Essentially continuing to perpetuate that livable neighborhoods are not intended for the working class.
Yea sounds about right. Would you believe me if I said 10 years ago you could find apartments for as little as $500/month? Studio apartments were as little as $350/month, dinky and small, even trashy per se but not even in the Ghetto. The house I lived in went from 250k in 2018 to now 550k.
Exactly my thoughts. Walking neighborhoods must be "self sufficient" in order to work. If residents must leave the neighborhood in order to work, it's no different than any other apartment complex. In fact I'd much rather live in a normal apartment complex where I'm not forced to use public transportation exclusively (since you basically can't own and park a car here).
Culdesac is relatively small, so the next light rail stop in either direction gets you outside the development. I would imagine that there are plenty of jobs within a 15 minute commute door to door that can pay the bills.
@@Shteven Move to the midwest can still find sub $500 apartments p easily. That and unskilled labor will still get you ~$15/hr starting bc of worker shortage
These kinds of communities always feel empty at the start. People make car-free communities. You need to give people time to move in and friendships to form. Currently, people have no reason to go out other than to buy food and take the metro to work
Great tour! It'll be interesting to see what it's like after full build-out and if that will result in things being more "lively." I noticed that other developers are building a lot of traditional apartments surrounding the Culdesac area... perhaps people from those nearby apartments will patronize the businesses within Culdesac. I am a bit surprised to see that there's no pool available for residents? That's a pretty important amenity in the desert. Hopefully that's part of the final plans.
As someone who doesn’t drive I want this to be feasible and improved on. I’ve been to Ireland France Poland Sweden and Norway and I love all of them for their easy access to public transportation.
A big issue with Cul De Sac that I worry about is the lack of density actually. People don't walk as much actually as they used to, and so slightly higher densities are needed to fill public spaces with people. I think they should have widened some of the walkways and built the occasional 4-6 storey building. The final development will have 1000 people, which isn't actually that many people. If they had tried a bit to double it, they could gave had cheaper more fully fledged stores. I suppose we'll have to see.
I don't think is an issue, per say. There are walkable places in highly dense areas, and there are walkable places that aren't so densely populated. It's true they won't have as many businesses since the immediate population living there is not large, but there's still the possibility of people outside Cul De Sac travelling in for the businesses too (especially since it's right next to a light rail station, if I recall correctly).
I’m sure they had a long, expensive, and bitter feud with petty tyrants in city hall to get an exemption from their oppressive parking minimums. There is an insatiable demand for housing everywhere in the USA right now. I’m sure the developer would’ve made every building there at least five stories if zoning didn’t exist. Perhaps not more than five stories, due to the height limit on stick framed buildings per safety codes. But five story apartment buildings without cars would give you density comparable to Paris or Amsterdam.
This development will eventually house 1000 people and only 150 or so have been built currently. The amount of people walking of course is directed on peoples daily habits. Most people could be at work or doing stuff in their space. This place will eventually have a lot of activity especially since 4 other apartment developments within a half mile are being built. I also have gone to restaurant on site and I loved the food. Also talked to a few people and some had rode the light rail from downtown Phoenix so there will be plenty of activity especially as more businesses open in the retail spaces as they come available.
Yea it very well could’ve just been the day but it was a Saturday afternoon and downtown Tempe was bustling. I can’t wait for them to host more events and bring more people on sight.
Still 1000 people is still not that much to support a Store and coffee shop ane more It really needs 5 times as many or more but when it is all grown in ir will work. It is all Apartment and no place with larger yards or play areas for kids playing Soccer or so. It does seem bit pure like only providing Appartments at a pretty narrow reach. In the EU and UK most developments build by developers or build by residents do have a wide range of different homes. Inclduing appartments , social housing units, affordable housing units assisted housing units, single family homes duplex side by side bungalows and more .
@@paxundpeace9970i assume they're starting out like this because it's less risky economically in the short term. if this development proves to be successful, i would like to see the company build more options like larger row houses or townhomes with 3-4 bedrooms suitable for families. culdesac seems to be on mostly undeveloped or underdeveloped land. it would be great if other developers took note of this and built similar car-free or car-lite neighborhoods in the area near culdesac. it would increase demand for businesses and public transportation in the area and hopefully lead to the opening of new businesses and new transit lines.
At about 1000 residents, I can see the area being very lively! I can also see a series of walkable neighborhoods all interconnected by transit, allowing for better intermingling of people
I feel like America, as a whole, forgot what a town and neighborhood are and need. Like; just putting one fake Whole Foods and, perhaps, a restaurant or brewery doesn’t make a neighborhood. People need a dry cleaner, a shoe repair spot, a hardware store, multiple clothing stores, etc.. These are the businesses that people need on a daily basis, and not having them in your carless neighborhood will only make people drive to get to them. Either that, or you will force them to shop online, which requires vehicular delivery, further defeating the purpose of a carless existence (and furthering the death of what the neighborhood/town used to be). These days, developers think a neighborhood is an overpriced grocery store, an overpriced coffee shop, a restaurant, a bar, and a brewery. That’s not a neighborhood; it’s a destination. Make a town filled with goods and services that people need on a daily basis that supports a variety of businesses with healthy competition and choices, which create jobs for the community, and then add your residences. _That_ is a town.
I would add a barber, a beauty saloon, an ATM or two, a pet shop/grooming/vet and a dentist to the list of neighborhood shops. But if the neighborhood is as small as this culdesac its hard to base a business there.
Hardware store, dry cleaner, pharmacy, sure. Clothing stores? The Internet killed most of those off for good. And I say, good riddance. I go in-person clothes shopping maybe once a year. When I do, I go to the one giant suburban shopping mall that hasn’t died in any given region, with dozens of different clothing stores, so I can get that over with at one place. That’s the only model of apparel retail that can survive. Because sometimes you need to try something on, but it’s so infrequent these days, a standalone store can never survive with just the customers in a 15 minute city. Malls could be very easily served by transit if society demanded it. All it requires is an express bus with good frequency from the nearest train station.
@@JohnDoe-my5ip Hate to break a couple of things to ya, but… 1. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your preferences 2. The suburban shopping mall is dying fast. Most malls are being converted into office suites and health care facilities. 3. Clothing boutiques are still thriving in cities, especially walkable cities like New York. If this experiment of a town aims to be car-free, then they’re going to need clothing stores for all the reasons I already explained in my original comment.
People didn't forget, it's just what makes money and what doesn't. Developers love making rich neighborhoods because that's where the money is. They're not interested in serving the normal people with essentials like laundromats. All the laundromats around me are 20+ years old
At around the 2 minute mark, you asked the question of how Culdesac was able to get around Tempe's parking requirements, and your answer was that they were able to make a deal with the city. Can you please elaborate on this? What kind of deal? What did they have to give up in exchange for the exemption? Who struck the deal? How long did it take? What kind of pushback was there?
While I am skeptical about letting developers continue to steer trends, I appreciate the balls on CulDeSac to prohibit tenants from bringing a car on site, and focusing in on their market. I'm not gonna up and move to AZ for this, but I'm sure other like-minded people who can't afford NYC, CHI, BOS, or Europe may be swayed. I think this is a nice kind of intermediary from people used to living in suburbs, almost like a college campus. Hopefully it doesn't become just a reskinned version of a suburb or as others have pointed out, gated community.
I live a few miles away from Culdesac and have (ugh) driven by a number of times. I am really excited to see Culdesac continue to finish their build-out and am hopeful for great success that leads to a Phoenix-Metro-wide model for car-free living!
This would be perfect to replace the Neshaminy Mall in Philadelphia. It's far enough out of the city that you don't have as many of the disadvantages but hopefully with both the Roosevelt Boulevard and the West Trenton line that it should be around an hour to reach center city via transit while giving Neshaminy and the surrounding towns a town center district more like smaller midwest towns (like Sandusky, OH) than a lifestyle center or whatever King of Prussia did at the interchange where I-76 turns off the PA turnpike
I live in the Phoenix area, and there's a reason Culdesac is still empty. Despite it being right on the light rail, there's only one line to ride. If you aren't going to a location along that line, and need to take a bus, expect a total trip length of 2 hours or more. Not to mention it's almost exclusively targeted towards ASU students and the "young professionals" (recent ASU grads) who work in Downtown Tempe, and it is a little pricey for most people. Although that is just the entire rental market here. It is really unfortunate, because these are the ideas that will save our cities! But the rest of this city is simply designed to be too car dependent to make one neighborhood like this mean anything. It also took YEARS to get it off the ground. It was already in pre-development over 5 years ago when I moved to the valley for school (studying urban planning). It took over 5 years to get one neighborhood like this, and it still sits mostly empty.
there was no rail when I lived in Phoenix. Cars cars everywhere. It would be a huge benefit of any city to have rail service. I live in Cape Coral florida and there are no rail services here. I have only seen ONE bus and it's not coming down my street. I drive an hour to work most days. It would be a pleasure to ride a bus or rail instead.
I hope more walkable “islands” like this pop up in sunbelt and midwestern cities. I’ve noticed it in Denver a lot as well. The next step will be to link these neighborhoods via public transportation
I would LOVE to live in a car free community! 😍 I used to fantasize about living on Catalina Island (Los Angeles) which is not entirely vehicle free, but I’d be okay with go-carts & scooters…
Damn, Tempe went from almost building the worst economic disaster of a hockey stadium to an actual chance at sustainable development! Great change of pace!
Not sure about the USA and all its local county-level codes, but in Canada, 3 storeys is the maximum height for a wood-frame building to be built without a fire sprinkler system, and also the height at which fire separations need only be rated at 45 minutes.
The problem with narrow streets/walkways is safety, those cute little streets can become unwelcoming and dangerous when more people move in or are opened to the general public. This looks a-lot like an British Estate.
Love the initiative and design of this neighborhood. The biggest flaw I see is that it is plopped in a Phoenix suburb. While there is a quick connect to Metro and ride share capabilities, as a Phoenix resident I don't have 60 minutes to take a train and then walk to work and I would really have to forego visiting friends in other neighborhoods unless I'm paying for Uber. Again, its more a flaw of Phoenix urban design rather than this neighborhood but I hope the public transit system and local infrastructure continues to change so that a project like this can be a reality for a Phoenix resident like me.
Those stores won't get enough business from that small community to be sustainable, especially if the grocery store is pricey. Most residents will be at work most of the day, so the businesses will be empty. And since there's little foot traffic from outside the community, they'll go bust.
@@sethborman7844 Oh, okay. The narrator mislabeled it as a grocery store. A convenience store makes much more sense for that complex than a grocery store.
Having no cars is on the extreme end, but there is a market for such a place. The waiting list just to get a property on Toronto Island is famously difficult to get on to. There is an even greater demand for places that have less motor vehicle traffic than we think of as normal. People will pay extra for neighborhoods that don’t allow high speed traffic. The noise and dust from car tires on pavement are things people want to escape. The name of the development does make anyone who speaks French cringe, as “cul de sac” literally means “ass of the bag”. It also is synonymous with “dead end”. Not great marketing.
Walkable neighborhoods, with easy access to amenities and transit, are far preferable to suburban sprawl. The large single family home on a large lot is a throwback to an era when construction, housing, and automobile costs represented a much smaller percentage of people's family incomes. I would love to live in such a neighborhood.
That was a very appropriate tour; great length & editing! I refuse to call Culdesac a neighborhood. It’s an apartment complex and/or subdivision that is nicely designed for people to move about without a car. A community, probably. My other beef with their marketing is that it’s more car-light than car free. The primary difference is the lack of onsite parking lots. There’s still a parking lot for the commercial spaces (could be avoided if truly a car-free “neighborhood”, & the car is still a key method of getting around Tempe & the valley for it spread. The bus isn’t that useful & the train only runs on 20-minute headways. I was there a year ago before they opened & found that this island of car-lite was all alone with standard car-oriented development to be quite disappointing! I’ll check it out in a couple months but while I appreciate the pedestrian orientation, let’s not pretend this is how to construct sustainable & livable neighborhoods.
Here’s a few responses to your concerns. 1. It is a car free neighbor hood because the parking isn not allowed for residence and as part of the deal with Tempe, residence arnt allowed to park on the surrounding streets. The parking lot is mainly for delivery 2. Your point about it being an island of walkability is kinda the point it makes all the other apartments around it much more walkable. And gives young professionals a way to not live with the cost of cars 3. The rail runs at 15 minute head ways. you were either there on a Sunday or you may be referring to the Tempe street care that runs at 20 minutes but is moving towards 15minutes in the coming months 4. I don’t think the video did the best job of showing the scale of final project that tiny parking lot serves 1000 housing units over 17 acres
doesn't feel organic, it reminds me of gated communities. Places like these have to grow from scratch, not built in ready. I was born in Morocco, though it is a developing nation I like the fact that you can live your life not ever needing a car.
Yeah I feel the same way. Organic "main streets" exist in the US but are increasing hard to find. Mainly because no one lives in apartments above the shops. I lived on one such main street for a few years in a college town with 25K pop. It just felt so intriguing to see how business activity changes throughout the day and became a little party street at night with a few bars and food truck for drunk students. Owning a car never crossed my mind either.
Unfortunately, I think we have to have the private market build places like this, and when they prove viable and popular, governments and other contractors will start redeveloping existing areas as such. We're still stuck in post-war ideas about development and have only kept doubling down, even now.
@@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub I honestly don't know the answer, I live in Pensacola Florida and just like every US city, the downtown area is very walkable. I think American zoning laws are definitely not in the interest of people. The ugliest thing I have been seeing is these developers who build these mass apartment complexes, town homes or even apartments that all look the same which in a few year start to look like run down areas.....anyway, I am only interested in this because I really think the way cities are built isolates people which participates in mental health issues, crimes, for god's sake you can go your whole day not talking to anyone because people spend it in their cars.
I hope this succeeds just because they got an exception from minimum parking requirements. People need to see that parking requirements are not required for every development to be successful
I'd like to see more communities like this. I'm in San Diego and public transportation is terrible, and riding a bike is dangerous. I'd love to not have to have a car.
For a car-free neighborhood, I would like to visit Culdesac, Arizona not one day but for a year. I would like America to promote more cities like this, I don't want to say this but I've seen way to many fat people here in United States.
Europe could teach the US about foot traffic zones and public transportation. America has always been lacking in providing its constituency with basic services and infrastructure.
ugh I used to go to university near this project and honestly this only caters to rich people and are unaffordable for the average person in Tempe. I like the idea and that is what America should strive for but make it affordable, where I live now it is extremely walkable but then again it is 500 years old.
I most definitely would live in a car, free car light community if I found one in a different state than Arizona. Actually now I’m thinking of living overseas but wish that wasn’t the only option to try to live car light.
I have not been there yet, but from an outsider's perspective, looking in, my biggest issue with it so far is ... the name. Why call it "Culdesac"? Not exactly a word that evokes car-free culture. You're not likely to even SEE a culdesac in this place.
my favorite part is definitely the buildings. taking architecture and materials into account make a huge difference in temperature. while the walkways do look a tad claustrophobic, this is what we shouldve been building in the desert cities instead of the regular wood frame houses and big box apartments. the ac power drain in the summer would be much lower than it is and we wouldnt have brown/black outs where people end up dead
👺👀🙈UGLY from the poorly delineated uninviting“entrance” harsh straight lines, sharp edges, convoluted walkways, uninspiring decor, etc What a missed opportunity to integrate nature for rain harvesting in pavements, drought tolerant plants, solar energy and other renewable energy, the entire site could have been oriented with overhanging roofs to provide shade based on its latitude,etc
It's still in development, my guy. The trees that were meant to give it more life are still growing. Besides, it's more over about the idea. If this is successful then perhaps more "walkable islands" will follow suit.
It kind of feels like College without the classroom. even down to the shops and grocer. I don't even think that is a bad thing as I enjoyed the walkable nature of my college campus. It was nice waking up in the dorm, walking to the dining hall for breakfast, and then chilling around the green spaces around campus meeting all kinds of different people from all over the nation. I also think the agreement with the city to encourage public transit is a smart idea. I would love to see this concept in other cities.
I’ve been following Culdesac and i love the idea of it but on the execution, the apartments are cheaply built. i wish you would shed light on NA’s substandard building regulations for insulation and general energy efficiency. Keeping pedestrians cool is one thing but buildings homes right the first time is huge
This is the third RU-vid channel that I've seen covering Culdesac recently, I think they have sent invites to a bunch of RU-vidrs to come and check out the neighborhood. I fully agree with the complaint on how empty it is, in every single video I've seen the place is pretty much deserted, it's like visiting a mall on a day that all the stores are closed, it looks nice but where are all the people? (Insert John Travolta where is everyone gif). I understand that the place might be new or that everyone is out working or whatever, but they should have really have the tours during the times that people were around, otherwise this place looks like a film set when nothing is being filmed on that set, nice to look at but fake. That is really the only complaint I've had from watching the videos of this place.
Although it's cool that it is completely car free it still feels like a theme park and a radical statement towards american car dependance... I think it's possible to meet somewhere in the middle. I was raised in Oxie, Sweden in the 80's. A boring Swedish suburb outside of Malmö for lower middle class people. checkout Majsåkersvägen and Rågåkersvägen in Oxie, Sweden on google maps, how they allow for car ownership, garages, but still having entire areas completely cut off from car trafic. It's walkable and close to nature, with playgrounds etc... There's also a green area between these two roads with an underpass that leads to the school (underneath Byåkersvägen)... This allowed me as a kid to have free access to walk and bike around the whole suburb. Without ever engaging in car traffic... In Oxie Centrum we had a couple of local grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, gyms, library, a vhs rental, a video game store etc. With a population of ~10 000 people and a lot of kids even local commerce was achievable in a suburb of that size (and still is). The suburb has a lot of green areas, and a lot of walking paths (all small "roads" that you don't have street view on, are walking- and bike paths only). Why culdesac feels dead is because it's not lived in yet.... and perhaps never being big enough to actually house much social activity. I'm just afraid it will end up being a walkable deadish theme-park-like area that doesn't fit into the rest of the infrastructural landscape. Don't get me wrong. I'm ALL FOR car free societies. :) It's just that the US still has weird regulations that might force other new development to be starkly different from culdesac, rendering it to become an isolated "experiment" of sorts.... I hope I'm wrong.
It feels dead because only like 150 people live there compared to the 1000 people that’ll be there when construction completes, they also have the room to build even more and expand. This those concept is very different compared to pedestrian zones seen all over Europe.
Aaaaand its all for rich people 1500k apartments. Glad to see rich people get to live the life i wish i could. This is for the people who want the aesthetic of urbanism and sustainability without all the dirty poor people
Damn! Didn’t know rent was 1,500,000! All jokes aside the average 1 bed in Tempe is $1900 that is 400 dollars below market. All new housing is good because it reduces the demand by filling supply.
Yeah, I live in a small, very mid apartment in Mesa for like $1450/month on a PSH voucher, so like... If the property accepts them, a housing voucher will cover the rent.
this looks stunning. but the architecture just looks so flat and brutalist. its kind of depressing. i think going for a classical italian architecture theme would work really well
The biggest problem with these developments is that they don't have regular stores. All of the restaurants and shops are twee, overpriced stuff. Wheres the fast food? Wheres the regular grocery stores instead of the more expensive kind?
"It's proving to be very popular" 30 seconds prior: "it feels empty" If it works, great, but check your bias, because you're claiming it's a wild success before it even gets a chance to be tested.
I hope this place succeeds, but tbh it kind of feels more like its "personality" is being the opposite of car dependancy rather than simply being a place that doesnt rely on cars. Its like someone who is technically doing the right thing but only in stubborness towards the wrong thing. Why are the buildings so sterile? Why is there no mention of encuraging small buisnesses and markets to fill in? Why is there no public space that everyone would have a sense of responsibility and ownership for, like a garden or art gallery?
Holy shit seems like a dream place to live. Unfortunately it’s way out of my price range. Wish there was some income adjusted units. Also if anyone does decide to move there apparently a limited number of people get a free lectric bike for moving in. Its a great bike, I have one at home, I’d recommend picking up the extended battery tho.
Tbf what new apartment complex is affordable? It's a reasonable price for what you get including the free transit pass and such. I enjoy the XP Lite as a lightweight, transit-friendly ebike but I definitely need to buy a second battery. Barely get 25 miles after a few months usage in a hilly city.
My hometown is planning to build mixed used buildings and multi family homes. Near and next to the bus stop and bus station. And also they say they are improving the bus station. But we’ll see about that
Very cool and it's a good start, although Culdesac could be better. As you said, hopefully we'll see more car-free places around the country! To keep the conversation going, there's an excellent video called "How to turn your Neighborhood into a Village" from Andrew Millison's channel.
I am a driver, I drive about 80 miles per day. But will avoid driving in the city if I can.. Which is hard where I live. I would like to live in a place like Culdesac. Sounds nice to safely walk or bike to a store. It would cut down a lot on traffic for the people who want to drive.
I think it's a great start while the next step can be that those car free / car less areas become a part of the community. That people can easily walk and cycle to those local community centers from neighboring areas that can be a mix of different types of apartment buildings, terrace- / townhouses and single family homes. Leading to a greater variety and more of local shops and restaurants. While also increasing the opportunities for public transport and other alternatives to cars. Like for example already in many parts of Europe.
I don’t want my house to be amongst a bunch of apartment buildings that defeats the purpose of even having a house it throws of the look of the neighborhood, devalues the house and stop trying to jam as many people into a small area as possible please 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
@@angelaburress8586 There can not only be urban sprawls, there people are forced to own a car, and high density areas with high rise apartments buildings. Instead you can also for example have three story apartment building terrace house, and single family housing areas with a mutual community center with shops, restaurants and access to public transport. That this leads to more choices, convenience and community spirit while also more space for parks and other public land.
It is in fact my favorite tautology-An absolute necessity. Increase the size 10 fold with more infrastructure with car rentals, hospital, swimming pools, theaters, market walking streets and you have a future that puts a dent into the car centric economy.
Crossing a potentially busy street from the rail station is less than convenient, and Ideally there would be a more comprehensive shopping center on an abutting lot. If I lived there, I would find most trips more than an easy walk away. I would dearly love to be in a walkable neighborhood, but Culdesac is too small to make that possible. It's a start, but some of the major players need to come aboard.
I'm thrilled to learn this is going on in the U.S. It's easy to see a "benign virus" like this spreading over time in a metro area like Phoenix and transforming it from a nightmare of a city (on my view) into a vibrant and livable place. I'm from the U.S. but have lived most of the last 35 years in Tokyo. I love Tokyo precisely because it is a human-scale, pedestrian-oriented city that has minimal zoning and grows and develops and changes organically. The greater metro area of Tokyo has 25 million or so people, but it's mostly a cluster of an endless series of walkable neighborhoods so it easy to function here. I have zero desire to ever live in US suburbia again, but if developments like this expand and begin influencing urban areas I'd think about returning for my Golden Years.
This is a nice start, close to near the Tempe city center and has the Valley Line station and one stop from the street car. That said, Tempe's city center has more density and shops but it's still looks pretty deserted, like a suburb that most of the inhabitants are somewhere else during the day. As for the place itself. First of all it's a block of apartments, not a neighborhood (unless you have different definitions) and it looks more like a mall as, just like a mall, it does offer a nice car free area for pedestrians but it's not natural but planned and controlled. The developers lease the apartments so no on owns places and they can control who lives there, what he can or cannot do and what kind of shops the residents have. Hopefully this will bring real car free and more pedestrian and bike friendly areas that are developed by the city and different people own/lease/rent apartments and different shops and other business can offer what they want with more choices for the residents and will enable more people to work there and not commute every day.
I love the light rail, I really want that. The only thing I "need" my car for is shopping trips where I stock up on suppllies. I would love to rent a car for half a day every 2 weeks to get those supplies. But I would need a hand cart to move from the car to the home. My knees are also not working well with stairs so I would want something at the ground level. With all that I could make it work.
I can't be the only one thinking that parts of this look like the setting of a indie video game with a very simple plot of "travel and solve puzzles in this little world" with a really calming soundtrack and a very simple art style that somehow works.
Totally car-free? Never. But looking-like totally car-free? HELL YES! What I mean by that is: underground parkings under buildings. This way, we still can have cars if we need them (I play keyboards for example, and I just need easy access to car to put my stuff into trunk! but that's like once a week or so), but won't pollute nice view of neighbourhood by cars and parkings everywhere.
