Good, Bad, & Ugly of My Childhood Community (McKenzie Towne)

Thanks for watching!!
I wanted to explore the neighbourhood where I grew up, but with new eyes - after learning about urbanism and such... you know the rabbit hole I'm talking about. I'll be making more videos like this.
What plus ones or minus twos did I miss?
Shifter: / shifter_cycling
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[@claireoster6020]

What a great way to look at other communities!

[@humanecities]

Thank you 🙏

[@alexwilliamns]

-2 for how much noise all those cars make 😅

[@humanecities]

Some future videos might have the audio recorded later 😂

[@Awesome_Alex99]

I remember always going to Makenzie towne because they have the little shopping area with a circle k and some other places which is cool. Definitely a nice looking community

[@humanecities]

My first job was at the Little Caesars in that Circle K 😂

[@alandrawilliams6207]

Can we talk about how that parking lot at the end was a field.

[@humanecities]

Remember that monster truck that gave rides in it that one time?

[@scottkearl8167]

+1 for the separated sidewalk (boulevard, see new video by Oh the Urbanity, safer and more pleasant) -2 for the narrow sidewalk and its material (although, it does comply with city specs, wish sidewalks were wider and asphalt, not concrete, easier to wheel on (skateboard, bike, rollerblades, wheelchairs, scooters, etc.)) +1 for the greenway (pedestrian only travel area at 13:12) great way to have shortcuts through the community to safely race a car and usually win when biking to a buddy’s house, also pretty and quiet. Also, Not Just Bikes made a video about traffic calming measures you may enjoy! Please try ranking Walden! I feel like its a sprawling community built better than most!

[@humanecities]

I explored Cranston today, and found it strange how the blvd kinda disappears halfway along the main drive… Blvds are underrated! I’d be interested in making a video on why we choose the materials we do when constructing different sidewalks! (And how we can do better.) Greenways are a HUGE +1!! Walden is on the list! And Legacy 🤔 Thanks for the comment, Scott!

[@TechIlliterate]

"In the winter THEY LIGHT IT ON FIRE" Say no more.

[@humanecities]

🔥 🔥 🔥

[@josepheldredge7313]

RIP to that blockbuster where you lost your tooth

[@humanecities]

I think about it all the time.

[@Paint_The_Future]

In Ireland and the UK, every bus stop has a timetable for when you can expect a bus. Only one place in Calgary I know of has this and it's at the U of C. If you're not in that one place, you just stand at a bus stop waiting. Could be 1 minute, could be 40 minutes, no way to know. You could use an app to find out when the next bus is, but as a new immigrant in 2019 without a phone, I just stood there. -2.

[@humanecities]

That is an issue, making Calgary Transit less accessible to many people. Definitely something to improve!

[@pbilk]

8:28 Yes, more frontage roads so the collector road for the neighbourhood doesn't have a ton of conflict points for where cars pull out. I loved seeing these in the Netherlands.

[@humanecities]

It’s a great idea for exactly that situation!

[@UrbanistBlooms]

Grew up here too! Thanks for this video.

[@humanecities]

Thanks for the comment!

[@Lukeyborey]

Love it

[@humanecities]

LUKE! Thank you!

[@EKsUrbanTracks]

I loved this format! Eye-level analysis, I got a perfect grasp of your surroundings. I subscribed earlier, but INSTANT SUB!

[@humanecities]

Thank you 🙏 I’m subscribed to you as well! Love your videos!

[@EKsUrbanTracks]

@@humanecities I have recently been shown very good new creators on urban planning on a very local level, the algorithm gets me! And thanks for following me!!

[@humanecities]

@@EKsUrbanTracks I hope to see urbanist creators in every city!

[@mattmontgomery2800]

Great video, cool towne! I wish you would have tallied up the score, it seemed like positivity really beat the odds.

[@kaledexter9590]

I went to McKenzie highlands, they made us lock our skateboards on the scooter rack. Someone took the truck off my skateboard and took it lol

[@humanecities]

That's a rough day... How do those racks work, by the way?

[@sammymarrco2]

wow this is really solid for north American newer suburbs (or exurb it looks like on google maps). Its not perfect but its a great jump off point.

[@paikiwika]

My interpretation is that plus 1 things are not disturbing so you don't really take notice of them. They're just part of the landscape and may very well be pleasant when you experience them. Minus 2 things catch you off guard and often leave you with a bad impression. That's why the minus should be greater than the plus. For example: A city in France I won't name has forever left a me with a bad impression. When I walked down its tree-lined streets and past its beautiful buildings, I could smell pee and poo everywhere, and these are not from dogs, cats or horses.

[@AustinSersen]

I was actually super impressed with McKenzie Towne when I visited the first time. The main streets don't have front-loading garages which makes a huge difference. It's still way too car-dominated though. The topic of the intersection of urbanism and Christianity is a niche one I've been super into. The predominant experience of mainstream Christianity is a congregation of people that don't live near each other. You shouldn't be driving past a dozen churches on the way to your church. It's totally against what Christ instructs to live in community with one another...share burdens of life, child-rearing, breaking bread together, etc. I'm somewhat guilty of this myself, but at least my church is a 20 minute bike or bus ride away from home. I did a deep dive a year or two ago of churches in my area, and NONE of them specifically mention the community they're in. It's always something like "We're for Calgary" instead of "We're for Brentwood". The biggest problem with churches in North America is the isolationism or "us versus them" they foster and their lack of vision for their surrounding community. At least half of a church's staff should live within a 20 minute walk to their church and regularly do that walk to be in the community...to be visible to others and more approachable. You can't create those connections to "outsiders" from inside a metal box.

[@humanecities]

That’s a really interesting perspective on urbanism! Definitely a subject to be explored!

[@AustinSersen]

​@@humanecities If this topic interests you, I've enjoyed "The Embedded Church" podcast. I don't think they're making episodes lately, but they were pretty active during Covid. I'd love to have more momentum behind this intersection, but urbanists generally aren't cool with any deities it seems. Given how some faith-based people act, and the absolutely insane or irrational views they can sometimes have (probably a case of the vocal minority as my IRL experience differs from my online comment section experience), I can't really blame the lack of interest by many urbanists.

[@Olympiaw]

Oh my im so late to this video but anyway i go to MHS ( the second school) and the scooter/skateboard thing is extremely helpful lol😂

[@humanecities]

It looks super handy! I hope they put things like that in more places!

[@Olympiaw]

@@humanecities I know ^^

[@kailahmann1823]

tiny but important issue at 11:00. Why is that speed sign to the right of the multi-use-path (and half hidden by the trees) and not on the green between the road and the path? I mean, it's not supposed to limit the cyclists ;)

[@humanecities]

🤣 It’s basically invisible! It never ceases to amaze me how little we think through things… I think one of the most important things we can do to improve our cities is be more thoughtful.

[@kaledexter9590]

Lmao me and my friends always made jokes about that speed sign

[@kailahmann1823]

12:12: is that wide enough for a cargo bike of a mobility scooter?

[@humanecities]

Great question 🤔 You’d definitely be able to fit through with a cargo bike, but I could see the turning radius being an issue.