Location

    Sustainable growth in urban regions requires development to occur in already built-in areas as infill and re-development. Some potential infill sites are ‘brown-fields’; former industrial and commercial locations, some of which may require de-contamination and cleanup for recovery and redevelopment. New growth areas in ‘green-field’ sites are avoided. Infill and redevelopment sites occur in both older urban neighbourhoods and newer suburban situations. Moderate densities, good transit service, commercial and institutional uses, and community services are all characteristics that attract new growth through densification, infill and redevelopment. Low-density, single use, and therefore generally auto dependant districts also provide potential infill and redevelopment sites for more comprehensive developments. “One prime infill and redevelopment possibility exists in the suburban fabric: old commercial areas with large parking lots offer the opportunity to insert density and new uses into central suburban locations” (Calthorpe, 1993; 50). Other sites for infill and redevelopment include single story commercial developments or strip developments along arterials that can have residential units added on top, and single detached residential neighbourhoods where higher densities can be established around an existing or new commercial use. Existing commercial and other non-residential uses can be the focus of and the catalyst for the transformation of low density, single-use areas into more compact, mixed-use areas.

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