#inner suburbs

[queensofbrunswick]

[dont-look-down-blamer]

Holy Diver

Johnson Street, Collingwood

Dec 31, 2025

[dougwallen]

Carlton takeaway roundup for Broadsheet

[francescissima]

Melbourne’s secret lanes, inner suburban streets, Victorian historic precincts and 19th century abandoned factories and warehouses have turned from grunge to gentry. Colourful street art provides a changing landscape; painted facades give life to the severe modern apartment blocks tucked behind. Good graffiti is embraced. Railway bike paths open up a whole new world to the backstreet artist and walker.

Grace Cafe, Rose Street Fitzroy

The best way to enjoy Melbourne is to wander. The tram network services all inner suburban areas. Leave the car at home, take the tram then stroll. These images were taken recently along Rose Street, Fitzroy, close to the city. Catch the tram along Nicholson street and disembark at Rose Street. Start walking, and do not get distracted at the Brunswick Street intersection.

Car Park, Rose Street Fitzroy.

The following collage can be viewed as a media file. Open one picture below and the journey down Rose street will follow.

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Rose Street, Fitroy

Back Street Wanderlust Melbourne's secret lanes, inner suburban streets, Victorian historic precincts and 19th century abandoned factories and warehouses have turned from grunge to gentry.

[clatterbane]

Reminded by the “guess I got a new puppy” opposite of a problem, it’s still pretty odd to me sometimes, living somewhere that there aren’t any dogs running around loose at all. (And where at least 95% of the dogs I see are obviously KC registered from breeders…)

When Max slipped out the back gate after Mr. C that time, it really didn’t take very long for him to end up in Doggy Jail.

I mean, it’s probably a good thing that there aren’t a bunch of stray dogs running around. Especially with all the busy roads locally. :-| But, it’s still kind of strange sometimes, not even encountering random dogs with homes around the neighborhood outside their own gardens or not on a leash with their humans.

(No worries, though; there are more than enough foxes to get into people’s garbage! *wry smile*)

[robertruggiero]

Tires or feet? Chief Planner’s Roundtable on next generation suburbs

Last week month I attended the Chief Planner Roundtable, hosted by our celebrity civil servant, Jennifer Keesmaat. The topic, the Next Generation Suburbs, is of great importance to Toronto. One presenter, City of Toronto planner Ann-Marie Nasr, pointed out that two-thirds of growth in Toronto will take place in these inner suburbs.

While the event was Toronto focused, presenters were free to discuss their ideas and thoughts on the topic. The cast included public and private sector stakeholders representing architecture, planning, development, health, transit and academia. Early on it was established that Toronto has denser and more transit dependent suburbs than its North American counterparts, but the discussion did not define what exactly are the suburbs.

Everyone agreed that suburbs are changing; but only York University professor, Roger Keil painted a positive picture. With too many great lines and comments to list, he silenced the crowd and left moderator Keesmaat impressed. He even accused Jane Jacobs for leaving an anti-suburb legacy. In defence of these areas, Keil proclaimed, “[m]any downtowns are now Disneyfied, predictable and uniform. The inner suburbs are raw, unpredictable and diverse, full of neighbours and strangers alike.” You can read his full remarks here on the his York University Global Suburbanisms blog.

Keesmaat carefully reiterated that a conversation on defining the suburbs must begin, but panellists offered diverging viewpoints. Nasr offered that Lawrence Heights, south of Yorkdale Mall along the Allen Expressway, is typical of what we mean when we say suburban, while architect Ralph Giannone offered Don Mills and Port Credit as examples.

Later, councillors got in on the fun and shared their views. Shelley Carroll insists that a “sense of place” can exist in the suburbs, as well as in privately owned space such as shopping malls. Gloria Lindsay Luby maintains that people do want to live in the suburbs, “where the birds don’t bump into glass towers” (Don’t tell her that one of the biggest culprits is a trio of towers by the Scarborough Town Centre). However, her ward neighbour, Peter Milczyn rejects the notion of suburbs, as Toronto is part of a post-modern multi-nodal city region.

The discussion concluded that a sense of community could be fostered no matter if the urban form is, as Keesmaat said, ill-fitting. John Tory restated this disconnect, as did Keesmaat when she shared a story of Thorncliffe Park, with its own medical and shopping centres and frequent bus service. The rest of the speakers often emphasized that the suburbs present an enormous opportunity, but will likely only be unlocked when good transit arrives.

Places we think as downtown were once suburb. When did the Annex lose its new suburb smell? It seems we can redevelop countless suburban communities, but they will remain as redeveloped suburban communities. Or rather, these interventions are an expression of New Suburbanism: an evolution of older-suburbs with new village-like centres, but still isolated and car-dependant.

So, what is a suburb? When I’ve asked this question before, one answer that stuck with me came from Peter Stevens, a teacher/comedian/friend of mine, who suggested the suburbs begin “at the first sidewalk that has seen more tires than feet.” But where would we draw that line? I presume, some place beyond the airport that we’ve only seen through a moving window.

cross-posted from Spacing