The Hidden Differences Between US and Canadian Urbanism

Comments · 1.7K

• CR

  @crowcawisland · 6 months ago (edited) · pinned

  I hate how your channel sold out and became yet another generic "clickbait with rich dude talking on expensive mic in a gamer chair about how the USA is worse than North Korea" channel. I unsubbed.

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• PO

  @popcon095 · 6 months ago

  Streets in Canada need to be wide enough to support a game of road hockey anywhere

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• LE

  @lemonlizard1 · 6 months ago

  HOAs are a crazy concept to me, like I can't believe that the country of freedom & liberty has HOAs. Glad that they barely exist here

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• RI

  @RipCityBassWorks · 6 months ago

  Calgary having higher light rail ridership than LA will never not be impressive.

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• JA

  @jamiemasters7401 · 6 months ago

  Eastern Canadians: 8 trains a day isn’t amazing<br><br>Western Canadians: a train every 8 days would be amazing

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• PH

  @phoenixrambles · 6 months ago (edited)

  I live in the US but have to travel a lot for work, including to Canada. A major thing I notice is that the US has a &quot;only the POOR ride the bus!&quot; attitude that is far less prevalent in Canada. When work sent me to Kelowna the front desk employee at my hotel recommended taking the city bus into downtown, whereas I have never had a hotel employee recommend transit in the US. People also seem much less hesitant to sit next to strangers on the bus or train in Canada; in the US you&apos;ll get a dirty look if you sit down right next to a stranger on the bus instead of standing, in Canada it&apos;s normal.

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• CI

  @cinquine1 · 6 months ago

  Halifax showing up in the US and Canadian cities by transit ridership % is wild

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• JU

  @jumpierwolf · 5 months ago

  As a Canadian, I never understood all of the hate against suburbans until I realized how much worse it is down south.

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• RY

  @ryanz486 · 6 months ago

  A few years ago when I was waiting for the GO bus in Burlington, I got talking with a guy from Atlanta. He was like a kid on Christmas, so happy and enthusiastic, claiming “everyone up here takes transit, walks and bikes…it’s so amazing to see”…Meanwhile I get depressed at how many people drive here and don’t actually take transit or walk/bike lol.

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• BI

  @bighugejake · 6 months ago

  Something that you overlooked in the &quot;variation&quot; section is how much the Canadian winter kind of binds us together in time and space. I&apos;d argue it&apos;s the need for considering the harsh winter climate that adds to that &quot;sharp edge&quot; of the suburbs phenomenon, especially the Prairies. Governments have higher infrastructure costs for more resilient materials, more replacements, snow removal, etc. across the whole country. We can&apos;t add public infrastructure in many cities for like 6 months of the year when the ground is frozen, so when we do add pipes, sewers, gas lines, etc. we better be getting a lot out of it. None of this Atlanta-level spreading out thin. Just for context, it&apos;s March 30th and here in Regina we just got 3 inches of snow.

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• US

  @USMCcAnthem · 5 months ago

  I&apos;m from Vancouver, and my friend is from Tennessee. We both live in Asia now, and she does not take public transport beyond the High Speed Rail, where I always take it whenever possible. Her first instinct when needing transport is to Uber or taxi, whereas mine is to take a bus or MRT. It&apos;s kind of crazy to think about how the public transit we grew up with influences our behaviour as adults.

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• MA

  @matthewconstantine · 6 months ago

  You hit on the stigma about hollowed out cities, &quot;inner city&quot; crime, etc. &nbsp;We in the States are absolutely bombarded with anti-city sentiment through pop culture, film, &quot;news,&quot; etc. &nbsp;Along with that, there&apos;s a real anti-transit undercurrent, too. &nbsp;The bus, train, or subway are often presented as dangerous and scary. &nbsp;I monitor a message board for tourists, and after &quot;is X place safe?&quot; the most common things asked are &quot;is the train safe?&quot; or sadly, &quot;how do I take the train?&quot; &nbsp;Forget about the bus. &nbsp;A lot of people who aren&apos;t from urban cores see the bus as only for the impoverished. &nbsp;And when it&apos;s seen as something only taken by the most desperate, there&apos;s little political will to push for it to be better than the bare minimum...if at all.

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