What does DTK need?

[danbrotherston]

I think this is the single most important discussion to have, if we want Canadian cities of the future to reflect the ideals shared in this community, more than discussing any of the ideals themselves. I've stated my frustrations and experiences before, but I don't think I've stated this as bluntly as I need to: I have long passed my breaking point living downtown, and it is providing a lower quality of life than any rural or suburban location I've lived in. Most critically I have lost my peace of mind, which is something I never expected living in Canada.

So, this is quite different from my lived experience, and most of the people I know in my building are similarly happy to live downtown, and do not express concerns about safety or peace of mind -- and neither are my colleagues at work concerned about safety (our office is in the heart of DTK).

Could this be because we are somewhat isolated from the streets inside our access-controlled condo building? Is that the difference? I don't know where you live so can't tell whether that's a differentiator. But my fellow residents, by and large, happily walk, shop, bike and eat downtown without feeling unsafe.

Now, most of the new DTK residents are living in access-controlled buildings, whether condos or rental apartments, so if that is the difference, those residents might be less likely to encounter the issues that you do.

I suspect some of this might be due to interpretation. Walking around DTK you see people living in doorways, high on drugs, or having other issues. To you and I we might say, "I have no concerns for myself" others might say "I was nearly killed"...  Now dtkvictim didn't lay out explicit example, so I am exaggerating to make the point, but absolutely there are differences in our tolerance to issues we experience day to day on the street.

FWIW I agree with you Tom, although I also lived in a controlled access condo building virtually all of the people I knew in the building (including both  families and many seniors male and female), none had negative feelings about living downtown, and we all experienced plenty of issues even in our building, including a significant break-in and also fairly frequently homeless people sleeping in and occasionally pooping in our entryway. But nobody felt intolerably unsafe.

Further, we experienced more property damage and break-ins at our single family (albeit century--near downtown) home prior to moving to our condo.