Neighbourhoods are works-in-progress
I heard someone say when talking about the City of Ottawa that it will be nice once it’s finished! Is Manor Park finished? The short answer is probably not. The longer answer is more complicated. Neighbourhoods change.
They are rarely static There are lengthy periods where nothing changes, and longtime residents probably wish it wouldn’t change, but change is always a constant, no matter how long it takes.
Neighbourhoods, like democracies, should not be taken for granted, for they can get out of hand if issues are complacently ignored. Neighbourhoods can either improve or deteriorate, and both scenarios can alter the atmosphere and even keep certain people in and others out.
Neighbourhood anxiety
The main reasons neighbourhoods change are development-related, and societal influences. The development reason is the edgiest because sometimes it doesn’t always make sense, especially architecturally. It can be bureaucratically motivated on a municipal level or even an urban planning head-scratcher.
It might be an arbitrary decision. “This house has been here for decades – so let’s put a rise (high or low) there.” Or; “A lot has been empty where there once was a house, so let’s not replace the house, let’s dense up the neighbourhood with a building instead.” Talk about neighbourhood anxiety! This is where the neighbourhood can become unrecognizable.
The architectural look of a neighbourhood usually attracts people and keeps people there for years. Real estate developers are businesspeople first, so the aesthetics and the inner soul of the neighbourhood aren’t always on their radar. It’s business first.
The developmental change can’t always be avoided, even legally, or heritage-wise, so it’s an is-what-it-is situation, a shoulder shrug. Where development is concerned, balance is the key – build an acceptable and pleasing look, and don’t destroy what was significant and what the neighbourhood represented in the first place.
Not to name names, but there are neighbourhoods in this city that have been architecturally destroyed in the name of so-called ‘progress.’ Change cannot be stopped, but it can and should be controlled, or at least sensibly reigned in.
Expanding footprints
The second important change in neighbourhoods is societal. This one is inevitable as societal tastes and trends evolve. Parenting techniques change from generation to generation, education and school choices change, inner residence layout requirements evolve and so on.
Houses are no longer simply places to rest your head and give your kids a safe space these days. They have bathroom spas, restaurant-like kitchens, home offices, fitness workout spaces, entertainment zones, and even elevators. Gone are the days of four children and one bathroom! Homes are more feudal and castle-like in the sense that most family activities take place within the home, as opposed to outside of the home as it was in earlier times.
The inner changes of the home also overlap and coincide with the development issues. People need more space (or they think they do) so they expand their present residential footprint. They build out or up, or both. They add a double garage to accommodate their various vehicles, since the family car is now a plural entity and most likely high-end.
‘Finished’ is temporary
The reality is that ‘finished’ is in the eye of the beholder. Each generation and neighbourhood newcomers want to put their stamp on the territory. They have to ‘own’ their part of the neighbourhood. It’s most likely part ego, mixed with a sense of belonging and acceptance. It’s human nature to want to map out your territory. In this sense ‘finished’ is temporary until someone else comes along, or until societal trends and clever advertising dictate a shift in how things should be. Finished is a fluid concept.
Neighbourhoods evolve, but ironically the push factor is usually the occupants of the neighbourhood, and that’s where complexity seeps in. It becomes over time a neighbourhood soup or stew composed of new neighbours, old neighbours, temporary renters, kids, no kids, diversity, acceptance, tolerance and so on.
The neighbourhood canvas is always left partially and intentionally unfinished. Each newcomer adds a unique brush stroke and perspective. The important question might be, though, do you want your neighbourhood to look like a Rembrandt or a Picasso?
