On Stacked Townhouses

I was away from London for a few days and surprised to find these posters scattered about my neighbourhood when I returned. It was a little late to "act" by the stated deadline. Still, I did try to find out as much as possible about the City of London's new "stacked townhouses" plan. It's not easy. Not a lot of information out there. 

But I've found out a few things. The poster refers to a change to the London Plan allowing "stacked townhouses" on "neighbourhood connectors." If you don't understand the latest urban planning jargon (and most of us don't) "stacked townhouses" are four-storey attached dwellings stacked on top of each other vertically. As for "neighbourhood connectors," they're streets like Village Green in Westmount, Ambleside Drive in the northwest, Wavell Street in the east end, or my very own Colborne Street in Old North. 

These townhouses will be wonderful (says the city) because a) we need housing density, b) we need to stop suburban sprawl and farmland destruction, and c) these townhouses are easy to build and more affordable than detached homes. 

But I'm a cynical, suspicious person. Does this policy not seem rushed? Why did the city give the public so little notice, so little time to comment? Is it really because we need to act fast to avert a housing crisis? Or is that just an excuse to skip public consultation? 

My neighbourhood is called Old North for a reason. I'm surrounded by Victorian and Edwardian buildings, most of which are attractive and structurally sound. I chose to live here because I wanted to be surrounded by London's history. Will I see it demolished and replaced? Or will the townhouses be built on empty lots? How many of those do we have?

Gosh, I have so many questions and so few answers. If these townhouses are built quickly to forestall a housing crisis, does that mean they'll be architectural crap that will crumble in a few years? Are these townhouses really affordable? Or expensive shoeboxes? Has this policy worked in other cities? Are the mayor and councilors doing what's best for the city or shilling for their developer buddies? I'm not fond of conspiracy theories, but I fear the latter.

Now I look forward to being called an elitist, a snob, and a NIMBY.