Some interesting development stats: intensification by the numbers

As I just posted this morning, one of the considerations we're asking the Ottawa Public Library Board to take into account in their deliberations about the potential to build a larger replacement for Rosemount is population growth. Kitchissippi is growing quickly through both infill and the big apartment/condo towers. Recently, I asked for the number of building permits issued in the past five years in our ward, broken down by type of housing. Below is some of the data that's come back. This data is for "net new" permits. That is, these are the number of units for which a building permit has been extended, subtracting the number of demolition permits that were extended in the same timeframe.

We'd need to finesse any use of this data. But, intuitively, I think it bears out what many of us are seeing in our neighbourhoods.

Intensification, which we almost all support at its highest conception, has challenges. More traffic, more pedestrian/cyclist/car conflicts, more crowded recreation facilities and parks, more crowded library facilities, and the loss of trees and greenspace are all persistent problems. If intensification is going to be successful, we need to take it into consideration when making decisions about which developments to approve, and the timing for building new services, amenities and traffic infrastructure in the ward.