Page 15 - Soft City Sponsorship Package

What the hell is a Soft City and why should I care?

We all live in a designated location. It is defined by the
house, apartment, townhouse, or condominium we live. It is
defined by the neighborhood, the school zone, the shopping
area, our parks and recreation, transportation, and even our
climate. Many of us now live in suburbia commuting one hour
one way to work. This is not necessarily due to distance, but
traffic accidents and congestion. We can spend 520 hours a
year doing this or looking at it another way, 520 hours divided
by 40 hours a week equals 13 weeks per year just in traffic.
Thirteen hours a week is insane. As a REALTOR, I find it
important to educate myself so that quality of life is met for
our existing residences and the population to come. “Soft
City” gives us an opportunity to easily look at the big picture.
The picture of neighborhoods and cities allows us to thrive
with greater independence.
– William Burruss, Dec 15, 2019

David Sim expertly demonstrates how to create people-
oriented communities through urban design. As an urban
planning student in Canada, this book forced me to consider
how other parts of the world foster community through
urban design.

In North America, zoning is the dominant method of urban
planning. Sim argues that we should move away from
zoning individual areas for specific purposes and instead
promote dense mixed-use areas. Sim demonstrates that
dense, mixed-use neighborhoods produce more vibrant
neighborhoods with happier, healthier residents compared to
those living in zoned, auto-dependent regions.

– Joshua Morales Franco, January 10, 2021.