Another suburbs vs downtown thread…

r/Ottawa’s fav topic! I’m curious from those who work in the urban planning realm as this came to mind today after reading about Edmonton’s 15 minute city plan.

I would imagine there is a strong overlap between those who advocate for 15 minute cities and those who advocate for a strong downtown and urban over suburban built form.

If suburbs are improved to include more work places, amenities, and infrastructure allowing more people to live/work/play close to home, is there a detrimental effect on downtown? We can see the effect of just moving thousands of people’s workplace to the suburbs.

Is there a tension among these 2 ideas in urban planning? Is the preference to make the downtown core into an area that only serves local residents (and see malls like Rideau decline with their catchment area) or is the preference to create flagship attractions and make downtown a “destination”?