The first thing that stands out to me in this European office vacancy rate chart from Savills is the difference between Paris-La Défense (~15%) and Paris-CBD (2%).
For those of you who maybe aren't familiar, La Défense is the largest purpose-built business district in Europe. It houses upwards of 40 million square feet of office space and covers about 1,400 acres. It's also more or less where Paris decided to allow and put tall buildings. Though, it is about 3 km west of the city limits.
The Paris-CBD, on the other hand, is within the city limits and I'm assuming it refers to the quartier central des affaires (QCA). But regardless of the exact boundary definitions, what we are comparing here is a purpose-built business district to an older supply-constrained central one. And clearly there are, right now, meaningful differences in demand for the offices in these two areas.
What's also interesting is that there's a meaningful difference in the rents. According to Reuters, office space in La Défense is on average about 50% cheaper than the QCA. This, to me, is a reminder that monofunctional urban areas tend to be less resilient over time. And that's why La Défense is actively working to add additional uses, such as more residential.
But it's not just about uses. The area will also need to contend with the fact that it has a vastly different kind of built form; one that isn't fine-grained and walkable like the QCA. This matters.
There are parts of Toronto that are pedestrian only. There's the Distillery District, some small laneways in Yorkville, the Toronto Islands (though this is a bit of a unique situation), and various other pockets around the city.
There are also streets that we temporarily open up to only pedestrians, such as Market Street and King Street, and areas, such as Kensington Market, that we have been rigorously considering pedestrianizing for as long as I can remember.
What is clear is that pedestrian-only streets are controversial. Motorists fear that it will make driving in the city even more inconvenient. And businesses fear that it will limit their customer base.
While it is true that not all streets can and should be pedestrianized, there are countless examples of streets and areas that appear to be thriving because of it.
Take, for example, Montréal.
Since 2021, the city has been pedestrianizing a stretch of 30 blocks along Mont-Royal Avenue during the summer months. And according to Mayor Valérie Plante, the commercial vacancy rate for the street has dropped from 14.5% in 2018 to 5.6% in 2023:
https://twitter.com/Val_Plante/status/1677358816235515904
Maybe you don't want to infer causality here, but at the very least, it seems to suggest that the street isn't dying and bereft of human activity. This year, pedestrianization is also planned to be extended further into the fall.
This won't necessarily be the outcome for all streets, but I do agree with this recent Globe and Mail article that, oftentimes, the reasons for not pedestrianizing are "a question of philosophy, not geography." Because there's lots of research and data to support doing this.
If any of you are business owners along Mont-Royal, I'd love to hear about your experiences and how you think, for better or for worse, it has changed the area. Leave a comment below or drop me a line.
I have started using Apple Maps when I cycle. I've been using Apple instead Google because it automatically pairs with my watch and tells me (through vibrations) when I need to turn somewhere, but I'm not here to argue that one is better at navigating than the other.
What's great about using either Apple or Google Maps is that it will take you on routes that have bike lanes or, at the very least, routes that have less vehicular traffic.
Toronto's cycling network is far from complete. But I have been impressed by how far I can go on dedicated lanes and by how many lanes/trails exist that I didn't know about. Here is the city's 2024 map showing only dedicated bikeways:
It is not fun riding a bike when you have to fight with city traffic. And so this is a great way to try and avoid that, and not think too much about which routes you should be taking. It's also a great way to test the completeness of your city's biking network.
I'm glad that Toronto is becoming a much better place to ride a bike.
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