General Suburban Updates and Rumours

[dtkvictim]

It is undoubtedly hideous. But I think it's a stretch to call the space between the homes useless. While being a hill certainly complicates things for some uses, I think a kid would no problem enjoying a space like that (and without having to be supervised like if they were off property). Hell, I was just back in a rural area for the past while, and it's made me remember just how much I would kill for even 10sqft of private outdoor space (even if it was a hill!). I have no problem sharing space with people on things like our trail system, but I'm a person who's never truly been able to enjoy a place like Victoria park, specifically because I'm sharing it with other people.

Not to mention, shared walls can be a nightmare. I don't know if construction is different on a townhouse vs a townhouse style condo? I'm also curious how maintenance works in that case.

It really is ugly though...

Even if the frontyard is completely filled with cars, I assume these homes have back yards, I don't think the suggestion was to have no personal space at all. And I'm not saying that no side yards are ever useful. But the marginal gains of having this space between the homes is...I would agree, very small. Making the homes bigger, if nothing else, would probably provide far more value. Doubly so because the biggest benefit to detached housing (more window space) is not even realized...again, because they are too close.

Well, yes, I can clearly see on Google Maps that these houses have backyards that make the sideyard negligible. The value judgement of a sideyard vs larger home is up to the market to decide (unless zoning is preventing this from happening).

More window space may be your biggest benefit, but if we are comparing detached homes to semis or townhouses, I think you highlighted what most people would see as a larger benefit in your post immediately prior: not having to deal with uncooperative neighbours. Even if condo townhomes provide a better framework for cooperation, if I understand correctly, you are still subject to the decisions of the condo board that you are only a small part of.