Region of Waterloo Official Plan

[plam]

As Herbert Stein said, if something can not go on forever, it will stop. "Never" is a very long time, and there are any number of things that could (eventually) put an end to suburbanization, or the civilization that creates it. Sprawl is not sustainable.

I agree with BuildingScout that the market will put an end to the pace of sprawl we have seen in the last half century. We won't be able to afford to subsidize it like we have forever, and few people would be able to afford it at its true cost. There are many benefits to living in denser areas, and young people are increasingly seeing that.

It seems to me like some Baby Boomers are just like "oh, just wait till you get older, you'll want to live in the suburbs too". I don't really believe that to be as true as they think. It's hard to generalize from one's own social group, but what I observe is some people living in suburbs and some people not. It's not like the 100% suburb rate of older generations.

Also, I think the delaying-getting-drivers'-licenses phenomenon is empirical fact. I do have friends without licenses and it seems to be more viable today than it used to be. I still find it to be useful to have a driver's license, but it's not life changing. I would be able to live without one, it would just be less convenient for my recreational pursuits. Thankfully, I'm not required to drive every day.