Constant Change

They say the only constant in life is change. That's certainly true in my corner of the world.

Neighbours move in and out.

Old businesses close and new ones open. For example, there's a lot of action these days at this derelict building just down the street - maybe something cool is opening up?

A big part of the change around here comes when old houses are torn down and new ones spring up. The new ones are always built in a completely different style. I think that's because many of the older houses are in pretty rough shape and it's cheaper in some cases just to build an entirely new home. That's too bad as some of the old homes have real character. Compare my house with some of these new builds:

That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on the modern style of these new homes as this area is a real mishmash of styles from the last 120 years and the new homes kindof just add to the eclectic mix that is Hintonburg. They don't over power the older, more traditional homes like they do in other areas of Ottawa...yet.

Another big change that urban neighbourhoods in Ottawa are facing these days is increased pressure for densification. A lot of people don't like that and join local community associations in Ottawa to fight big real estate developments. While I'm in favour of using up dead space in urban centres I'm also sympathetic to people who don't want to wake up one day facing a 50-story condo (notice the crane in the background of the first photo - condo!). From where I sit though, my own association seems to be doing a decent job at making sure local concerns are considered when development inevitably occurs.

Anyways, change is all around! It will be interesting to see how things progress around here in the next few years. What things will remain the same and what things will be different?