AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From Spacing Wire:
http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/07/16/toronto-from-a-san-franciscans-perspective/#more-3374
AoD
http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/07/16/toronto-from-a-san-franciscans-perspective/#more-3374
AoD
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- Thread starter AlvinofDiaspar
- Start date
adma
Superstar
"This following blog post is dedicated to the city and people of Toronto
Who may not know it, but they are beautiful - and so is their city
This is a very personal post, so if the viewer cannot understand it -
particularly those of you who are European residents - save up
all your bread and fly Trans-Love Airways to Toronto, Canada
Then maybe you'll understand the post
It will be worth it - if not for the sake of this post
But for the sake of your own peace of mind"
Who may not know it, but they are beautiful - and so is their city
This is a very personal post, so if the viewer cannot understand it -
particularly those of you who are European residents - save up
all your bread and fly Trans-Love Airways to Toronto, Canada
Then maybe you'll understand the post
It will be worth it - if not for the sake of this post
But for the sake of your own peace of mind"
urbanboom
Active Member
My favourite part is:
"Elevated expressway must come down."
That pretty sums it all up.
"Elevated expressway must come down."
That pretty sums it all up.
UrbanSustainability
New Member
Sounds kind of sappy..
Being in Dubai right now on a month long business trip, I almost had a tear in my eye.
Toronto is truly a great city.
When visiting NYC, London and other global megacities, my appreciation for Toronto is somewhat downplayed; as I love the congestion, gentrification, and sheer intensity and closeness of spaces.
But hearing about Toronto, especially in my current location, from a cultured individual living in a beautiful city in its own right (though never been to San Fran), I come back to Earth and appreciate what Toronto has to offer.
Great Blog!
Being in Dubai right now on a month long business trip, I almost had a tear in my eye.
Toronto is truly a great city.
When visiting NYC, London and other global megacities, my appreciation for Toronto is somewhat downplayed; as I love the congestion, gentrification, and sheer intensity and closeness of spaces.
But hearing about Toronto, especially in my current location, from a cultured individual living in a beautiful city in its own right (though never been to San Fran), I come back to Earth and appreciate what Toronto has to offer.
Great Blog!
Archivist
Senior Member
I read this blog on spacing and it is very charming and personal, as many commenters noted. It shows a gentle appreciation of our city that seems lacking from many residents.
D
devil_dice
Guest
I think a lot of us get spoiled in Toronto, particularly if we were raised here. We tend to have a world-city mentality, and compare ourselves to the NYC/London/Paris's of the world, and that's not really fair. I'm just as guilty of this as anybody. Something that I love about Toronto is that unlike the places mentioned above, it is far easier to afford to actually live in the city (Old Toronto). Try finding a studio apartment in manhattan, or London or Paris for under $1500/month.
Toronto isn't perfect, but it's still a great city. Try going downtown on a weekend in the summer and not stumblign on the (insert occasion here) festival. We have a portion of the city for just about every ethnic group under the sun, and the second highest proportion of foreign-born residents in North America after Miami, as well as the the largest streetcar network (by far). By Canadian standards Toronto has a low crime rate, and by American or world standards it's even lower.
Having visited these so-called world class cities, I was a little disheartened by the fact they were so huge and lively 24/7, with their massive transportation systems included. My attitude changed a little after having visited the Winnipeg/Seattle/Calgary's of the world, where the permament downtown population is about the same as Cityplace once it's complete.
Toronto isn't perfect, but it's still a great city. Try going downtown on a weekend in the summer and not stumblign on the (insert occasion here) festival. We have a portion of the city for just about every ethnic group under the sun, and the second highest proportion of foreign-born residents in North America after Miami, as well as the the largest streetcar network (by far). By Canadian standards Toronto has a low crime rate, and by American or world standards it's even lower.
Having visited these so-called world class cities, I was a little disheartened by the fact they were so huge and lively 24/7, with their massive transportation systems included. My attitude changed a little after having visited the Winnipeg/Seattle/Calgary's of the world, where the permament downtown population is about the same as Cityplace once it's complete.
Dichotomy
Banned
Well, that's pretty simple: this is NOT London or Paris. Let me see: 10 million people, 2,000 years old; 3 million people, 250 years old. Yep, that sounds about equal.
Whose crime are we comparing? The police stats? I've walked the streets at night in L.A., Chicago and New York. I feel no safer or better than here. Of course, I wouldn't walk through parts of suburban Toronto at night (Jane-Finch, Malvern, for example), but downtown is pretty 'safe.'
I guess it depends on whether you consider being shot at or property crimes. Most people I talk to that live downtown that have had their cars broken into or have seen evidence that someone has been trying to force entry into their apartment just don't bother calling the police.
You walked through Compton, the south side of Chicago or the south Bronx at night and didn't feel scared? Try walking in those areas and then tell me Jane Finch is scary at night.
Dichotomy
Banned
That's my point: downtown Manhattan, downtown Chicago, downtown Toronto are safe. It's the suburbs that are becoming scary.
D
devil_dice
Guest
The suburbs in some cases are becoming scary, but that wasn't really the point of my post. I was simply saying that a lot of people seem to under-value Toronto. I have no idea about property crime, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was higher downtown. Violent crime is certainly lower than most, if not all, other major cities in North America. I'd rather have dangerous suburbs than a dangerous city core. Otherwise you can end up with Buffalo or Winnipeg
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
If anyone thinks Toronto's suburbs, or any parts of the city, really, are scary, they haven't done much travelling.
catcher_of_cats
Active Member
Here, here
Archivist
Senior Member
dichotomy, and are you claiming that everyone in Chicago calls the police? What's your point about not reporting on crime?
From today's USA today:
The Chicago Tribune says Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered yesterday to send state troopers and National Guard helicopters to help patrol the streets of Chicago during a time of "out of control" crime.
"I think we, those of us at state level, need to offer a helping hand, need to do something to help the mayor get his hands around this uncontrolled violence that's taking hold of some communities in the city of Chicago," the governor says, according to the local CBS affiliate. "We're going to see what we could plausibly offer to the city of Chicago to be helpful to do what we can to stop the gun violence and stop the violence," the governor adds....
How bad is crime? The Associated Press reports that more than two dozen children have been killed by gunfire since classes began last September. And the Sun-Times cited the following stats from a City Council hearing earlier this week:
Compared to this time last year, Chicago has had 28 more homicides, 2,626 more gang disturbances, 1,210 more reports of a person with a gun, 7,136 more reports of shots fired and 473 more reports of narcotics sales. With crime indicators headed upward, police should be more aggressive, but the opposite has occurred. Gang loitering interventions are down 1,163, narcotics loitering interventions have dropped 2,329, and police have taken 500 fewer guns off Chicago streets.
Makes our 30 little murders look like nothing.
From today's USA today:
The Chicago Tribune says Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered yesterday to send state troopers and National Guard helicopters to help patrol the streets of Chicago during a time of "out of control" crime.
"I think we, those of us at state level, need to offer a helping hand, need to do something to help the mayor get his hands around this uncontrolled violence that's taking hold of some communities in the city of Chicago," the governor says, according to the local CBS affiliate. "We're going to see what we could plausibly offer to the city of Chicago to be helpful to do what we can to stop the gun violence and stop the violence," the governor adds....
How bad is crime? The Associated Press reports that more than two dozen children have been killed by gunfire since classes began last September. And the Sun-Times cited the following stats from a City Council hearing earlier this week:
Compared to this time last year, Chicago has had 28 more homicides, 2,626 more gang disturbances, 1,210 more reports of a person with a gun, 7,136 more reports of shots fired and 473 more reports of narcotics sales. With crime indicators headed upward, police should be more aggressive, but the opposite has occurred. Gang loitering interventions are down 1,163, narcotics loitering interventions have dropped 2,329, and police have taken 500 fewer guns off Chicago streets.
Makes our 30 little murders look like nothing.
confusion
Active Member
Downtown Chicago is far from safe. Lived there for 4 years to know that. You can get mugged on any street there. Even the Magnificant Mile.
TrickyRicky
Senior Member
I don't know how the original blog link morphed into a discussion of US urban crime. At any rate the point of the blog was certainly not about hard statistical city comparisons. It was a celebration of the urban environment as a nuanced layering of small anecdotal experiences. In a North American context Toronto has a relatively rich or thick layering. This is something we should keep in mind as we advance whatever causes we champion. We all need order and stability, but care should be taken not to stiffle the potential of people to experience, to grow, to learn and to accomplish.