Agreed. Things like better sidewalk materials and buried utilities aren't "fancy schmancy" things meant for rich neighbourhoods as Parkdalian suggests. They're basic infrastructure standards that most of the developed world has. Yet somehow Torontonians have linked better infrastructure with sterility and the poor being driven out, and actually fight improvements because of it. It's bizarre and their fears couldn't be further from the truth.

I remember seeing a photo thread on SSP a couple years ago of a working class neighbourhood in London (I forget which one - haven't been to that part of the city personally). People were commenting on how gritty it was and how it almost looked third world. What I noticed was that even there, the streetscaping standards were much better than most of Toronto. It kind of looked like what Kensington Market would look like if the wires were buried and the street were made of something better than poured concrete and asphalt. We can have interesting, working class, hipster friendly neighbourhoods with nice streetscaping. The two don't oppose each other.

Agree 100%. A quality public realm shouldn't be limited to the Mink Mile or in front of the Royal York. We should demand it everywhere. It's just astonishing how little regard for it a 'rich' country like Canada has for things like this. It's pretty standard stuff in Europe.

Btw, that neighbourhood in London that you're describing sounds like Camden Town.
 
"Urbantoronto: where people get apoplectic about the use of pavers"

I like aesthetic issues - I wouldn't be on this forum if I didn't - but so much of what drives people nuts on this forum is whether or not the public realm is gussied up with fancy-shmancy stuff like granite sidewalks. Which to me doesn't seem like an appreciation of urbanism! Or, at least, of Jacobean urbanism. It seems to me to be only an appreciation of a certain, Rosedalian urbanism: as cities being fancy playgrounds where upper middle class people can play at being city dwellers. Like a slightly more sophisticated riff on Disneyland's Main Street.

That doesn't mean that I don't like fancy-schmancy granite sidewalks. They are fun to walk in! But they do give me the creeping feeling that These Streets Won't Soon Be For You: They Are For The Coming Rich. You know, the Rich riding the rising tide of housing prices - it's their granite red (grey?) carpet. The more we lay these pavers out, the more they will come. (Funny we don't mind grey when it's something you walk on)

I have spent a lot of time on this forum arguing against what you're calling "Rosedalian urbanism". We might also call it John Toryist urbanism, given the upcoming election. The type of urbanism that advocates public expenditures that seem to be designed to serve the upper and upper-middle classes with little regard for the poor and working classes.

HOWEVER,

I do suspect that the societies that invest the most in their public realms (including beautification), are the same societies that invest most in the maintenance of a progressive welfare state. So even though I'm not a cheerleader for granite sidewalks (and people are COMPLETELY over-exaggerating the extent to which Europe's sidewalks are paved in granite), I'm not too worried about them ushering in a new era of elitism. Harper's economic policies are far more dangerous in that respect.
 
Agree 100%. A quality public realm shouldn't be limited to the Mink Mile or in front of the Royal York. We should demand it everywhere. It's just astonishing how little regard for it a 'rich' country like Canada has for things like this. It's pretty standard stuff in Europe.

Btw, that neighbourhood in London that you're describing sounds like Camden Town.
Yes! That's it. What I remember is how seamlessly the neighbourhood fits with the rail line that goes through it. It has all the vibrancy and character of anywhere in Toronto with none of the third world streetscaping. It has unit pavers and brick instead of poured concrete slabs. No overhead wires. No wooden poles covered in rusting staples. Wide sidewalks. And a consistently high level of street furniture design.

People need to realize that streetscape improvements have nothing to do with upper classes, let alone at the expense of the poor, and they don't sterilize communities. How anyone can look at this and this and call it "Rosedalian urbanism" is a complete mystery to me.
 
^ I love Camden Market and Camden Lock. I wish Toronto had retail strips like that along The Danforth or Parkdale. Now that's what I call a great retail strip!
 
This is the third (of 4) block east of Cherry Street between Front and Mill

Building Application Status

Application:
Mechanical(MS)
Status:
Not Started

Location:
475 FRONT ST E
TORONTO M5A 1G9

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#:
14 121679 HVA 00 MS
Accepted Date:
Feb 25, 2014

Project:
Other Building Permit Related(MS)

Description:
HVAC - Proposal to construct a temporary polyclinic for the PAN AM GAMES, BLOCK 12 - to be erected June 2014 and removed December 2015.
 
Pic taken Mar 1, 2014


f8BYPss.jpg
 
It's amazing what a big difference some small touches of colour (like the green on the mechanical penthouses) makes! That's what I always enjoy in other buildings and generally apply in my own work; neutrals (mostly grey) and simple finishes, with small touches of colour and texture.
 
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We noticed the green penthouses too and are hoping that they stay that way; that it's not just a layer to be clad over with something else. It does help to break up the grey. Most mechanical penthouses you wouldn't want to accentuate, but the oval shapes here are at least different and somewhat eye-catching from street-level.
 
Well, if you're paying for the building, you get to choose the colour.

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Anne Sado

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George Brown student residence looks fantastic with the black and white cladding without the orange. It's my favourite building in this mix so far.
 
Yes, if you're paying for the building, you get to choose the colour.

Initially it was the architects listening to George Brown that brought about the orange. It has to do with branding. When the building was first designed, the college's logo had both blue and orange in it. Now the logo is just blue. Similar to to logo they decided to simplify the building's exterior by removing the orange. The design decision is not right or wrong, it just is, and its the client's to make.

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^^ I guess this explains the bombardment of grey. Business executives making design decisions is sure to lead to more grey. I didn't realize that executives made those kinds of decisions but that explains a whole lot. What an utterly depressing situation but I guess I better find a way to live with it because I don't see things changing.
 
Its difficult to predict at this point what the future development blocks will look like. There has already been changes to the designs of some of them. Nothing will happen until after the Games, but we may still get to see proposals over the next year or two.

As mentioned before, the landscaping and public art will go a long way in softening the grey buildings. As a dirty and dusty construction site it may look depressing, but the end result should look great once fully completed along with retail signage, etc.
 

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