Toronto isn’t always an easy city to love. Like any metropolis, it has its problems. We all know what they are. But there are reasons for optimism. Here are a few:
The festivalization of Toronto. The profusion of neighbourhood festivals, street closures and other pedestrian-empowering events has given Torontonians new ways to inhabit and experience the city. Despite the backlash, this move towards more intense forms of urban engagement will only grow. As the population increases, so will the pressure for an enhanced public realm.
Congestion. Like the weather, traffic jams are the stuff of daily conversation, extensive media coverage and popular outrage. We’re quick to blame construction, road work and the like, but congestion is a sure sign of a healthy city. Though we could make much better use of our roads, gridlock will never go away. However irritating, it is the price of success. And Toronto is a very successful city, the envy of the world. Besides, for people happy to line up for Tim Hortons and Starbucks, how bad can it be?
West Don Lands. Mention the words “new neighbourhood” and visions of yet another slapped-up subdivision come to mind. The West Don Lands is something quite different. Organized around Corktown Common, this enlightened mid-rise precinct includes the city’s first woonerfs, streets designed for bikes and pedestrians as well as cars. Wide sidewalks, striking architecture and a mix of housing and uses speak of the enormous powers of planning.
The rash of great buildings nearing completion. The University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, Ryerson University’s Student Learning Centre on Yonge St. and the Ismaili Centre/Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art at Eglinton and Wynford Dr. are brilliant examples of how architecture is bringing new richness to the city. As well as providing new opportunities, each of these structures resolves the traditional distinction between beauty and utility. Form is as much a part of these three buildings as function.
The TTC’s new streetcars. Though only two are in service, the Toronto Transit Commission will eventually operate 204 of these stylish low-floor vehicles. Long, lean and light-filled, they will hum where their predecessors groaned. They also confirm the city’s affection for streetcars, which, though not universal, runs deep.
New neighbourhood amenities such as Regent Park on Dundas St. E. and Reading Spouts Garden next to the Jane/Sheppard Library. The latter is a small hard-surfaced pocket park that fills a small site formerly occupied by a hydro substation. Returning the space to residents has already changed the area. The much larger Regent Park is a stage set as well as a green space centred around a long, linear playground, an outdoor kitchen, playing field and a concrete plaza. Recreation is now built into the community.
The Vertical City. No one wants to live next to a condo tower, but there’s no shortage of people willing to live in one. Though some decry downtown Toronto’s growing stock of residential skyscrapers, their appeal has nowhere to go but up. Despite questions about unit size, building quality and materials, high-rise life has three big advantages — location, location, location. Once the issue of family-friendly apartments has been sorted out — as it will be — the city will be transformed yet again.
Dog walkers. They are the urban pioneers who coldly go where no Torontonian has gone — the shadows of the Gardiner Expressway, the empty lots and weedy verges. They are heralds of the new city, where every parcel of land serves a purpose, intended or otherwise. They are the ones who civilize the urban wastes and return them to circulation.
Christopher Hume can be reached at chume@thestar.ca
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