A Tale of Two Shitties: Part 2

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Filed in City
May 15, 2008

Spacial relationships are entirely different in Toronto than in Vancouver. Most of the Lower Mainland's rapid transit is based on the suburbs, so there is a north-south dynamic that entirely leaves out the downtown core/Broadway-UBC corridor. Its as though the Go Train was our only mass transit. We have no subway, so to walk for half an hour is not considered far. The conversion of brownstones into duplexes have allowed the city develop in a more dense, organic, community oriented manner; there are no front lawns and everything looks like it has been slowly added to, giving it a strange look. The resulting network of neighbourhoods makes up the city as a whole. On our first day it seemed every single neighbour was out of their house discussing their new gigantic recycling bins. Speaking of recycling, not only are TO's bins the size of Tie Domi, but they also have composting. And they have these monstrous public garbage/paper/cans bins everywhere. Toronto also appears to be a pretty good town to ride bikes in, but that's mostly because its flat.

The unique spacial orientation of the city owes much to its history henceforth Toronto preserves much of its architecture. Meanwhile Vancouver's post-modern, green-glass, California condo nightmare stands in stark contrast to the old-town, hand-built-brick neoclassical Canadian look and feel of Hogtown. Sure, they have a giant ridiculous space donut in the sky, the cracks are showing and the ROM is a bit of a mess (37 dollars for one student and one adult? Maybe try painting the unfinished drywall) but with the OCAD, the post and beam marvel in Wychwood Park, the Distillery, Pearson, the upcoming art barn on Christie, The U of T, the amazing unforced character of Kensington Village, Toronto's architecture puts Vancouver to Shame. Basically its a great, big city (with big city problems). And if "Toronto has become a sprawling metropolis in which stunning private affluence stands beside a deteriorating public infrastructure", the schizophrenic symptoms of Vancouver's psyche are far more severe.

Spacing Magazine is perhaps the ultimate guide to discovering the more subtle elements of psycho-geography in Toronto. On my first day I walked into Mirvish Books in the Annex and bought the new copy. Meanwhile, if you were out at night and looking for a show, there were two half decent free weekly's, The Now and The Eye, although the latter is owned by Torstar, if that means anything.

Also, you can't change the words of this LCD Soundsystem song from New York to Torono, but you can with Vancouver. Try it.

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

Like a rat in a cage
Pulling minimum wage

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

New York, you're safer
And you're wasting my time

Our records all show
You are filthy but fine

But they shuttered your stores
When you opened the doors
To the cops who were bored
Once they'd run out of crime

New York, you're perfect
Don't please don't change a thing

Your mild billionaire mayor's
Now convinced he's a king

So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect

In the neighborhood bars
I'd once dreamt I would drink

New York, I Love You
But you're freaking me out

There's a ton of the twist
But we're fresh out of shout

Like a death in the hall
That you hear through your wall

New York, I Love You
But you're freaking me out

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

Like a death of the heart
Jesus, where do I start?

But you're still the one pool
Where I'd happily drown

And oh.. Take me off your mailing list
For kids that think it still exists
Yes, for those who think it still exists

Maybe I'm wrong
And maybe you're right
Maybe I'm wrong
And myabe you're right

Maybe you're right
Maybe I'm wrong
And just maybe you're right

And Oh..
Maybe mother told you true
And they're always be something there for you
And you'll never be alone

But maybe she's wrong
And maybe I'm right
And just maybe she's wrong

Maybe she's wrong
And maybe I'm right
And if so, is there?

front page image by Christine Mullen on the Spacing photoblog

Reader Reviews and Comments

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Nice story! Like it.

Posted by: Q5 Webdesign at May 15, 2008 11:51 AM | Quote Comment

I know what you mean, Sean. I visited Toronto last year for the first time. I had heard it all before: "Toronto's just an ugly concrete city, nothing more". Talk about a pleasant surprise when I arrived. Beautiful city with friendly people (and I mean legitimately friendly, not the faux politness we mistake as friendliness in Vancouver). I totally agree with your previous comment about being able to strike up a conversation with people on public transit out there and not be taken as a weirdo.

I would seriously consider moving out there, were it not for their atrocious winters.

Posted by: lenova at May 16, 2008 12:32 PM | Quote Comment

Thanks for posting this series. I'm moving from Toronto to Vancouver in October, and there are lots of great things I am going to miss about this city - neighbourhoods, culture, the people. We're not as bad as everyone says, though our winters are :) As much as I am looking forward to a change of pace, change of scenery, change of lifestyle in Vancouver, Toronto will always be home.

Posted by: michelle at May 16, 2008 4:23 PM | Quote Comment

The Vancouver media, yet again, demonstrates its disconnect with the Vancouver population.

> so there is a north-south dynamic that entirely leaves out the downtown
> core/Broadway-UBC corridor

75% of the population of the Lower Mainland lives east of the GVRD. That's what drives transit.

As for Toronto, it's population is relatively easily fanned out from a central downtown core (oriented around Yonge Street, with the highest economic concentration south of Bloor) so it's transit systems runs fairly well in both directions all day.

Contrast this with the Westcoast express which, literally, sits idle all day for a lack of traffic wanting to go Eastbound.

Of course since the NPA has essentially caused business in Vancouver to be so expensive to run that any smart business is fleeing the downtown core like a cat on a hot tin roof, this probably won't stay this way too long.

My predicition: a post-2010 realignment of the region's power structure.

Posted by: Darcy McGee at May 16, 2008 5:23 PM | Quote Comment

I'd argue that Watt's, with her popular consensus style, is already maing those moves.

Posted by: Sean Orr at May 16, 2008 6:10 PM | Quote Comment

I totally agree with this article series. Having grown up in Toronto and living here in Vancouver for the past 7 years most Vancouverite's are truly ignorant about the big smoke. Toronto possesses a level a cultural diversity that rivals global metropolis like New York and London, but is still very accessible. Maybe that's why I'm planning to move back in the near future...just one caveat for people considering relocating to Toronto...beware of the traffic. Sometimes it's hard to live and work near the core in Toronto. But hey, Vancouver traffic isn't getting any better.

Posted by: moosey at May 27, 2008 10:33 PM | Quote Comment