Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Geo 793 Lecture Notes
Geo 793 Lecture Notes
Week 2
o You need to ask for permission in order to build something on a piece of land in Toronto
o We need a proper waste disposal system
o One of the services is also transportation, so that people leave their cars at home and take public
transportation
o The federal government stopped funding the TTC, so now they depend on the money paid by customers
o The provincial finance minister gave John Tory $86 million dollars, not as a gift, but like a line of credit
This is the money we pay to the federal and provincial government… which is allocated to
Toronto
Tkaronto
- Aboriginal people were here thousands of years before the Europeans came
- When the French arrived, they met the Indigenous people, and they had peaceful relationships with them. They
needed them for trading purposes
o Their relationship with the British was worse
- The French brought with them many diseases that the Aboriginals could not heal
- The Toronto Passage was used by the Indigenous people, and when the French arrived, they founded Fort
Rouille
- The French paid money for the land in 1787
- The Indigenous people left and the land was colonialized
- Owning the Land vs. Taking Care of it
o The Aboriginals took care of the land
Week 3
- First part of the course looks at the structural design of the city
- The second part of the course looks at the people
- Inner Zone: Downtown Toronto
- Outer Zone: All of the areas that developed after WW2
- There wasn't enough space in Toronto with all the immigration
Inner Zone
- Distillery District
o Helps us understand the historical development in Toronto
o Pre-Industrial Phase (1830-1861)
Toronto was mainly a service and trade center
Reasons French and British stayed: TRADING AND MILITARY
Conclusion
- City fabrics as reflecting the urban economy
- Urban space is also shaped by corporations
- City fabrics tend to be transitory
- The influence of modernism and post-modernism
- Urban forms are of a dialogical nature
White Reading
- Jane Jacobs lived in Toronto from 1968-2006
- Most of the changes still would have occurred without the involvement of Jane Jacobs
- 4 Episodes taking place between 1968 and 1978
- Spadina Expressway
o Envisioned much earlier than when Jane Jacobs came (1940s)
o It is impossible to expand to the suburbs without a form of transportation to and from the city
o By taking the 401, you could take the Spadina Expressway south to get downtown
o Opposition began in 1961
Didn't start when Jane Jacobs arrived, she didn't influence it that much
She backed the opposition but it would have existed without her
Provincial government cancelled the project in 1971 (The government didn't want to lose the
vote of the people)
- Urban Renewal
o Began in 1947 with the construction of Regent Park
o Came along with the public housing project (When modernism started)
o CMHC study became a blueprint for the city’s renewal program in 1956
o There wasn't much opposition from the people at this point
o In 1964, the Federal and Provincial government extend the program to the entire city, not only public
housing
o People started to see that Regent Park was no longer working and they began to oppose the project for
the whole city
o Residents opposition to urban renewal programs in Don Vale
o Jane Jacobs opposed the Urban Renewal, but she was not heavily involved politically
o What she wrote before she came to Toronto was important, not really what she did politically in the
city – She was important but the people of the city actually did the work
o John Sewell led the fight against urban renewal
- St Lawrence Neighborhood
o Municipal election in 1972
Ruppert
- All of the changes in the city are due to the economic situation
- The moralization of space is equally important
Yonge Street
- The most important street in Toronto (Canada as well)
- It is the main street
Week 4
- Social Mix: A mix of socio-economic people, mix of racial background
- Social mix is meant to create socio-economic diverse urban areas
o Federal government in 1990 didn't want to provide housing for the poor
o In 1995 Harris was elected and continues to use the neo-liberalist policy
No more public housing
o Public housing is managed by service providers
o Larger service providers (TCHC) could survive because they had enough money to keep going
o The highest concentration of public housing is in the downtown core of the city
o TCHC
Entrepreneurial Approach
Emphasis on social mix, private capital was available
Adoption of a business management style (Function more like a private company to make a
profit)
Increase in evictions – Public housing is a service and not meant to make money – Meant to
help the community
The contracting out of jobs
- Regent Park Revitalization
o Look at pictures in slides
o Social mix is occurring in Regent Park
o The fear is that this revitalization will lead to gentrification
Most of the stores are for middle-class to upper-class people
Social mix is almost becoming gentrification because of the services being provided in those
areas (Poor people cannot afford to live there)
Lehrer
- Increasing population in outer suburbs (Vaughan)
- Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York are the inner suburbs
- When Toronto invests their money, they prefer to invest in downtown, not the inner suburbs
- They believe it will bring a higher economic return as opposed to the inner suburbs
- Gentrification: First used in Britain (In the 1960s), working class neighborhoods were bought by people with
capital, renovated, and the value increases greatly
- Gentrification has undergone s number of changes
o From individual houses to the construction of condominium towers (Condofication)
o Gentrification expands from just downtown to all across the city
o More support from the state level (Municipal and provincial government)
o Being closely connected to neo-liberal inspired urban policies (Individuals are the only ones that
matter, and how hard they work)
If the wealthy want to live downtown, let them. And the poor people leave
o Gentrification in:
Distillery district
Leslieville
West Toronto Junction
Liberty Village
- Gentrification has not happened magically, its occurred because of the Provincial and Municipal level – Makes
the gentrification process easier
- History of Toronto’s Condominium Boom
o 1976: Toronto’s Central Area Plan
o 1994: Mayor Barbara Hall’s economic development policies
o 2000: Toronto Competes: An assessment of Toronto Global Competitiveness (Re-urbanizing and
housing policy)
o 2000: Toronto Economic Development Strategy
o 2002: Official Plan of the City of Toronto
o 2003: Toronto’s culture plan for the creative city (Richard Florida)
o 2008: Agenda for Prosperity, Creative city planning framework
- We want the creative class because they make the most money and they will pay the most for condominiums in
the city
Kern Reading
- The wealthy benefit the most from gentrification
- Low income people are most significantly penalized (Displaced from their original neighborhood)
o This symbolizes the lifestyle of the condo, not the actual condo
o Women are objectified in these advertisements, not liberated
Neoliberalism in Toronto
- Being applied to Ontario, and how it affects the city of Toronto
- Harris, led the PC party in Ontario in 1995 and was reelected in 1999
- Resigned in 2001 because he was caught in many scandals
- Dalton McGuinty won the following election
- In the 6 years Harris was in power, he implemented the Common Sense Revolution
- Neoliberalism started roughly with the governments of Ronal Reagan in the US and Margaret Thatcher in the
UK
- We will be talking about how it developed in the 1980’s
- Main concepts:
o Personal responsibility and initiative
What counts is what you do in your life. Everything can be explained by what you have done
(Successful because you work hard, poor because you don't)
o Deregulation
If any one is responsible for their own actions, we do not need the government to set rules and
regulations for us
o Privatization
Because the government has no business in the life of individuals, we should eliminate any kind
of public service and focus on the private sector
Private Sector: More efficient and saves money
o Liberalization of Markets
No one should be able to regulate, or restrict the market
No external control
Canada went from a rural country to a dominant industrial country
John Macdonald established the National policy (Tariff), every manufactured item imported
from outside Canada was subject to tax
This is the opposite of a free market
Without a tariff, Canada would have never developed their own manufacturing
Neoliberalism goes against the industrializing of countries. The concept of neoliberalism
prevents this
North America and European countries will benefit from liberalization because they are
already industrialized
o Downsizing of Governments
We should reduce people employed by the government because it is inefficient
o Cutbacks of Welfare State
Welfare state: Came into existence after WW2
Why should we provide welfare to anyone if it is their fault that they are poor?
- Neoliberalism as a policy
o Legislation put in place
- Neoliberalism as ideology
o People: The world is made up of single individuals, not a community that has support
o You support yourself
- Neoliberalism as governmentality
o Teaching individuals to regulate/be responsible for yourself
Neoliberalists have an economic point of view
- Emphasis on performance, efficiency, and the marketability of knowledge
- Emphasis on privatization and away from public processes
- Redefinition of citizens as clients
The CSR in Ontario
- Not only the Conservative government is neoliberal
- Provincial governments have been at the forefront of neoliberal restructuring in Canada
- In Ontario, the Tories came to power on the basis of CSR in 1995
- CSR was a textbook case of neoliberal policy strategy and projects
- Harris supporters were mainly anti-urban (Mansions in the suburbs), mostly white, and mostly male
- When Harris came into power, this happened (In 1 month)
o Drastic welfare cuts (21% cut to welfare state in one month)
o The Safe Street Act (Criminalize homelessness)
Putting these people in prison is much more expensive than putting them in welfare (Bad idea)
o Amalgamation
Amalgamated the council in Etobicoke, York, and Scarborough so it would cost less to staff
He didn't ask the people of those cities if they agreed with that
o Reduce the number of provincial social service positions
Much less ESL schools, less support for people searching for affordable housing, less job
searching support
The people that were more vulnerable got penalized the most
o Introduction of workfare
If you need financial support, you should work for it (Work for an organization that the
government supports)
o Loosening of Planning restrictions
All of the rural areas surrounding Toronto are supposed to be sold to developers for town
houses
We lost lots of prime farmland that was surrounding the GTA
o Deregulation of the province environmental regime
Cut lots of the environmental jobs (Water inspectors)
This caused Harris to resign
Walkerton Ecoli problem (7 People died)
o Underfunding of Education
The government has backed down on funding education (This is why we pay more tuition)
o Monitoring/Harassment of civil society organizations
Monitored the people who were questioning his government
- Urban Neoliberalism in Toronto
o Changed the space of politics (amalgamation)
o The “reluctant global city” strategy (Used Toronto as a competitive global city – Olympics for example)
o Bourgeois urbanism (Revitalization of the city to attract middle-upper class people – creative class)
o Rescaling the urban imaginary (Retransforming the city via gentrification)
o Ecological modernization (Attempt Harris made to market nature – selling out farmland to make
money)
o New social disparities (Between the rich and the poor, middle class disappearing)
- In 1998, Mike Harris amalgamated the inner suburbs to create the city of Toronto
Toronto Neoliberalism
- The general idea is that the citizens were “victims” of Harris
- The person that supported Mike Harris the most with his neoliberalism ideas was mayor Mel Lastman
o He was elected in 1997, two years after Harris took office and reelected in 2000
- Lastman’s Neoliberalism
o He implemented law and order and tax-cut agenda in city hall
o The city is responsible for collecting property taxes
o Whenever Lastman cut taxes, the taxpayers voted for him because it was in their best interest
o He also rewrote the City’s Official Plan
This was a plan to focus on removing any barriers for developers – Increasing construction
Lastman wanted to bring as much money to the city as possible
o He restructured the workings of local administration
o He cracked down on marginal population
Particularly the homeless (Keep them away from the rest of the population, it is their fault that
they are where they are)
R.A Walks
- The 2003 municipal election and the privatization debate
- The desire to privatize is the neoliberalist view
- People closer to the downtown core voted for David miller, those on the outer voted for John Tory
- The political view of people depends on where they live in the city
- Walks wants to see whether there is a relationship between urban form, everyday life, and ideology
- Everyday Life
o Is constitutive of the individual
o Is also alienating as it naturalizes a particular social order
o If you live in a certain environment from a child, it becomes the norm for you (If you are rich you are
used to being spoiled)
Urban Form
- Makes the interaction between different social groups more difficult
- Downtown Toronto: High Density, mixed-use
- Different socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities in Toronto
- Scarborough: Residential use (Mainly mono-use), density in suburbs is a much lower density of people,
Interaction between different groups is now more difficult
- Urban form plays a role in defining what is normal
Privatization in Toronto
- The issue during this election was privatization
o The restructuring of the welfare state (Cutting back) and downloading of provincial responsibilities to
municipalities (Affordable housing)
o The requirement of becoming a “competitive city” in a global context
o The city had to come up with more money (Especially since the provincial government no longer paid
for the TTC)
o Privatization became popular because of the requirement of becoming a competitive city in a global
context
- Data & Method
o Interviews of residents occurred at Beaches-East York
o Qualitative and quantitative analysis (Opinions, and numbers)
o This district was chosen because it has a number of voters that were considered to be from the inner
city, and the suburbs
- Findings
o Issues were public transit, housing, school, and health care
o People in the suburbs think the ideal solution is privatizing
o Inner city residents thought that the public services should remain in charge and provide solutions to
these issues
o Drivers, Men, high income, and white, supported privatization/neoliberalism
o By privatizing, we are saving money and saving time, and the proper role of government needs to
distinguish between essential and non-essential services (Housing and public transit is not essential.
Health care is essential)
o People that were for privatization relied on exchange value rather than use value (Why should I pay
for TTC with taxes if I don't use it?)
o Exchange Value: If you don't need, you don't pay
o Use Value: If the city benefits (Although I don't), still pay
- Socio-Economic Class
o Exchange value understanding of public services were wealthy and not in need of those services
o Those adopting a use value understanding were mostly lower income and in need of those services
- Conclusion
o There is a connection on where you live and how you vote (ideology)
o They way our cities are planned and the daily life experienced within these spaces play a role in the
construction of resident’s political and social values
o John Tory was for privatization (In 2003)
OCAP
- Decided to occupy areas of Parkdale (Southwest of Toronto)
- Up until WW2, Parkdale was an upscale neighborhood, one of the best in the city of Toronto
o Most were wealthy people in nice mansions
- The location of Parkdale was not directly downtown Toronto
- No one wanted to live downtown because there were factories
- Parkdale was located on the waterfront, nice view of Lake Ontario
- With the immigrants coming after WW2, the federal government started a project for highway construction
and other infrastructure
- The Gardiner Expressway was built in the post WW2 period, and was a catastrophe for Parkdale
o All of these wealthy people would open their windows and see a highway instead of a lake
o Lots moved to the suburbs because of this
o Parkdale became a deserted neighborhood in the post WW2 period and it became a poor
neighborhood
- In the 1970’s people with mental issues were locked in an asylum (Institutionalization)
o The government did not want to invest in providing alternative solutions
o They just released these people without providing them with social assistance
o This contributed to the bad reputation of Parkdale, many of these patients were roaming the streets of
Parkdale
- In the 1990’s, people started occupying Parkdale because it was cheap
- Developers began to come in, buy the property, renovate it, and the property became worth more
- Up to today, the gentrification of Parkdale is not as evident as other areas of the city
o Some parts of the area have been gentrified, but other areas have resisted it
o There is currently a mix of wealthy people and low-income people
o The balance of low income and high income people doesn't last forever because the high income
people are going to start demanding higher end services which are more expensive
In the long run, the low income people will not be able to afford this lifestyle and the wealthy
population will take over
- OCAP decided to occupy a property within Parkdale on King West
- OCAP operates under the strategy of direct action, no negotiations, actions that will force the authorities to do
something
o One of the actions was them occupying a building on 1510 King West on July 2002
o The building was very poorly kept
o Even several councilors supported OCAP (Jack Layton supported it)
o However, the occupation was ended by the police in November 2002
o The provincial and municipal government were arguing about this situation, which is why it took so
long for the police to get in
o OCAP wanted to make a statement, they wanted to highlight a problem that the city has had for a
number of years (Problem of homelessness and lack of public affordable housing)
They knew that they were going to get evicted eventually
o The OCAP action raised awareness of the housing crisis in Toronto
o It put back on the agenda the issue of ownership as framed within a capitalist system
Capurri
- Mike Harris was a strong supporter of Neoliberalist policies
- Tory – Center right of political spectrum (neoliberalist)
- Miller – Left center
- People on the left are anti-neoliberalist
- People think that David Miller was against neoliberalist, but he was for it, he was pro-gentrification
- Rob Ford becomes mayor in 2010
o All of the mayors that preceded him were neoliberalist
- Two contenders were Ford and Smitherman
o Smitherman was the minister of finance for Dalton McGuinty
o The result of the election was a significant split between the inner city and the inner suburbs
o Rob Ford won the inner suburbs
o Anyone who will control the votes of the inner suburbs will win the election
- Ford’s agenda
o Respect for Taxpayers (Stop the gravy train, wasting taxpayers money and they are very inefficient)
o His platform was about saving taxpayers money
- Harris in 1995: Safe Street Act – Criminalizing homelessness
- Rob Ford followed this, it was part of his promise
- When you become mayor, you are supposed to support everyone in the city (He didn't attend the pride parade)
o You do not have the luxury to represent whomever you want. You have to represent every city
- People liked Rob Ford because he supported the private sector
- A city is not a business
o A city shouldn't operate this way, or else it's a dictatorship
- What happens to those who
o Have no money to spend
Assignment 3
- Day and time
Provincial government has decided that we cannot lose this vegetation (Cant touch that part
of the ecosystem)
Green Belt Act: Meant to stop sprawling (EXAM)
It is the ultimate limit where expansion must be stopped
o Places to Grow
Growth occurs by increasing the density level within the city – Cannot happen at the expense of
the Green Belt
- Established a partnership with Quebec and the Federal government to establish the Ontario-Quebec
Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor
o Purpose is to make sure that goods produced by Quebec and Ontario are easily shipped to the USA
(This corridor connects to Windsor)
- Goal of the Toronto Transit City Plan (Created by Miller- Transit City) was to build a rail system that operates
above ground to connect the inner suburbs to the downtown core
o The people living in the inner suburbs would not have to wait half an hour for a bus
o Rob Ford eliminated this plan when he took office in 2010 (Focused on subways, and crack cocaine)
o Now that RF is gone, SmartTrack is being implemented by John Tory
o It is an above ground rail system
Controversy with regards to some of the rail systems because they pass through
neighborhoods
The goal of the SmartTrack plan is to reconnect the inner suburbs to the downtown core, like
the Transit City Plan
o This situation is tough for the provincial government because whenever a new mayor gets elected,
they have to re-evaluate their plan
o Metrolinx: A provincial agency that overview transportation planning for the whole region
Concerned with any form of transportation, not just public transport (Highways as well)
The cost for this plan is very high, but the provincial government can only fund a small
percentage of the plan
- Challenge of Regional Planning
o Citizens have started to tackle transportation problems themselves
o Example: Jane and Finch on the move
Advocates for better transit for the people living in this community
They are part of the in-between city – In need of infrastructure
- Conclusion
o Certainly seeing attention in the in-between cities
o We have already seen neoliberalist views (Privatization)
This doesn't work for people that have lower incomes
Having a government that provides a certain number of services is essential for these people
Important to understand that there are tensions in the in-between city
Other
- City hall has approved the new budget – This includes a 2.75% increase in property taxes (Average household
is $83 more per year)
- Right side: Doesn’t agree with the increase, Left side: We should increase it more
- Tory is taking loans from future budgets and fucking future mayors
- Valentina is teaching her opinion and said that she loves taxes, and that better services are worth the tax
increases
- She doesn't understand why they are spending $4 million to light up the Bloor Viaduct for the Pan Am Games
o She thinks that we should put that money towards affordable housing to get people off the streets
o The GTAA acts unilaterally without any coordination in multi-level planning and governance
- Getting Around the City
o Automobiles: Extensive road network
o The region is characterized by extensive car production, ownership, and use
o The suburbs have been built on the logic of automobile transportation
o Automobile transportation has been at the core of Canadian transportation policy since WW2
o Consequences
Gridlock and Air Pollution (Government wastes 1 billion a year in health care for respiratory
problems)
Big automakers and car park makers only lobby for keeping jobs
The Canadian Auto Workers is also absent from the debate
The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is more active and operates through formulation of
transportation policy processes and participation in ad hoc committees and other
governmental initiatives
o Pieces of the gardiner expressway are falling, and it could be dangerous for vehicles
o Safety should be the top priority, regardless of the cost
- TTC
o A giant in a precarious financial position
o Ridership Growth Strategy (RGS) in 2003: The TTC as a key player in assisting in the “smart” re-
urbanization of Toronto
o TTC recuperates 80% of the fares, they rely too much on funding from our fares
o The TTC tends to focus on the built up core of the GTA because of urban density and the need for cost
recovery
o The extension from Downsview to York is taking a long time, they are also proposing a plan to go more
north to Vaughan
o The density in Scarborough is smaller than downtown, so an extension to that area depends on the
amount of funding they receive from customers (Less customers = less likely)
o Transit City: Connects Mississauga, Etobicoke and goes to Scarborough
Above ground system, like a streetcar, and it benefits the inner suburbs
o John Tory: Smart Track is basically the same plan as the Transit City plan, same purpose
o It is an above ground system
o People support this plan, but there is no funding for it
o Ridership forecasts are increasing because there are more immigrants coming to Toronto and the
population of Toronto will grow
We definitely need an expansion
o That is one problem, the other problem is maintenance. Everything is falling apart and there is no
money to fund these repairs
Accessibility
- Dalton McGuinty passed a legislation that will reduce the barriers for people with disabilities
- All subway stops should be accessible to people with disabilities
- Small changes should be made year to year and not all at once. The TTC should be working on this right now
- Supposed to be completely implemented in 2025
Federal Transportation Policy
- Since the 1990’s the Federal Government wanted to follow a policy of privatization/deregulation
- Examples:
o Privatization of Air Canada (1988-89)
o Privatization of the Canadian National Railway (1995)
o Transfer of ownership of major airports to non-profit private agencies (1990’s)
o 1995: Mike Harris was elected and the provincial government stopped supporting affordable housing
(The province would no longer fund Markham’s plan)
o City of Markham sold it to a private company
o Builders kept it as a new urbanism design
o Advantage: Builder markets product to customers as something unique
o Disadvantage: Running a big risk
o New conventional model (No garages, front porch)
People are invited to leave their homes and interact with neighbors
Sidewalks are also built to facilitate interaction
- New Urbanism was also implemented in Orangeville (Montgomery Village)
o Much less success than in Cornell
o Built houses with a new urbanist design, however, the houses weren’t selling
o The solution was to drop elements that people didn't want (front porch replaced by a garage)
o The garage was attached to the house as well
o The builders reverted their design to the traditional model after they realized the new urbanism
design was not working
- New Urbanism in the GTA (The Beach, Toronto)
o The housing complex that was built was extremely successful
o The inner city is built for public transit and walking
o People appreciated this idea
- New Urbanism in King West Village
o The neighborhood already represented the idea of new urbanism
o The building was already integrated with the city
New Urbanism in City and Suburbs
- It is much easier to implement a new urbanist design because people are already used to that style of living
- In the suburbs, new urbanism is an experiment and it differs from the original structure
Obstacles to Change
- Public and private actors lack of interest to change hampers New Urbanism attempts
- Existing regulations facilitate maintenance of the status quo
- Constraints imposed by the industry facilitate standardization over innovation
- From the builders perspective, there is no incentive to follow the new urbanist design (Building a detached
garage and the house as well – two separate fees they don't want to pay)
- Builders are comfortable building the same structures and not changing. Less work and it's the same process
Conclusion
- When a general theory is applied to the real world, it gets modified to what the public wants
Services in Toronto
- Mike Harris wanted to save money as much as possible
- In 1998: Amalgamate separate municipalities (Etobicoke, NY, Scarborough) to become the City of Toronto
- Why do we have to pay for the salary of the staff in the inner suburbs if we can pay one salary
- All the bylaws need to be combined into one set of bylaws as well
- 2001: Restructuring of public recreation policy: The rise of targeted social policy
Restructuring of the Welfare State in Canada
- Recreational policy: The amount of services provided to citizens
- Since the 80’s the federal and provincial government have been reluctant to provide more services
- Mike Harris introduced:
o Workfare – Substituted welfare, in exchange for money, you have to volunteer and work for the
province
o Privatization of public assets and services – Paying for the 407 (Privatizing everything possible)
o Downsizing of Public Services – Eliminated these job positions
o Municipal Amalgamation
- All of these measures were for the reasons of cost-saving
- When you amalgamate these places, there are different sets of recreational policies
Ethnic Neighborhoods
- Italians in Toronto (3 Modes)
o Quotidian
o Calendrical
o Monumental
- How do the Italians articulate certain spaces in the city so that everyone else in the community can identify
that place as an Italian neighborhood?
- Italians in the Cityscape
o College Street’s Little Italy
Not many Italians live there anymore
There are a number of Italian stores, however
These stores sell original Italian products
o St. Clair Avenue West’s Corso Italia
Became more affluent and moved further out to St. Clair
Contains several Italian commercial storefronts
Italian population diminished throughout the years and the percentage of new groups has
increased
o Woodbridge
Many have moved here now
- History
o 1900’s arrival of Italians, 1930’s Development of a commercial and residential Italian identity, 1950’s
Italians begin to move out, 1970’s movement to outer suburbs, 2001, new immigrant groups
predominate in Little Italy
o Only place to go was overseas, they had very little education, so many became construction workers
Quotidian
- Encompasses the everyday level of individual and collective behavior through which Italian Canadians make
claims and seek acknowledgement of their presence in particular neighborhoods
- Examples
o The evening ritual walk (Passeggiata)
Meeting neighbors and take a break after work
This kind of behavior makes Italians unique in the neighborhood. Anyone could easily
recognize who they were
o Ethnic Personalization of Space
Italians saw that the mangiacakes were planting flowers and thought it was stupid
They planted tomatoes, front porches (This is how their space was appropriated)
- This is the same for every ethnic background. They bring certain characteristics that make them recognizable
to the rest of the community
Calendrical
- It encompasses the ritual marking of Italian presence performed in urban space
- They happen with a certain regularity every year
- Examples:
o Good Friday religious procession
On St. Clair West (Corso Italia), the Italians showcased that it was their street by hosting a
Good Friday procession (This is how they appropriated space in the city)
o The gathering together during international soccer tournaments
Very popular in Mapoli
Very good way of showcasing their culture in the Toronto community
o The CHIN International Picnic
Italian Canadian radio station
Main organizer of a yearly picnic in the summer months in Toronto
Its supposed to be a multicultural picnic
Ethnic aspect and class aspect
- These are Italian examples, every ethnic background has their own
Monumental
- It encompasses the foundation of monuments and institutions to assert the performance of Italians in the city
- Examples
o The Italian-Canadian Immigrant Monument
People were coming here with no money and no connections and using welfare
People that lived here already thought that this would impact their lifestyle as well
Italians were working people, and rooted in family values
The message this monument sends is that every Italian family is like this (Kind of construed)
Not every Italian is heterosexual
Not every man earns all the income nowadays
Not every woman takes care of the house
There are some inaccuracies that this message sends to Torontonians
o The Columbus Centre
Programs for seniors, ESL classes, job search, recreational activities
It is pride for the Italian community
o This changed eventually – Late 1960’s (If you want to come to Canada, they don't assess the colour of
your skin anymore, they assess you based on level of education, job experience, ability to speak
English/French)
o This opened the door for a number of immigrants (Latin America, Africa, Asia)
- Socio-Economic Background
o When the Italians came in 1950, there was only one category of immigrants
o Today there are different classes of people (Investors just come to invest money, regular immigrants,
refugees) – The categories are more categorically diversified
- There is a higher concentration of visible minorities in downtown Toronto, but now they are moving to the
outer suburbs (The reason for this is the process of gentrification)
o The buying of property is very expensive, many visible minorities cannot afford it, and rich white
people are moving back
- Toronto’s Black Community
o There are different black cultures (And we are classifying them all together)
Black Canadians and Americans
Black South Americans
Black Africans
Caribbean Blacks
o Even these categories are general, they all speak different languages and they cannot be classified
under the same category
o This occurs because we still live in a system that is dominated by a white society
Immigration Problems
- Difficult to afford a place in Canada
- Economic disadvantage and housing costs
- Lack of knowledge about the functioning of housing markets
- Lack of fluency in English/French
- Racism
Residential Mobility
- Reasons to move from one place to another
o Too expensive rents
Angolans struggled because they came as refugees
o Housing Conditions
Canada is not the nicest place to live (Not what we project to the rest of the world)
o Size of housing
Since people share the place to save money, the typical house is one bedroom and difficult to
share
Portuguese Community
- Problems met by Angolans and Mozambicans when dealing with the Portuguese community:
o Racism
o Cultural Barriers
- Although they speak the same language, they are not a part of the community because the color of their skin
was different
- The tension during the colonizing years is still not forgotten
- Not good for relations between the two cultures
Level of Satisfaction
- They are quite satisfied with their current dwelling, although they do not feel any sense of “being home”
- Angolans and Mozambicans do not feel any sense of “being home” in their neighborhood either
- This is because they are renting
- Which neighborhood would you like to live in?
o They want to live in a multicultural neighborhood, not close to their own race
- Recommendations
o More information for immigrants
Once accepted, immigrants should be provided with a package, organizations they could
contact when they arrive in Canada
Where are neighborhoods located and the price in those neighborhoods
o More information for landlords (About tenant’s rights)
Government should take a proactive role and send information to landlords
Conclusion
- New immigrant groups do not have many research studies about them
- We are not as multicultural as we actually are
Visible Minorities
- South Asian (13.5% of Toronto population)
- Chinese (9.6% of Toronto population)
- Black (6.9% of Toronto population)
Ethnic Economies
- Enclave economy
o Stores set up by an ethnic group to serve their own ethic group
- Non-Enclave economy
o Mainstream, not attached to any specific ethnic group
- Mixed (Integrated) Economy
o Has an enclave and non-enclave component
Chinese Businesses
- In the old Chinatown, there were grocery stores, other services provided to Chinese people that lived in the
community
- In the 1980’s they moved to Scarborough
- Enclave economies spread to places where there are high concentrations of Chinese people
- Indoor Malls
o Protected from weather
o Variety of different stores in the same location
o Pacific Mall – Largest Chinese mall in North America
o Chinese people can shop and socialize here
- Integrated (Mixed Component) – Started in the early 90s
o Diverse businesses
o Expanding
o Multiple locations
o Integrated with the general economy
- Pacific Mall (Markham), Splendid China Tower (Scarborough) are located right beside each either
o One is on the north and south side of Steeles – Steeles splits the inner and outer suburbs
Yonge Street
- Toronto’s main street
- It covers downtown Toronto, the inner suburbs, and the outer suburbs
- It is a very important street because messages can be resonated – everyone will notice
- Splits east and west Toronto
o Change is slow
o Old forms persist
o New structures are gradually introduced
Gay Village
- Forced to reside here because no one wanted to live near them
- Today, it is one of the most valued areas of Toronto
o Real estate price is high
o Supports gentrification
Commodification of Queerness
- Queer spaces, once targeted by police, are now commodified as a tourist attraction to show how tolerant and
accepting of diversity the city has become
- Until recently, police and municipal politicians perceived gays and lesbians presence in Toronto as a sign of
moral decay
Ryerson University
- Sheldon Levy supports the gay population – Brings in money
- Although he supports the population, policies do not support the gay community
- We need to establish policies that accommodate everyone
Wesley Institute
- research institution
- the Blueprint to End Homelessness in Toronto gives important data from 2011 that has even worsened today
- very few homeless people go to shelters – shelters are overcrowded, a number of shelters do not have proper
washroom facilities inside, there are also issues with violence, people are also afraid that the few belongings
they have will be stolen
- the fact that 30,000 women, men, and children crowd into homeless shelters in the city annually is only the
tip of the iceberg and doesn’t account for those who don’t bother going
- 150,000 households are on the brink of homelessness (paying more than 50% of their income on shelters)
- homelessness has been growing 6 times faster than the overall population since 1960
- move people from shelters to homes though an enhanced rent supplement program
- allows person searching for a house to rent at the market price with the government subsidizing the
difference between what is supposed to be paid and the normal affordable housing price
- fund new affordable housing – at least 200,000 new and renovated homes in mixed-income neighborhoods in
the next 10 years
- candidates during elections claim to want to provide funding for this housing – these infusions of money are
one-time deals – this is not possible anymore because we have a huge back log – one project every ten years
won’t do
- instead of relying on the goodwill of politicians, we need a program or commitment for the long-term, with
regular and annual goals
Cost of Homelessness
- health costs – studies have shown that homeless people fall sick way more often than the average population
– higher burden on public health care system
- economic costs – safe street act was meant to criminalize homelessness, most resulted in fines – if they could
not pay the fine, they would be jailed - criminalizing homelessness is costly – the cost of taxpayers for a month
in prison is $4,333 while the cost of a month for social housing is $199.92
- social costs – no one wants to live in a community where there is extreme poverty, bad for social connection
- a 2-bedroom in Toronto is around $1,060 per month (in 2013, its worse now)
- 40% of Toronto’s households have an income of less than $40,000 (also 2013)
Al Gosling
- In June 2009, he was evicted by TCHC from his subsidized bachelor apartment
- You must provide some financial information to TCHC when you apply to make sure that you actually NEED
the housing
- Al slept on the floor for a few days outside of his apartment because he wasn't allowed back in
- He was then moved to a shelter (Very crowded and not the best environment)
- He became ill and passed away in the shelter at 82 years old
- TCHC basically killed this man because they didn't allow him back in his house
- TCHC acted as a private landlord in this case (Not a service that is provided to the public)
o Its job is to serve a vulnerable population which cant live elsewhere
o When you send a letter and someone doesn't answer, you send a social worker to make sure that the
person has received and understood the letter
Exam
- 70MC 2 hours MTCC, everything after midterm, HB pencil and student ID
- 1967 point system
- Holy Trinity church reading