Skip to content

Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Public space in the news today

Read more articles by

• The Feds have tabled a law that specifies street racing as a crime.

• The Howard Moscoe saga continues: Moscoe came under fire at council yesterday. He also did a Q&A with the Star on some of the issues surrounding the the wildcat strike and Rick Ducharme’s resignation (the article is unavailable online). Today, he apologized in writing for revealing a secret plan to fire the five members of the North York committee of adjustment, which handles zoning variances and land division matters.

• Christopher Hume talks about the Jane Jacobs memorial held on Monday evening.

Recommended

2 comments

  1. Memo to Mr. Hume:

    Toronto still is a city that, by in large, works and it probably still is the most hopeful city in North America. There are only a handful of cities on our backward continent that ooze life from every orifice and this is one of the fortunate ones. Even New York City, it seems, worldly and cultured as it is, can’t do anything these days beyond churn out a Flintstones background of Washington Mutual Banks and Duane Reades ad nauseam as slash and burn gentrification continues to root life out of neighbourhoods as brutally as Robert Moses’ freeways.

    I am beholden to this city, much as I hope Jane Jacobs was, by its chaotic character; its bazaar-like commercial mess. I always treasured the fact that this city was made up of five-mile long agora-like strips like Queen, Bloor, Yonge, College lined with gaudy storefronts in jerry-built window boxes. A bit of third world colour with first world sensibilities.

  2. Christopher Hume’s comment about John Sewell is so dead-on. I love Hume, but I don’t think he’s ever made me laugh out loud as he did this morning.