A few weeks ago I talked to Edmonton Journal writer Laurence Miall, as he was planning to take a psychogeographic walk through that city and was interested in what we do here in Toronto. His article came out on the weekend — it’s interesting to read Edmonton described from a psychogeographic perspective.
Is walking from Old Strathcona to South Edmonton Common an adventure, an ordeal, or just plain stupid? It is Sunday, around noon, and for reasons that are not currently clear even to myself, I have given up the comfort of my bed in order to lace up my shoes, zip up my coat, load my backpack with a few nourishing goodies, and walk the approximately 13 kilometres to South Edmonton Common — my first foray into the world of psychogeography.
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Gateway Boulevard sprawls ahead of me, dead straight, for several kilometres. There is a slow-moving sea of traffic that seemingly has no end. If I were driving like everyone else, I would not have noticed this. It would not even have occurred to me that Edmonton increasingly resembles photos I’ve seen of Los Angeles.
There is also a short video of the walk to see a bit of Edmonton (look for the psychogeography link).
Photo via Edmonton Journal
4 comments
poor, sad edmonton. boom without brains….
Come on, it can’t be that bad. What about Redmonton? And Toronto’s suburban arterials and cities are as Los Angelized as anywhere else.
You are making me feel veerry oollldddd.
Tho’ I can barely remember it now, we used to, in the last millennium, do something similar. Out for hours, even the whole day. Only I think we called it ‘walking’ or maybe, let me think, was it ‘hiking’? – nooh, ‘hiking’, that was in the country, but walking, in the city, you could really see the changes.
Oh, these days, it would be changed by the time I got home.
I’ve only visited Edmonton twice, for a few days each time (once during the summer and once during a wonderfully warm January), and have known several family members and friends who live or have lived there. Thinking back now, I would consider it a rich city for psychogeographical explorations. Different from Toronto, Dublin, or Paris, sure but no less worthy. South of the river the neighbourhoods are filled with sun-lit alleys. There are actual elm trees on residential streets (I had to ask my host what they were!) The river itself divides the city in interesting and telling ways. To the north, when you hit the military installations, the city’s character changes again. The contrasts between cold and warm, downtown and suburban, rich and poor, etc. are simply more pronounced than in Toronto. I don’t think we have anything to be smug about, and snobbery is particularly poorly suited to the psychogeographer (what, “grittier than thou?”). I’ll add, too, that the City of Edmonton has spent quite a lot of money on public art and cultural projects. Its fringe festival is also great. Despite its challenges, Edmonton provides both good and bad examples of city planning, design, and experience. Thanks for posting a note about the article.