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Informing the public of urbanism through word and photography

A PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN?
Posted 28 March, 2002 by Chris DeWolf
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I’d like to start off with an important note about the future of this site. At the end of April, urbanphoto.org will be homeless. Our current host will be moving to a new server and will be unable to accommodate us. There is a strong chance that we will be able to return to our pre-downtime host and if that is the case, there should be a relatively seamless transition between servers. If that doesn’t pan out, however, we would have to solicit donations from readers in order to pay for hosting fees. Should this turn out to be the case, your support would be greatly appreciated as we would be unable to continue providing photos, commentary and information on urban issues. Any questions can be asked in a thread on this topic in our discussion forum.

As New York City’s focus shifts away from September 11^th to its more typical concerns, the city’s new billionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has shown no signs of downplaying his progressive side when it comes to urban transportation. As the New York Times reported on March 26^th , the Republican seems to be siding against drivers and is markedly pro-transit. As Randy Kennedy of the Times writes, "While Rudolph W. Giuliani tended to favor drivers when he focused on transportation, Mr. Bloomberg frequently seems to be siding against them, in a way not seen since Mayor John V. Lindsay's "car-free weekend" experiments." This shouldn’t come as a surprise since Bloomberg vowed to increase the effectiveness of public transportation when he campaigned for mayor. In a November 4^th posting to this site, I wrote that one particularly interesting aspect of his campaign was Bloomberg’s pledge "to encourage public transit use by leading by example: ‘Every day I go to City Hall,’ he says, ‘I will take public transportation rather than the city-provided official car.’" It is a promise he has kept, riding the subway to work most mornings. But Bloomberg isn’t just rhetoric – an increasing number of his policies are making it difficult to be a driver in New York, particularly in Manhattan. Less free parking and more restrictions on driving into Manhattan are the least of a car-lover’s worries. Bloomberg wants to put tolls on the East River bridges connecting Manhattan with the outer boroughs and increase penalties for illegally parked vehicles. In any case, it looks like New York’s newest mayor has his work cut out for him: last Sunday the Daily News reported that bus and transit use in the city are at their highest levels in decades.

Today’s Washington Post features an article describing the revitalisation of a derelict neighbourhood by immigrant Latinos. Pushed out of gentrifying Adams Morgan by rising rents, the Hispanic community has taken root in the poorer area of Petworth, infusing new businesses and life along its main streets. This raises the question of gentrification – just where exactly does it begin, and is the end product really all that bad? In a recent thread on our Café d’urbanité discussion forum, one member posted an article that appeared in the New York Times. In it, columnist John Tierney reports on a study that finds lower-income residents of gentrified neighbourhoods in New York and Boston have not been displaced, but have instead chosen to stay put and pay higher rents for improved surroundings. According to the study, writes Tierney, "only 5 percent of the New Yorkers who moved during the late 1990's reported being forced to move by high rents. That percentage was a little lower than during the real estate doldrums of the early 1990's, when there was less gentrification going on." Does the article have a point – are the woes of those displaced by gentrification simply a myth? Not necessarily. "There's no denying that gentrification during the dot-com boom caused massive displacement in San Francisco," writes one forumer. And the New York example might not be valid for cities in general, adds another: "My corollary is that gentrification works in different ways in different cities, since local political cultures and systems vary so much."

Speaking of gentrification, another forum post details the conversion of a defunct distillery in an historic Toronto industrial district into a collection of galleries and artists’ studios. In a March 26th column in the Toronto Star, Christopher Hume writes that the non-profit Artscape, dedicated to creating studio space for artists, struck a deal with a developer to lease the former Gooderham and Worts distillery for twenty years, provided the first floor is given over to exhibition space and other public uses. The developer sees this as the first step in creating a vibrant arts district out of the lovely mid-19^th century industrial buildings. Artists have "reclaimed" many neighbourhoods, says the developer, making them attractive to the middle class. According to Hume, though, the problem with such areas is that "they become victims of their own success. Once an area has been cleaned up and revealed, rising property values push out the artists. At Gooderham & Worts, however, Artscape and its tenants have a long-term commitment." The long-term leases should help ensure the former distillery remains a haven for artists for many years to come. More information and photos of the plans can be found at the Café.

Two interesting articles appeared in Sunday’s Boston Globe. Firstly is a commentary on the long trek ahead of Boston’s centre of black culture, Dudley Square in Roxbury, on becoming a thriving and dynamic neighbourhood. Secondly is an article that details how the new Silver Line busway may enliven Washington Street in the South End. For more information on Boston transit, including the Silver Line, check out the Real Boston Transit and Planning Site.

COUNTING CANADIAN CITIES
Posted 12 March, 2002 by Chris DeWolf
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The initial release of the 2001 Canadian Census is out and the numbers are promising. Between 1996 – when the last census was held – and 2001, the inner cities of all major Canadian urban centres gained population. While the line between urban and suburban is increasingly blurred by the merger of suburbs and cities, as is the case with most Ontario and Quebec cities, it is still possible to conclude that Canadians and new immigrants are finding cities attractive places to live. Montreal is perhaps the most obvious case. Between 1996 and 2001, the city’s population rose 2.3% from 1,016,376 to 1,039,534. (Since the census, the old city of Montreal has been amalgamated with other municipalities on the island of Montreal). Montreal’s highest population was recorded in 1971, when 1,214,000 lived within city limits, according to statistics compiled by Demographia. Its population dropped significantly, however, between 1971 and 1981 when a double entente of anglophone and suburban flight conspired to gut the city. This is the highest population recorded since then – only in 1961 and 1971 have more people been recorded as living in Montreal.

Toronto’s city proper grew as well, by a formidable amount. As the Toronto Star reports, immigration is fueling much of the growth. Between 1996 and 2001, 445,000 new arrivals to Canada settled in Toronto and the city grew by a rate of four percent, from 2,385,421 to 2,481,494. Many of those new residents are living in recent condominium developments and infill housing. Rampant condominium construction has also benefited Vancouver, whose inner city grew by a whopping 6.2 percent over five years. This is its highest population ever recorded, and the city limits have been built out for at least a few decades.

While the population figures from this most recent census aren’t nearly as surprising as the 2000 US Census, which showed that American inner cities grew by more than anyone would have guessed, they are still interesting. They show that Canada’s inner cities are attracting people, possibly ranging from immigrants to suburban migrants, although that specific information won’t be available for another year. No doubt all these new urbanites will fuel the cries for more money and power for city self-governance, led by the Toronto Star and its ongoing New Deal for Cities special. If these numbers tell us anything, it’s that Canada is more of an urban nation that it has ever been.

Boston’s Big Dig is still churning away 24/7. As the end of the massive, $14-billion (US) project – an extensive transportation development that will sink an elevated expressway, among other things – looms into sight, Bostonians, politicians and the media are focusing on the future of the Big Dig’s site. Plans for what will replace the 1950s-era Central Artery expressway have been in formation for years, but only now have they been bestowed with extensive attention. It is generally accepted that a park will be part of the final plan, but cultural institutions and mixed-use development are also likely. This week, the Boston Globe has run a swath of articles relating to the subject; one explores possible privatisation of the Big Dig park, à la Bryant Park in Manhattan and another reports that Boston mayor Thomas Menino proposed a tax on downtown real estate to help manage the future site. The Globe ran an editorial, applauding recent attention paid by state and civic politicians, but nonetheless raising the question as to who will manage and pay for the future park or development. "The city deserves a strong voice in a project so crucial to its future," the editors wrote.

Perhaps the best story so far, however, comes from urban issues columnist Robert Campbell. Reporting from Paris in today’s Globe, he writes that by contrast with Boston, "Paris is a bracing shock. The quality of new civic space here is stunning. And - just as with our artery - Parisians create it on the sites of old industrial infrastructure." Exploring the new public spaces of Paris created out of disused industrial space, focusing on the Viaduc des Arts. A crumbling 19^th century railroad viaduct, it was recently transformed into a successful public space. Shops and markets are now housed in the arches under the railroad, and the tracks above have been converted into a lush public parkway, described by Campbell as "a kind of aerial nature walk in the city." More information on the Viaduc des Arts can be found at its website (English version here), and assistant editor Chris Szabla recently posted a topic on the Big Dig issue in our discussion forum.

When many urbanists think of Los Angeles, they envision a smog-choked, car-ruled, soulless metropolis. It invented sprawl, for crying out loud! But wait, not so fast – Los Angeles is fast taking on all the aspects of a "real" city. The New York Times reported this weekend that a huge number of urban residential units are under construction – 8,500 in the city and 4,000 within the historic downtown area alone. Many of those units are converted lofts in century-old downtown commercial buildings, in the heart of what many consider a heartless city. Downtown Los Angeles, aside from the shiny postmodern office towers in a newer section of the area, is a diverse neighbourhood. It is home to Chinatown and a gritty skid row, hundreds of beautiful old building and it is the heart of the city for Latinos, who are close to making up a majority of people in Los Angeles. As the Times reports, "It is Latinos, along with Asians, who kept the core of the city growing while whites were fleeing to other Western cities, city officials and other experts say." Many second-generation Latinos are buying apartments close to the old neighbourhood, but suburbanites are increasingly moving back into the city as well. "Congestion has gotten so bad that people are finally willing to trade space for proximity to work and play," says an author quoted by the Times.

Could it be that a city infamous for handing itself over to the car will be known to future generations as a successful urban model?

A NEW R.O.M. FOR HOGTOWN
Posted 28 February, 2002 by Chris DeWolf
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Today’s Globe and Mail announced that the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, has chosen a winner in its design competition for its $150-million (Canadian) overhaul. Berlin architect Daniel Libeskind’s proposal for the giant new ROM expansion will take shape starting next year as the museum commences the mammoth project, hoping to give the museum a new image and attract far more visitors. While known as one of the best museums in Canada, it is marred by a stoic reputation, one that is reflected by its sombre 1914 home. The Libeskind addition will see a new entrance on busy Bloor Street and what look like giant protruding glass shards. The proposals of the other two finalists can be seen at the Renaissance ROM website. The expansion will be completed in 2005, destroying some parts of the 1980s addition but restoring the historic 1914 and 1932 sections to their former glory. Coincidentally, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will be undergoing an expansion, too, a massive multi-phase project, the first of which will take five years to complete.

In the February issue of Metropolis magazine, Robert Brandes Gratz, author of Cities Back from the Edge (reviewed on this site), writes about where New Yorkers went in reaction to the trauma of September 11^th. In ‘The Enduring Power of the Old Urbanism’, She remarks that instead of heading to Times Square and other similarly sanitised and ultimately sterile places, New Yorkers headed to the human-scaled products of the "old urbanism". Once-seedy Times Square, hailed as the jewel in Rudy Guiliani’s crown of a clean New York, is no longer a public place, she writes. "With its chain stores, sterile office towers, and formula hotels, Times Square no longer represents the old urbanism," Gratz notes. "Indeed Times Square is no longer an authentic New York place, even if all the digitally dazzling lights and signage give the impression from a distance that it is." Instead of heading to that spontaneous gathering place of old, distraught Manhattanites sought the comfort of their neighbours in corner cafes and public spaces such as Union Square Park. "In crisis New Yorkers didn’t retreat in isolation behind gates and high fences," says Gratz. "They sought each other’s comfort and congregated in impromptu ways."

On a related note, Demographia has compiled a set of statistics that mark the population and population density of New York City’s community districts from 1970 to 2000. The most marked change occurred in Battery Park City, whose population swelled 346.7% over the past thirty years as the built-on-landfill neighbourhood has taken shape. More traditional neighbourhoods have seen huge growth, too, especially ones in Queens. Elmhurst, for instance, grew by 54.3%, its density jumping from 54,000 people per square mile in 1990 to 70,000 today. Despite some neighbourhoods having lower populations than in 1970, such as Harlem, all but a few of the city’s 59 districts have grown since 1990, breaking a trend of decline that bottomed out in the 1980s.

Speaking of New York, have you ever wanted to live there? Granted, this house is in Canarsie, but even then, $4 is a good deal.

Washington, DC’s mayor hopes to turn his city around. Long known for its disproportionately high crime rate and blighted neighbourhoods (even if the district’s infamy may exceed its reality), Mayor Anthony Williams announced a new program to reinvest in DC’s neighbourhood retail districts. In an article that ran in the Washington Post last month, Williams said that "it is vitally important that we nurture and support our small businesses." About $7.5 million US has been budgeted for the revitalisation effort.

Earlier this month, the Boston Globe featured a fascinating story that followed five locals over a workweek as they made their daily commutes on foot. Ranging from a Scottish immigrant who makes his morning trek through two of the city’s finest neighbourhoods to a man who walks 45 seconds each morning to his office around the corner, the article sheds light on a group of commuters who are often forgotten in the midst of a majority of drivers and train-riders.

Recently, a topic in our discussion forum focused on an article from the Philadelphia Daily News, which announced that a whopping 14,000 vacant rowhouses will be demolished by the city, to be replaced by new housing or businesses. This has inspired some heated comments on behalf of forum regulars: "Investors and developers are going to be very hesitant to build there, and if they do, it will be in a more ‘suburban’ style," said one, whereas another noted that "the homes being knocked down are out in neighbourhoods that have declined and the homes are ready to fall in." Join the debate! And here’s a completely unrelated topic I just had to throw in: recently, assistant editor Chris Szabla pointed me towards Brooklyn Kid, an interesting sort of "blog deluxe" as much about Brooklyn as its author. It contains some good photos, which for some reason remind me of those at the incomparable Urban75.

Two weeks ago, Courtney Thompson wrote a review of Urbanphoto for FFWD, Calgary’s best-read weekly. "There's more to this site than provocative city snapshots," she writes. "The site's editor and Web master, Chris DeWolf, shows a definite pro-urban slant with an appreciation for the soul of a city." Thanks for the great words, Courtney. Also, a brief note about upcoming additions to the site: Chris Szabla is still working on the San Francisco gallery, which was slated to open in March but will probably see its debut in April. Colin Kent is faithfully building his Toronto gallery, which will open this summer after he takes photos of the city in the spring ("Leaves!" he says). And I have just returned from Honolulu and Vancouver and will be opening galleries for them both; a minigallery for the former, and a full gallery for Vancouver. Expect those towards the end of March.

PHILDELPHIA RISING
Posted 12 February, 2002 by Chris Szabla
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Often spoken of as among America's most destitute cities, the City of Brotherly Love seems poised for a dramatic comeback. New condo towers in Center City, Philadelphia's downtown, as well as a yuppie influx into the historic area of Old City have infused the Philadelphia region with a wealth of urban optimism. Just today, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Andrew Cassel indicted those who fled the city for exurban mansions for preventing positive, neotraditional development in the region's suburbs. Apparently, when this development was proposed, "Neighbors called it a throwback to the type of Philadelphia neighborhoods they had fled." Cassel goes on to express hope that Philadelphia suburbs will amend their zoning codes to allow for such developments in the future.

He is not the only Philly writer embracing the city and urbanism. Although she is seemingly of the Old City yuppie sect, opposing the redevelopment of a factory into residences near her tony Elfreth's Alley address, Inquirer Architecture columnist Inga Saffron has been influential in shaping the city's redevelopment. According to the city's alternative Citypaper, pressure from Saffron caused a suburban developer to reconsider a proposed strip mall project in the up-and-coming Northern Liberties neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is still at odds with the developer, but his new plans, for an artists' community, seem far less hostile than the imposition of an alien strip mall. Unfortunately, a remodeling of the Inquirer website prevents access to the archive of Ms. Saffron's articles, but many have been reproduced at our forum. In her latest column, Saffron takes a critical eye to "Façadectomies", a growing trend involving the preservation of a historic building's façade but the allowance of modification or demolition of the rest of its structure. In previous pieces, she critiques the redevelopment taking place in her Old City neighbourhood, comments on parking garages in new downtown condo towers, and writes on the state of infill development in the city's neighbourhoods.

The real changes, however, are more subtle. Philadelphia continues to lose population- at a rate higher than any American city other than Detroit. But what looks like a city sans hope at the edges of far-flung neighbourhoods is one of resurgent vibrancy at the core. Center City is thriving, host to new skyscrapers which will define the city skyline and new residents who embrace an urban lifestyle once abhorred. And while the mention of "North Philadelphia" may bring shock and derision from residents of exurban Montgomery County, the thriving Northern Liberties has become a hotspot of revival. The aforermentioned artists' colony is one of many new development proposals for the area, including a baseball park reminiscant of those built in cozy urban neighbourhoods of the Northeast at the inception of the 20th century. In South Philadelphia, the Italian neighbourhood made famous in "Rocky", community gardens, a sure sign of neighbourhood renaissance, bloom. The combination of modest infill development, economic rejeuvanation downtown, and grassroots movements to reinvigourate city neighbourhoods have placed Philadelphia on track to becoming the urban success story of the decade.

IS AMTRAK DOOMED?
Posted 8 February, 2002 by Colin Kent and Chris DeWolf
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The New York Times announced today that the Amtrak Reform Council says Amtrak, the United States’ national rail carrier, should be broken up. The council’s plan suggests the breakup of the troubled company into three separately-run parts: the first, a corporation run by the government to oversee big-picture company operations. The second, a subsidiary to control the Northeast Corridor, currently Amtrak’s only profitable route, located between Boston and Washington. As Wendell Cox, a member of the council, wrote in the National Review, the council found it necessary to recommend the separation of the Northeast Corridor system from the rest of the system, so that the infrastructure and "unique requirements" of the system can be consistently attended to. The third subsidiary would gain the rights to operate trains over multi-year transition periods, on contract, on selected existing routes. If it sounds complicated, it’s because it is; this proposal comes after years of funding problems. By late January 2002, Amtrak reported that it required over $1.2 billion US in federal subsidies and that if they were not provided, its entire long-distance train network would have to be discontinued. Arguing that the company had already received more than $44 billion over the decades and that its management was unorganized and "obsolete", Congress refused. It was demanded that Amtrak come up with a restructuring plan. Thus, four years later, the 111-page report.

The plans present good news for the American east coast. Recognising the great importance of the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is attempting to ensure the continuing success of the train routes crisscrossing Massachusetts, New York and surrounding states. As the Denver Post explains, trains can depart from one downtown to another in less time than it takes a plane for the same trip thanks to the hurry-up-and-wait concept employed by the airline industry, requiring travelers to spend excessive amounts of time in airports facing long waits for everything – from baggage claim to security searches. In fact, it is estimated that for any trip that is 350-miles or less, a train is faster and more efficient than an airplane. Thus is comes as no surprise that rail lines turn profits where American cities are more densely concentrated – namely, the northeast. The hope is that by separating northeastern operations from the rest of Amtrak’s infrastructure, much-needed attention will be brought to America’s most important rail route.

On the other hand, the proposal is bad news for Amtrak’s long distance routes. The company’s current president, George Warrington, recently threatened to halt all 18 of the company’s long distance routes, if Congress did not approve his $1.2 billion aid plan. It seems, however, that Amtrak didn’t intend to maintain the lines anyway. The proposal makes reference to the mass selling of company assets, and the possibility of introducing privatization of various lines. USA Today is calling the proposal Amtrak’s "liquidation plan". The report lays this out very clearly: "The council believes that, as is the case throughout our free-market economy, competition would drive down costs and improve service quality and customer satisfaction." Previously ruled out, the passenger train business has recently sparked the interest of various private companies looking to pick up Amtrak’s broken pieces. But some critics are decrying this as the beginning of the end for long-haul trains in America.

Amtrak isn’t too happy about the council’s plan, either. Today, in response to the breakup plan, the company acknowledged the need for restructuring but had some harsh criticisms. "The report sidesteps the underlying policy and funding issues that must be determined," it said. "First, a federal commitment to define, develop and invest in the passenger rail system must be made. Fundamentally, only then can the nation determine the system’s scope and nature, level of necessary funding, and source of funding." The company adds, "It is also important to recognize that we have a policy problem, not an Amtrak performance problem." The National Association of Railroad Passengers echoed Amtrak’s statements. In a letter to the chairman of the Reform Council, the executive director of the NARP wrote that "We don't think the public favors a reduction in any of the services Amtrak is providing," and that "we are concerned that the restructuring the Council seems poised to recommend will make it harder rather than easier to get funding from Congress."

Reuters reports that Amtrak lost $1.1 billion last year and currently receives $521 million in federal subsidies. The railroad has roughly $3 billion in debt. It doesn’t look like this mess will be cleaned up anytime soon, especially with a recession and a cash-strapped Congress. Cox, who is a member of the Amtrak Reform Council and perhaps best known as an anti-rail advocate, has dubbed Amtrak the "Enron of the public sector". A cruel and unfair dig, perhaps, but one thing is for certain – Amtrak is in trouble, whether by its own misdoing or that of Congress. The only certain thing is that if this problem isn’t resolved quickly, American rail passengers will be the ones getting the short shrift.

HOMELESS IN THE USA
Posted 25 January, 2002 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
As another winter wears on, the issue of homelessness has taken the media spotlight. A new book detailing the history of homelessness in the United States has been published, reports the New York Times, and stories regarding the homeless and what cities are doing with them fill newspaper pages. As the Times reported on January 18th, police are cracking down on homeless men and women in San Francisco, despite its reputation as a "famously tolerant city". San Francisco is perhaps the hardest hit city, burdened by one of the largest per capita homeless populations in the US. Legions of activists, police and politicians battle one another over the issue of the unhoused. In a photo he took during his trip to San Francisco last August, urbanphoto.org editor Chris Szabla captured a brief sign of the struggle: three mock San Francisco Chronicle covers featuring a photo of mayor Willie Brown, shouting "Fuck the Homeless! Save the Tourists!". The San Francisco Independent Media Center’s Housing Project, which covers the city’s housing and homeless crises, lambastes the city’s mainstream media, Chronicle included, for its slipshod and biased coverage of homeless issues. A search through recent stories in the New York Times reveals San Francisco isn’t the only city dealing with homeless controversies, however. It reported today that officials in Portland, Oregon are considering making it illegal to "sit on a public bench if police think it interferes with the ‘public use or enjoyment’" of the bench. A city councilor that is critical of the bill is quoted as saying that this is "a major curtailment of what people are allowed to do in this city." Many civil libertarians and homeless activists argue that not enough is being done to stem the problems that lead to homelessness. "Homelessness will not disappear simply by putting people behind bars. We need to address the systemic causes and look at real solutions," said Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless in a recent press release. "Affordable housing, health care and livable wages are what we need to truly bring an end to homelessness." With antagonism on the part of both activists and officials, however, solutions as simple as affordable housing may be hard to come by.

Speaking of the homeless, LA Times columnist Patt Morrison writes about the efforts of the Los Angeles County sheriff to ease that city’s downtown homeless problem, and Martin Patriquin of the Montreal weekly Hour takes a look at la belle ville’s current homeless crisis, spawned by an apartment shortage. The French-language weekly Voir reports this week that Montreal’s apartment vacancy rate has plummeted to 1.5%, a mere 3000 apartments available out of about 400,000. As Montreal climbs out of a recession, demand for housing is high but few apartment units have been constructed over the past ten years (compared to plenty of condominium units). It simply isn’t profitable to build rental apartments, say landlords, because of rent control. Nevertheless, housing activists point to Ottawa and Toronto’s 1% vacancy rates and high rents, despite a lack of rent control in both those cities.

There have been some recent additions here at urbanphoto.org. Firstly, we are pleased to welcome Colin Kent as the site’s newest contributing editor. Over the next half year, Colin will be creating a large Toronto gallery, similar to the upcoming San Francisco or the existing Montreal ones. As soon as the spring leaves emerge, he assures me, you readers will be able to see Hogtown neighbourhoods such as the Annex and the Danforth as well as many more. Recently he set forth to prove the quality of his camera and eye, taking some photos of the city on a chilly Saturday afternoon. You can view some of the results in the Toronto’s Chinatown thread at our forum and in the Weekly Photo feature above. Which brings me to the second major addition: our discussion forum. Pretentiously named Le café d’urbanité (which has inspired some members to take on equally pretentious French nicknames), we are trying to create a fun and intelligent community with which to discuss city issues, general issues and transportation issues. So head on in and get involved in one of the discussions; you don’t need to register to post, though registered members have a few more benefits than unregistered. And there’s even an easy-to-remember address for when you’re away from your bookmarks file: urbanphoto.org/forum . Help make the café a success!

TORONTONIAN TRIBULATIONS
Posted 18 January, 2002 by Chris Szabla - Back to the top
In a follow-up to last week's "Canada's Cities in Peril", we're focusing on some of the issues which have been ailing that country's primary city, Toronto. Recently, the city's public transportation agency, the Toronto Transit Commission, or TTC, has suffered from a shortage of cash (the provincial and federal governments do not contribute subsidies). The acknowledgement that public transit is not self-sustainable financially seems to have finally caught up with at least one provincial official, however: this Toronto Star article reports that a Tory MPP -- who is in the running for Conservative leadership -- is advocating a gas tax to pay for waterfront development in the city as well as urgently needed funding for the TTC. (Gas taxes seem to be gaining momentum as of late as state or provincial governments look for increased revenues and means to curb sprawl and choking traffic; state representatives in Massachusetts have recently been pressing for such an initiative to help pay for Boston's monstrous Big Dig project). Another sign that Toronto may be getting more support from the Canadian federal government as well came from this Star article discussing how a cabinet shuffle may aid the city's prospects. The previous cabinet was derided by the Star as an inept and passive body. To top it all off, Jack Layton, president of the Canadian Federation of Muncipalities, has emerged as a vanguard of urban political power, as this article reports.

But these dim lights of hope for a city unsupported by local and federal infrastructures, which it helps support greatly through tax revenue, cannot outshine the remaining problems. The Star decries again and again the disenfranchisement in cities by Canadian governments. It seems Toronto has also been unable to keep reknown architects working in the city, as well, thanks to cumbersome bureaucracy. Lisa Rochon's column in the Globe and Mail reports that famed architects Rem Koolhaas and Santiago Calatrava walked off their recent resepctive Toronto jobs after the city's bumbling bureaucracy and Ryerson University's financial fatuity forced them to disassociate, disillusioned by the ineptitude of government and developers.

Many other Canadian cities are facing the same alienation from their provincial legislatures and the federal government. John Honderich of the Star writes in his 14 January editorial that "our cities...are sliding into mediocrity". While Canadian cities may not face anything near the rampant poverty and destitution that pervades many in the US, the continuing cold shoulder cast by the provinces certainly does not bode well for their prospects. Essentially, the problem is this: Provincial governments have downloaded costs onto cities while depriving them of money and the ability to generate their own tax revenues. Canadian cities are under the strict jurisdiction of provinces and have very little political say.

In the United States, meanwhile, cities have been facing rising homeless populations in the wake of the recession economy. In cities like Boston, where unemployment is on the rise and housing costs still astronomical, the issue has been growing noticeably worse. Today the Boston Globe featured portraits of the lives of several well-known panhandlers in that city, wheras the New York Times reported on the latest trials of Operation Clean Sweep, an organisation created during the Giuliani mayoral administration to regulate such offences by the city's homeless as illegal squegee operations and public urination.

On a completely unrelated note, urbanphoto.org was voted Best Urban Issues Site by the Scrapers Awards, an illustrious distinction among urban and skyscraper oriented websites. We here would like to thank everyone involved for making this year's awards a reality and everyone who voted for this site.

CANADA'S CITIES IN PERIL
Posted 8 January, 2002 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
"What ails urban Canada?" asked the Globe and Mail yesterday. This is a question Canadians and the media have been asking for months. It seems a rather peculiar query to outsiders, Canada’s cities being outwardly healthy, thriving places. Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal – all are vibrant metropolises with positive population growth, livable neighbourhoods and growing economies. But the problems lurk below the surface: cities in Canada are struggling with straining infrastructure, increasing debts and rising poverty. The fundamental source of the problem, according to pundits and urban advocates, is lack of control: provincial and federal governments, when not turning a blind eye to urban woes, are said to hog much of the power cities need to govern themselves efficiently. (For related commentary, see a 500 Words column from last March 5th). Yesterday, the Toronto-based Globe and Mail and Montreal’s La Presse ran the first in a series on Canada’s urban centres, examining the problems they face and attempting to map the road to health. Today’s article, ‘What makes a city great’, looks at cities around the world for answers and ponders their role in the future. They aren’t the first to do so, however. The current issue of Alberta Views magazine focuses on urban life and one of its feature articles, ‘Cities Shortchanged’, outlines the frustrating problems Albertan and Canadian cities encounter when dealing with higher government. By sheer coincidence -- this just goes to show how important an issue this is -- the Calgary Herald ran an editorial today encouraging more focus on cities. Outside the media, support for Canadian cities is led by the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, which sponsors conferences and petitions government on behalf of cities.

Speaking of Canadian cities, a controversy has erupted over the fate of Winnipeg’s historic Eaton’s building. The city, partnered with developer True North, want to tear it down to build an arena. Some Winnipeggers are opposed to the project, however, because it not only eliminates a building that played an important role in the history of Canada’s westward expansion, but it also wastes a perfectly fine structure. The Save the Eaton’s Building Coalition has created a detailed outline of alternatives, one of which includes restoring and converting the building into a multi-use facility including apartments, a hotel and commercial space. As outlined on their website, their chief goal is to "make it clear the decision is not an arena or Eaton's. We can easily have both." Opponents say that an arena is the only surefire way to revive Winnipeg’s lacklustre downtown area. Unfortunately for preservationists, the Globe reported this past November that a federal contribution of $12 million CDN towards the arena "appears to end any hope of saving the old Eaton’s building." Nevertheless, the coalition is currently in the process of suing the City of Winnipeg.

In transit news, the new SkyTrain line in Vancouver is open, or at least two stations of it. The line – which is mostly complete, though only a small section is fully ready – stretches 19.5 kilometres through Vancouver and adjacent Burnaby and New Westminster. It is predicted that by 2006, the two lines combined with carry 100 million riders per year. However, critics of the line, including the Globe’s Paul Sullivan, point their fingers to its vast budget overrun (it adds up to a $30 subsidy per ride) and the fact that it runs parallel to the existing route instead of serving the airport or the University of British Columbia. Proponents expect the line will eventually turn a profit thanks to densification around stations, which played a large role in the success of the first line. Construction updates, nifty 3D tours and lots of information can be found at the project’s official website.

The issue of transportation has always been hot one for the British, with controversies cropping up almost daily. Today’s issue of the Guardian reports that rail strikes have been called in northern England and that the UK’s minister of transportation can’t even remember his last trip on the London tube at rush hour. As the Guardian’s special feature on transport in the UK reports (and sites such as tubehell.com reveal), Londoners are fed up with crowded and decrepit trains, crumbling stations and unreliable service. Maybe that’s why a record number of Britons bought cars last year, despite gridlocked roads.

Chew on this: according to an article in today’s Boston Globe, the city’s South End has become so gentrified that the first wave of gentrifying businesses have been priced out. Oy vey.

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