WHO'S CITY IS IT

What makes a city

Is it the buildings that fill it. Is it the industries that purposed it. Is it the people that inhabit it. Is it the history, the art, the geographical locale. Is it the sidewalks and the steel and the gleaming glass. Or is the ancient trees and the grass and the water that surges in the harbour

We live in Toronto but we don't live in downtown Toronto. We love our neighbourhood for many reasons; it's safe, it's residential, it's convenient to public transit as well as highways. One of the biggest appeals of living here are the public spaces, the parks and trails where we walk and play with the dogs.

Public spaces are important to cities. It's where we come together. Where we play and meet and breathe. But public spaces are just not parks and waterfront. The Zoo is a public space. So is the ROM. So is the Art Gallery of Ontario, though in this case the public doesn't always seem so welcome.

One of our favourite public spaces in Toronto has become Dundas Square. And for me to admit that, involves a bit of irony.

The intersection of Yonge & Dundas is right downtown, you could call it the heart of downtown. The Eaton Centre is there. Sam's was there. The Eaton Centre multiplex movie theatre was there. So was the Silver Rail (a quaint old bar not to be confused with The Brass Rail, if you don't know what The Brass Rail is, ask your favorite pervert) and Yonge Street Station and many other bars. Most of that all went the way of the wind and VHS tapes. The Eaton Centre still stands of course but for a long time that's all there was, and the area kind of fell a bit to seed
Things began to change over time. The Pantages Theatre was revitalized. The Hard Rock moved in. But what was lacking was a viable public space. Then came the proposal for Dundas Square, a public space directly across from the Eaton Centre.

When I first heard about a public square my mind turned to grass, to trees, some shade, some place to take off your shoes ... Of course that didn't happen. What we got was a black of pavement. With a fountain that was nothing more than jets of water shooting up out of the concrete. And a ton of gigantic billboards and commercial video screens. Toronto's very own miniature Times Square.

I was not at all happy with the design. It seemed sterile to me, lifeless. But as time has gone on, I will have to admit that I was quite wrong. Dundas Square has become the centerpiece for public festivals like Luminato and Nuit Blanche, both of which Collette and I regularly attend. In the summer there are free concerts and smaller cultural festivals. On the weekends, it's always jammed pack. This has brought back movie theatres and some nice restaurants.

Even when there is not an "event" happening, the Square is doing what public spaces are supposed to be doing. This weekend, with the warm weather, Collette and did some patio surfing. We made a stop at the Hard Rock patio, right beside the square. There were people seated at the tables, enjoying the warm air. A bunch of kids were batting about a soccer ball. A motorcycle club convened there, standing about and admiring each other's bikes. It was quite nice. There was energy, humanity, people enjoying their city.

But there are changes afoot. The square has helped to revitalize that neighbourhood and that usually, in Toronto, means one thing: Condos. I know they are planning to build some condo's right around the square. I've heard rumours that they may even build some right on the square itself but I haven't been able to confirm this. It all leaves a bad taste in my mouth and just makes me weary.

This city seems determined to defeat itself. Make the downtown accessible and interesting and a place where people can just hang out and what do we want to do: Make some money. But it's more than that. It's taking a public space, that can be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people, and transform it to a place owned by a couple of thousand places.

Owned

Private. No longer public.

This city is owned but I wonder by who. You can walk downtown and watch a Lamborghini drive past a homeless person. The homeless people may outnumber the expensive sports cars. But the sports cars carry the freight. Well, they own the freight at any rate.

This is a city of a couple of million people. But the waterfront sometimes seems like a private community where the giant condo buildings serve as a wall between you and the water. I know Toronto is not alone in this. My home town of Kingston has struggled with the same issue for years.

How do these things happens. Politicians made Dundas Square .. or did they. Or were they able to make the space because enough public concerns jumped on to the project. At first the pay off seemed to be those annoying giant billboards. Perhaps it was something different. Perhaps the pay off was a few multi million dollar condo's. So we lose our public space and our public servants fill out their 50,000 dollar expense tabs and always seem to have nice jobs when their terms end ...

The question isn't really what makes a city. It is who's city is it. Is it the kids playing soccer, the couple enjoying a cold drink on a sultry summer night, or is it someone who is willing to pay millions of dollars, just so they can stare out their window at the lights of the city.

The real problem seems to be this: To whom do we ask this question.