Urban Design in Yorkville

Yorkville may be a Yuppie's hang out, but its residential design is certainly inspired by an older, more mature and timeless style.

One of the most desirable places to live in downtown-Toronto, Hazelton Avenue's row housing and semi-detached houses are the perfect balance between quaint, old-fashioned charm and lavish, modern luxury. New landscaping and fine finishes on windows and doors accent rustic old brick and wooden sills well. The arguably understated luxury of the exterior design is quite deceiving - I'm sure the interior's extravagance more than compensates for that void outside.

And my favorite feature is obviously the bay windows.

Only a few steps away from Hazelton is a small urban parkette on the South side of Cumberland, where people can congregate and sit on a wide variety of surfaces - a massive rock, several benches along the water installation, or on the concrete sitting areas surrounding each individual tree.



While I am usually quite critical of these types of urban parks, I think this one did a satisfactory job in terms of its design (which is quite beautiful and sensorial), location (it gets sun for a significant portion of the day and happens to be at the epicenter of a commercial and business district, which assures its use) and provision of seating (civic space doesn't get used if there is no where to sit!). Part of the park's natural popularity, however, has less to do with its design and more to do with the fact that it is the best place to people watch in Yorkville!

The meandering path surrounded by tall vegetation is lovely to walk through, and sort of reminiscent of High Line Park's design in New York's Meat Packing District.

Also, the water installation, though only seasonal, is both aesthetically pleasing and helps to mask the noise from traffic.

When Social Housing Sticks Out Like a Sore Thumb

Why is it that social housing has the uncanny capacity to be so easily recognizable as social housing?

It may seem like an odd question to posit, but really why should social housing look like social housing? Isn’t the enterprise to integrate social housing (and I mean physically) into the urban fabric entirely lost by failing to design it in a way that matches – not disturbs – the urban façade? And by that virtue, isn’t the whole effort to integrate low-income populations into society completely lost by having them be so effortlessly identifiable as low-income populations?

It doesn’t have to be this way… design may have the power to distinguish social housing as social housing, but it also has the power to better integrate it (and its dwellers) into the city. Even if cost is the concern, I am not completely convinced that social housing has to look as bad and cheap as it does.

For example, why does this particular building in the Annex inner-city neighborhood of Toronto have to be enclosed by an unsightly black fence? Setting aside the obvious aesthetic problems such a fence causes (to both the passerby and surrounding residents), it does nothing to integrate the building and its dwellers into the neighborhood – in fact; it only further isolates them from their neighbors. I am even more boggled and upset by the fact that the property has a large, beautiful park as its front lawn, but refuses to allow any outside residents from enjoying it.

If the fences were removed, and the public was given access to the park, not only would the entire neighborhood be more comfortable with the idea of having social housing next door, but the social housing residents would actually be given the opportunity to meet their neighbors! It seems absolutely ludicrous that a park owned and operated by the City is only accessible to private residents whose homes are subsidized by OUR tax dollars! I am not asking the City to sell the space and build expensive condos – I just want everyone to share the space, which is not such a revolutionary idea!

Agriculture's Renaissance... in the CITY

We are very cyclical people it seems, always returning back to our roots.

Passé fashion trends become chic. Old cars become valuable collectibles. Previously owned items become priceless antiques. Derelict neighborhoods become nuclei of important development.

But nowhere is this human nature better demonstrated than in our patterns of settlement. First, we lived in the countryside where agricultural land was utilized as a source of shelter, nutrition, and income. Next, we decided to build cities, eventually leading to the rise of an urban lifestyle, which was soon after superseded by the suburban revolution. Now, with a re-influx of people into the city, its capacity to sustain such a growing population is nearing its threshold. Cities are beginning to expand exponentially into previously rural land.

SO, we have started to bring the country to the city, which marks a sort of return to (at least some aspects of) the country lifestyle we began with.

Urban agriculture is on the rise, shepherding (pun intended!) an agricultural resurgence not in the country, but in the city. Using the minimal space available in the city, urban agriculture has found innovative ways (e.g. Symbiotics, companion planting, vertical gardens, etc.) to produce small amounts of food for personal and community consumption. In so doing, it has brought back significant, and beneficial, aspects of country life to the urban condition - e.g. better nutrition from greater vegetable/fruit consumption; a more active lifestyle attributed to working the land; and greater self-sufficiency, enabling improved social and financial security.

Here are a few pictures of Foodshare's urban garden that I work at. We have been growing a wide variety of plants, vegetables and fruits, including celery, carrots, corn, potatoes, herbs, peppers, cabbage, beans, etc.



Beet root


Rainbow Swiss Chard


Tomatoes


Pumpkin/squash (not really sure what it is!)



PURPLE String Beans (much better than their yellow and green counterparts!)

Is it just nostalgia... that we like to maintain some sort of a connection to our history? Or, have the last few decades of change wronged everything that we got right the first time around?

Inventive Uses of Space

When people are not given the necessary infrastructure to meet their needs, they resolve to find alternative ways to satisfy those needs. For the most part, these new uses of space are surprisingly inventive.

But sometimes unsightly...

This is a picture of a public housing project in Alexandria, Egypt. What originated as a large, plain building comprised of tiny studio apartments for families was later adapted by residents to suit their growing needs. As shown above, residents literally expanded their spaces beyond the building's walls by destroying exterior walls and building small balconies with whatever locally available materials they could get their hands on.

And sometimes brilliant...

New York came up with a creative, vertical response to its growing parking demands. By parking cars atop one another, space is best conserved more efficiently and cheaply than constructing parking garages, which require heavy input costs related to excavating and construction.

And sometimes even comical...

This is a picture of cars parked on a tennis court adjacent to a series of residential high-rise buildings in Montreal's Cote-St-Luc neighborhood. This photo sort of sums up how indolent the urban dweller and lifestyle has grown - taking over unused places of healthy activity like tennis courts and using them to park our cars, which only encourage sedentary living. So typical!

Most importantly, I think that these cases demonstrate how truly resilient urban dwellers can be!

A Pioneering Park: High Line Park in New York's Meatpacking District

Originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets, the High Line has been re- vitalized, -designed, and -discovered as a trendy, innovative park in New York City's rejuvenated Meatpacking District. Section 1 of the High Line is now open as a public park, owned and operated by the City of New York but maintained by Friends of the High Line conservancy.

Upon the completion of the project, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, spanning across the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. The innovative, and certainly unique, park design perfectly integrates meandering concrete pathways with understated, whimsical flora.

Access points from street level will be constructed every two to three blocks, many of which will have elevators (all entrances will include stairs, as shown below).


In the midst of a truly 'concrete jungle', High Line Park reconciles this seemingly paradoxical aesthetic of steel railways yards and a public green space. Beyond its utility as a great public space, High Line Park should be considered an icon of innovative urban design. High Line Park not only provides great recreational public space for New Yorkers, but also provides other cities with a model for rejuvenating urban pockets of decay, preserving historic sites, finding inventive ways to make better use of space and integrating green space.

Mid-late 1900's: an unused railway yard



June 2010: a pioneering public green space

McGill Ghetto Favorites

An enchanting shared front garden. The wrought iron fence is the perfect height and design. It is inviting, but still serves its purpose in delineating private space from public space.


If I could be any type of window, I would probably be a bay window. They are a great source of natural light and give the illusion of a larger room without making use of much more space.


But I would also want to have gargoyle/lion ornamental mascarons surrounding me for protection. Very 'Beaux-Arts'!


I LOVE door knockers. I am uncomfortable with using doorbells. Something about them is condescendingly demanding. Knocking seems much more appropriate... so long as it is not a solid hard-wood door, which necessitates serious knuckle damage. In those cases, I much prefer door knockers. The limestone-like facade around the door is beautiful, and the contrast with old red brick is charming.


Beware of snow falling off of the top of buildings on campus, seriously! Bet you haven't seen this type of signage anywhere else.


Definitely not my personal favorite, but decrepit alleyways are certainly a defining feature of the McGill Ghetto.

City Furniture: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

THE GOOD
The new landscaping at McGill's Milton Gates has some interesting art, lots of vegetation, and plenty of seating.


THE BAD
This bench and tree on McGill College street are not exactly welcoming. First, the tree could be better defined with some more green (this picture was taken during the summer) and perhaps encased by something more conducive to sitting. Next, the bench's material looks uncomfortable, and the surface area is too small to enable two people to sit back-to-back.


THE UGLY
This slightly odd piece of street art is somewhat fascinating, but mostly just unattractive. The vegetation surrounding it is sparse, and there seems to be too much gray and marble. I don't think I have ever seen anyone actually sit here, except for to take a silly photo. The surrounding area, however, does provide some good seating (that is the type of seating I was referring to in the previous photo).

WHAT MAKES YOUR CITY 'SPICY'?

Share the unique 'spices' that define your city's personality....

McGill Campus Goes Green

McGill University, located at the foot of Mont Royal in the heart of Montreal, is not just Canada's Harvard, but is also an integral and defining part of the City of Montreal. The myriad of students McGill attracts to the City, coupled with its charming old architecture and beautiful landscaping certainly spice up Montreal's downtown area. In many ways, the McGill campus is emblematic of the city itself.

As part of McGill campus's green initiative, tomorrow, May 28, 2010, McTavish Street will close to all vehicular traffic, making it a completely pedestrianized street.

While I certainly agree that pedestrianizing McTavish is a much-need and great advent, I am not so convinced that it will really contribute to making McGill into what Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum calls "a green oasis in the heart of the city". With that said, I must applaud McGill for its efforts towards becoming a more green campus, and finally realizing that McTavish has long been a death-trap for students risking their lives to cross between their main library and the bookstore - the parallel parking along McTavish perfectly prevented oncoming traffic from seeing any students crossing the street. So, while I am not so sure that a pedestrianized McTavish will do enough to make that part of campus into a what Munroe-Blum sees as a place to "mingle, study, relax and reflect", I am sure that this is a step in the right direction. At the very least, the closure of McTavish to vehicular traffic can assure students greater safety.



Beyond its potential safety, social and environmental benefits, I hope to find that the pedestrianization of McTavish becomes a catalyst for even greater and greener changes to the McGill campus in the future. Below, I have constructed a pretty broad (at least for me) To-Do List for McGill's campus to become a model green university campus. For those of you who know me, or have read my profile, that I have decided to organize my critique into a To-Do List should come as no surprise.

MCGILL CAMPUS TO-DO LIST:

1) Pedestrianize the ENTIRE campus, and not just McTavish - get rid of ALL the parking on campus; place boulders to cut off traffic; replace regular pavement that invites automobile use with more pedestrian-friendly materials like brick; level sidewalks to make wide boulevards to enable efficient pedestrian flow

2) Create more green spaces that are easily accessible and have ample seating space to assure their use - remove the fences that currently surround green spaces; add more vegetation where possible, especially outside of Burnside Hall where there is a large square of unused concrete

3) Burn down Burnside Hall - not only is it an eyesore, but it also impedes views of downtown Montreal from parts of campus, casts dark shadows, and creates an empty, unsightly concrete square beside it

4) Construct a path that better connects McLennan/Redpath Library to the East side of campus (i.e. Burniside, Adams, Maas Chemistry) - it is time-consuming to walk around the entire field to get to the East side of campus, perhaps it would be more efficient to have stairs from the McLennan library entrance that led to the field (without cutting through it)

5) Design usable bike paths - remove vehicular access to campus, but build a bike network that is well-integrated with other pedestrian traffic to assure slow speeds and safe interaction between the two

6) Buildings that require architectural attention - Burnside Hall, Chemistry Maas, McLennan Library. All of these buildings are unsightly with their dreary gray concrete, and make the pedestrian experience uninteresting. At the very least, their lower portions that are seen by a passer-by should be modified to make the pedestrian experience more sensorial.

7) In general, McGill's campus could benefit from small additions to make the pedestrian experience more sensorial - e.g. water fountains (they not only mask traffic and other noises from the CBD, but are also aesthetically pleasing and offer great seating and meeting places), 'street' furniture, 'street' art (something a little bit more special than a sculpture of Sir James McGill), pedestrian-level lighting, pedestrian-oriented and varied materials

Demystifying Depanneur Wine - Examining Part of Montreal's Drinking Culture

When it's 10:59 p.m. on a Friday night, the SAQ is long closed, the pre-drink just started, and that bottle of vodka you thought was in the freezer is actually in the recycling bin empty, depanneur wine is always there to save you from what otherwise would have been a dry night. While the best you can hope for with a $10 bottle from the corner store is usually a delayed gag reflex, there are still a few ways to minimize the damage.

Unpalatable dep wine is largely the result of Quebec regulations that stipulate that deps can only sell non-vintage wines bottled in Quebec that don't state the variety of grapes used to make them. Without these regulations, any producer could sell wine, effectively severing the SAQ's monopoly.

For white wine, a safe bet is Wallaroo, an Australian wine charmingly named after the native Australian wallaby and kangaroo. It has fine lemon and grapefruit aromas, with a crisp acidic taste, and should definitely be served chilled (the aftertaste resulting from warm wine is a bit rough on the throat). The white Yellowtail (also Australian) is similar, also citrusy, but with mild honeydew flavors complemented by a gentle oak scent. The palate is a bit softer and fresher, with a more balanced acidity.

I have yet to find a red wine I like for less than $15 - but if you must, Chapman House Bin 35 is a popular selection. It reeks of alcohol but the taste is surprisingly fruity and sweet, similar to Port. It's the perfect accent to a night on the couch with some friends, or a BYOB dinner. Plaza Del Rocco, a red Argentinean wine, has berry, plum, and spice flavors and aromas that create a relatively soft, smooth taste that is easy to drink.

Beware of the boxed wine trend, which is prominent at the more avant-garde, posh deps (like Greene's Superette at the corner of Durocher and Milton). While the boxed wine movement is still somewhat taboo here in Canada, it is institutionalized elsewhere - such as in Australia, where you can buy a four-litre box of wine for $12 AUD. I would advise against boxed and any other non-bottled forms of wine unless you think peculiar ingredients like fish eggs enhance the taste of the already questionable dep wine. Á votre santé!

An Elegy for the Dying Mile End

As home to long-standing rival bagel shops like St. Viateur and Fairmount Bagel, a vibrant independent music scene, multi-ethnic restaurants, and kippah-headed males, Mile End has emerged at the beginning of the 21st century as a unique neighborhood with a colorful past and an arguably bleak future.

Although part of the larger Plateau Mont-Royal Borough of Montreal, Mile End can be defined by St. Laurent to the East, Avenue du Parc to the West, Avenue Van Horne to the North, and Avenue Mont-Royal to the South. While the historical ethnic diversity of the Mile End neighborhood can be observed through its built environment, and people and their use of places, the ongoing trend towards gentrification has had the dual, and somewhat paradoxical, impact of increasing the neighborhood’s land value through development and investment, and reducing its distinguished and celebrated multiculturalism. As observed through Mile End’s changing urban form, the same quintessential ethnic diversity that attracted its artistic and bohemian inhabitants of the 80’s is, ironically, being threatened in efforts to ‘revitalize’ and ‘develop’ Mile End. Despite its expected economic benefits, the process of gentrification is already revealing itself to be catastrophic for the area’s lower-income tenants.

The initial observations of charmingly diverse architecture, pedestrian-oriented side streets, and a fine mix of residential and commercial space make for a great first impression. Upon a closer look, it becomes increasingly clear that the effortless mix of languages, – including, but not limited to, French, English, Hebrew, and Portuguese – businesses, and architecture certainly compliment a relaxed and pleasant feeling. All too often, however, the distinct accents of Mile End’s diverse population are ousted by the loud, high-volume traffic that clogs Mile End's main streets. While bus stops, subway routes and bike racks are apparent around the area, the congested streets of Mile End and occupied parking spaces tend to suggest otherwise. At the same time, there are many pedestrians – both on foot and bike – flooding the neatly paved sidewalks shaded by young trees.

Although gentrification is difficult to track until it is complete, “for sale”, “condo vacancy”, signs of government investment, and other markers of new development are indicative of the gentrification process currently under way in Mile End. While gentrification is arguably helping to revitalize, and add value and density to the area, it has also encouraged a change in Mile End’s demographics, as seen through a decrease in ethnic diversity and low-income populations, which will likely leave tenants homeless, and marginalized in an unaffordable housing market. In the end, while there may be some necessity for improvements in Mile End’s infrastructure, the long-term security of current residents and businesses, and the threat of green space loss are of primary concern.

When considering the issue of gentrification, perhaps the question of who has the power to decide Mile End’s fate should be of even greater concern than whether or not it will be beneficial to the neighborhood.

Bonkers for Bixi Bikes

For Love of the Bike

Montrealers love to bike.

I guess it would be fitting to call them the 'Københavners of Canada'?
Although at a somewhat concerning glacial pace, Montreal seems to be leading the Canadian way towards bike-oriented transit. First with the development and expansion of its bike network path downtown, and now with the revolutionary Bixi Bike system, Montreal continues to impress me with new developments towards a cycling city.

But Copenhagen should not worry too much about a little Montreal competition... car salesmen, engineers and city planners are still hard at work maintaining traffic congestion, highway expansion, pollution, and automobile domination in the City of Montreal.

With that said, however, Montreal seems to be something of a catalyst towards the rise of cycling in Canadian, and even international, cities. Due to the success of Bixi Bikes in Montreal over the past year, Bixi Bikes has expanded its system to mega-cities like Toronto, Washington and London (England, NOT Ontario!). It seems Montreal is looking to spread a little bit of its special spice to other world cities!

An Ode to the Urban Park

The urban park is truly a green sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life. Notorious for harboring homeless people, dangerous rapists, and drug addicts, the urban park's reputation is less than amicable. It is hard to convince any mom to bring her children to an urban park where dirty beggars parade you for money.

But I think that the urban park is making a come-back, and it's time to show it some appreciation by throwing out disowned garbage, planning a picnic at the park, or just warming a bench for a few minutes. The mere sight of even the slightest public use of an urban park will naturally encourage its greater use - people go where other people are (who doesn't love people watching?).

Square St. Louis in Montreal, located at the East side of Price Arthur after the cobble stones but before St. Denis, is sort of infamous for drugged-out 'loonies' and homeless panhandlers, which usually limits its use to a small population of schizophrenics or adrenaline junkies (that might be a bit hyperbolic of me to say). But it's actually a fabulous park surrounded by enchanting row houses, especially during the summer when the gelato store opens. Fall is my favorite time to visit, right when all the leaves have changed colors and have only begun to fall (see the picture above). And the best part is that those 'loonie' people everyone is so afraid of often provide some musical entertainment, whether with their bongos and guitars, or just yelping voices. I know its sounds weird, but the eccentricity is kind of a nice change from the ordinary.

Speaking of peculiar activities at urban parks... Park Mount Royal, or what McGill students call 'The Tams', best demonstrates the quirkiness of Montreal's urban park life, especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon. In addition to the array of bongos and banjos, belly-dancers, hula-hoops and devil sticks, expect to see a surprisingly large number of people crowded together dressed as medieval combatants fighting against one another with home-made weapons. It is certainly an odd (to say the least) tradition, but medieval fighting at Montreal's Mont Royal is as much a 'Montreal thing' as poutine or depanneurs.

Montreal's urban parks, replete with eclectic dancers, loud instruments and medieval fighting, are yet another thing that adds a little special 'spice' to its unusual personality.

The City and Its Many Spices

There are two distinct meanings of the word 'spice'. The first, more traditional, but banal, definition refers to the noun form of 'spice', which is used to flavor food. But 'spice' as a verb takes on a completely different meaning, especially when used outside of the kitchen. To 'spice' something is to add an interesting or piquant quality to make it more exciting. It follows that the adjective 'spicy' can refer to something flavored with spice, or, more provocatively, to something that is lively, spirited, salacious and colorful - i.e. all that a city should esteem and strive to become.

Urban spice is to the city's personality what curry powder is to Indian cuisine. It is as integral to a city's character as mustard seeds are to any mustard condiment, or as coriander (which I DESPISE) is to any traditional pad thai. The point is that nobody wants to eat curry-less curry, or mustard-less mustard (but devout coriander haters like myself would probably argue that pad thai is better off without the coriander). Put even more simply, nobody wants to live in an un-spicy city. Because spice is the urban quirk that defines what otherwise would be a vapid city. And because spice is, for all intensive purposes, that special touch that gives any city its individual charm and personality.

An example would best demonstrate exactly what I mean by 'spice' in the urban context. The city of Montreal, par example, has a dynamic medley of eccentric spices. The Mile End area alone represents a balanced combination of Greek oregano, Jewish 'kosher' (I know that's not a spice, but it's more defining of Jewish cuisine than dill or za'atar), Spanish paprika and parsley, and Portuguese cinnamon and saffron. Less figuratively, however, Montreal is home to other idiosyncrasies that make it an especially spicy city - Bixi Bikes, abnormally long traffic light cycles, undeveloped downtown parking lots (how atypical for a North American city!), Underground City network (it gets REALLY cold during the winters), and bilingual/Euro flair, which is often mistaken for a Parisian-like Francais, aura of superiority. Without these peculiarities that make Montreal truly (Mount-)REAL, the city would regress to its earlier state as a mini mountain with a great university at its foot, surrounded by traffic and people speaking a nuanced, and slightly more cacophonous, version of French.

Spices, in both the literal and allegorical sense, define a city's personality. For this reason, I have chosen to title my blog "The Spicy City" - that is, a city full of life, color and charisma. As a blog about anything urban, The Spicy City will identify and discuss all the spices that personify our cities, ranging from cumin, coriander and convenience stores (or depanneurs as they prefer to call it in Montreal), to highways, hotels and Herbes de Provence. But since all cities have their shortcomings, The Spicy City will also look to find innovative ways to spice things up a little.