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The JCC and its communities It's hard to know where to start because I did not jump all over anyone or smear anyone. I just don't think you recognize how things have developed in the Jewish community in Toronto. It's not primarily an Orthodox community downtown so you won't find the Kosher...

There are two unfortunate, even sad, aspects to your argument: 1. It is so disturbing that those who have experienced persecution go on to persecute others and seem not to have learned much from their experience,i.e., tolerance and compassion, especially among "god-fearing"folk. 2. It is...

]There's a thriving Jewish community all over downtown Toronto- from the Annex to Riverdale with several active and growing synagogues and a day school, the latter situated in our "anachronistic" JCC, to serve it. Time to let go of some stereotypes of what it is to be Jewish nowadays and look...

progress on transit city I love these "transportation experts" comments from on high about transit plans. They latch onto one concept- in this case population density- and insist that transit plans can only be made on this basis. Its a simplistic way of viewing things and that's why...

Part of the purpose was to replace a nasty looking retail area that had stores that looked like they were out of the Third World. This is part of the ongoing process of reviving, rehabilitating and re-aesthetizing (not a real word but I like it anyway) an otherwise ugly and rundown street. The...

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that but what's wrong with mixing it up a bit. I think you're misreading what I said and I also think that your conception of things remains rigid. I hardly think that one block of university construction is going to make a huge difference to all...

I really believe that you're thinking too rigidly. Great streets always have more than just retail on them. People do more with their lives than just shop. Besides we're talking about one block, not a vast expanse of street.

ryerson master plan There is no reason why Ryerson shouldn't be on Yonge St. I also think it will bring both students and the larger university community a measure of self-respect to have a visible and significant position on the city's major street. I also don't think that there is any place...

I wonder if both administration and students see this as an opportunity to create a campus green space like many universities have. A good example might be King's College Circle at U of T and the central axis of McGill's lower campus.in Montreal. Both have roads as well although I believe that...

toronto justice denied I agree that Kingwell's piece, while well written, had no real thesis, but I also strongly agree with allabootmatt with regard to Jane Jacobs. She may not have said many of things she's been quoted as saying, but, and it's a big but, she is a touchstone for the...

50 Gerrard St I don't disagree that 50 Gerrard is not great architecture but its use of bright colour is a real departure for Toronto. It's cheery. Scandinavians and Newfoundlanders have used bright colours on their buildings for a long time- its an antidote to a long, dark, dreary winter...

No she didn;t but her work has been used that way here to fight change of a positive kind. And yes many of the objections above are about colour and the horrors of it sticking out and not conforming with the rest of the street. These are comments that are frequently made on this forum on many...

I agree- it really is not as bad as it is being made out to be. I am so tired of the old argument that buildings have to blend with their surroundings. That's so typically Toronto. That way there's no experimentation, no novelty. There's this constant expectation that everything blend and...

I absolutely agree. It's a great punch of colour in an otherwise dreary streetscape. It's not great architecture- those windows look like jail cells- but the colour is such a breath of fresh air. People are afraid of colour in this city- it makes things stand out and you're not supposed to...

mosaic I agree with you. It has a certain Art Deco/ Stalinist Modern wedding cake boldness that sets it apart from a lot of the condo boxes you see built. I also think it compliments the JCC which a lot of people on this site seem to hate but which I think has a certain out there boldness...

ryerson master plan I'm glad to have the opportunity to state my opinions on your message board and I'm glad to debate whatever the issue might be but I thought we could all do so without risking being insulted in this way. And you're a senior member and should know better. I've obviously...

There's no reason that a renewed Yonge St should be dominated by monolithic monuments. That's part of the ongoing problem. Our aesthetic standards are too low and government at all levels lets developers get away with murder. We seem fine with a deteriorating main street and pug-ugly and...

I'm glad to stir up some debate here because I think that people are too complacent in this city and important issues like streetscapes, civic beauty and pride in the appearance of our streets and parks are rarely up for public discussion and solutions. We deserve better than this as our main...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I hope that Ryerson does all it can to build on Yonge Street. Almost anything would be an improvement on what's there now. Yonge St. from Dundas to Bloor is an ugly, undignified, embarassing mess. It seems to be a holy cow that can't be touched...

I think that the answer lies partly in really valuing the aesthetic, humanizing, and environmental aspects of trees. I don't think that this city has yet reached that point. We don't really value aesthetic streetscapes here. From a practical standpoint I think that the city should not plant...