Irishmonk
Senior Member
^Resting place of Louise Brooks.
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Lifeless Bay St and University Ave
- Thread starter kkgg7
- Start date
Thanos
Active Member
There was an interesting article on yesterdays Star regarding Bay Street coming back to life. However it was the financial district part. I still think the section north of Dundas has a lot of potential. Though the section from Dundas to Queen needs to be completely redone especially the way it leads to the underground parking. I would also love to see a real sidewalk on the east side next to the old city hall.
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1062561--von-hahn-bay-st-awakens-with-street-level-sizzle
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1062561--von-hahn-bay-st-awakens-with-street-level-sizzle
nfitz
Superstar
A simple examination of an English dictionary finds the definition of North America to be "a continent comprising the northern half of the American land mass ... contains Canada, the US, Mexico, and the countries of Central America."
North America is clearly a continent with far more than 2 countries.
adma
Superstar
Danielinthecity
Active Member
E-W vs N-S
What I find interesting is that most vibrant 'main' streets are east-west streets, whereas most north-south 'main' streets are less vibrant...
...for instance...these east-west are much more vibrant...
Queen
King
Dundas
College
Bloor / Danforth
St. Clair
Eglington
...than these north-sound 'main' streets...
Jarvis
Bay
University
Bathurst
Yonge (Major Exception)
Spadina (Exception from Queen to Bloor)
What design attributes do those that are vibrant share and same for those that are less vibrant? Anything stand out?
What I find interesting is that most vibrant 'main' streets are east-west streets, whereas most north-south 'main' streets are less vibrant...
...for instance...these east-west are much more vibrant...
Queen
King
Dundas
College
Bloor / Danforth
St. Clair
Eglington
...than these north-sound 'main' streets...
Jarvis
Bay
University
Bathurst
Yonge (Major Exception)
Spadina (Exception from Queen to Bloor)
What design attributes do those that are vibrant share and same for those that are less vibrant? Anything stand out?
Torontovibe
Senior Member
It's the concentration of retail. Streets like Jarvis and Bathurst, have sporadic retail, with a few stores here and there. You really need a good concentration of retail and a high enough density to support it. Look how much livelier Parliament Street is, north of Gerrard, where the streets are filled with stores and restaurants. Also look at how much livelier it is at Parliament and Dundas, now that they lined the condos with retail. It's like day to night. Once Bathurst Street is lined with new condos that contain retail, it will transform that street into a people place too.
Thanos
Active Member
North and South America = The Americas = 1 continent not 2
nfitz
Superstar
That might be your definition. But the English language is based on common usage. Any relevant dictionary clearly defines North America as 1 continent and South America as a second. A quick look at a Canadian dictionary shows the definition of the Americas as being the New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America.
I don't know why you say that is the moon that shines so bright.
Eug
Senior Member
Most (but not all) textbooks consider them two continents. Indeed, it makes a lot more sense to call them two continents than it does to call Europe and Asia two continents.
You may want to have a gander at this video though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBcq1x7P34
Danielinthecity
Active Member
Yes
Thank you...
...in other words streets must be destinations in and of themselves...placemaking...
...conversely when they serve the single function of existing mainly to move cars, they lose their vibrancy...and we lose a tiny piece of a living city...
...I'll add just one more attribute...design...in particular pedestrian oriented...the buildings, sidewalks, street furniture, foliage, etc...all designed around ensuring that the 'density' of people you refer to can walk freely and easily in an aesthetically pleasing and functional built environment.
Thank you...
...in other words streets must be destinations in and of themselves...placemaking...
...conversely when they serve the single function of existing mainly to move cars, they lose their vibrancy...and we lose a tiny piece of a living city...
...I'll add just one more attribute...design...in particular pedestrian oriented...the buildings, sidewalks, street furniture, foliage, etc...all designed around ensuring that the 'density' of people you refer to can walk freely and easily in an aesthetically pleasing and functional built environment.
MisterF
Senior Member
Short blocks are key. The east-west streets have them, the north-south streets don't (generally speaking of course).
kkgg7
Banned
If you categorize them into large, very large and hyper large, of course Toronto can be considered large. it is all relative.
Places like Kingston, Brandon are not even "cities" in my definition. A city of 50,000 people? That's almost funny. In order to be called a city, it got have to have a population of 500K. That's a good start. Anything below, such as Barrie etc are just small towns, as there is really no "city" vibe at all. In Ottawa, you walk for 20 minutes from the core and all you see are single family houses, that's typical small cities. Barrie is basically a village.
In my opinion, (municipality population)
below 50,000 -- towns
500,000 - 1 mil -- small city: eg: Quebec city, Ottawa, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston etc
1 mil - 3 mil - mid-sized city: Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Philadelphia
3 mil - 10 mil - large city: New York, London, Hong Kong
10 mil + - huge city: Tokyo, Shanghai, Sao Paulo
The fact is, we can call Toronto big or huge all your want, especially for someone from some suburban town who has never lived in a 10mil+ city with 10+ subway lines, Toronto might look huge. However, I would never say something ridiculous as "in North American, Toronto is big". North America is a small part of the world. When you look at world cities, Toronto is truly a mid-sized city. If you call Toronto large or very large, you simply run out of words to describe Tokyo and Shanghai. The city vibe is of completely different leagues. As to Vancouver, let's put it this way: there is a city called "nanjing" only 2 hours west of Shanghai, and Hangzhou, 2 hours sourth, the capitals of the wealthy Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, respectively, and both have a population of 8.5 million and no one considers them as large cities. Do you think anyone outside Canada would actually think Vancouver with its tiny downtown and limited commercial/entertainment activities "large"?
To say Toronto is "very large" sounds like small-townish mentality. The density is simply not there. If you drive from Dundas Square for 40 minutes, what do you see? Brampton? Markham? Small single family houses with very few low rise retail/offices, almost the middle of nowhere. If you drive 40 minutes from Shanghai's People's Square or Toyko's Ginza, you are still in the middle of skyscrapers, offices, retail and dense residential. That's called "very large".
GenerationW
Senior Member
According to http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/continents.htm
So no answer is definitive. And I've always thought of North, Central, and South America as three separate continents.
adma
Superstar
It's your opinion; however, IMO it's the opinion of the untutored and overbedazzled-by-Asian-boomburgs. Lotsa those on message boards dedicated to skyscrapers and urban development...
nfitz
Superstar
What definition of London are you using to get over 12 million? It's hard to find one that's over 9 million!