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Toronto/Chicago comparisons

TheTigerMaster said:
Imagine if Toronto or Sydney were to fail in a fashion similar to Detroit. It would have catastrophic effects on the nations.



It still amazes me that student minimum wage here is $2.35 higher than the general minimum wage in the United States. If the Americans had the willpower to raise the minimum wage to a livable rate it would do wonders for their communities.
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I'm Detroit right now. It's insane how empty downtown is. I want to walk around and take some pics but my family doesn't want to get out of the car. Next time I'm here by myself I will. Entire highrise buildings are abandoned.
 
Sounds like Pyongyang :D

I hope you don't mind me asking about why your family didn't want to walk around Detroit? Is the city really that bad at street level?
 
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I remember looking at a photo-essay of Pyongyang, and it really doesn't seem to be as bad as you would think. It has a decent subterranean transit system, beautiful parks and streetscapes, plentiful monuments and plazas and an assortment of amenities such as that stadium. Kinda makes sense when you think about it, all of the money North Korea's economy produces, however insignificant, is funneled into Pyongyang. Say what you want, but Pyongyang is an interesting case study for city building and urban development.

The rest of the North Korea might be a disaster but should the Korea's be united I think Pyongyang will have a relatively easier time transitioning post-unification. I think the city might even be a worthwhile visiting post-unification, just to experience that really unique and different approach to city planning.

Here is the photo-essay I am referring to if others want to take a look: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/319776/nk/northkorea.htm
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Sounds like Pyongyang :D

I hope you don't mind me asking about why your family didn't want to walk around Detroit? Is the city really that bad at street level?
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Nobody is outside, very few cars. There are a LOT of abandoned buildings. I think 30+ murders per 100,000 people also scared them off. Lots of graffiti. I actually want to go explore one of those abandoned neighbourhoods and take some pics, but it'll have to wait for another time.

WislaHD said:
I remember looking at a photo-essay of Pyongyang, and it really doesn't seem to be as bad as you would think. It has a decent subterranean transit system, beautiful parks and streetscapes, plentiful monuments and plazas and an assortment of amenities such as that stadium. Kinda makes sense when you think about it, all of the money North Korea's economy produces, however insignificant, is funneled into Pyongyang. Say what you want, but Pyongyang is an interesting case study for city building and urban development.

The rest of the North Korea might be a disaster but should the Korea's be united I think Pyongyang will have a relatively easier time transitioning post-unification. I think the city might even be a worthwhile visiting post-unification, just to experience that really unique and different approach to city planning.

Here is the photo-essay I am referring to if others want to take a look: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/319776/nk/northkorea.htm
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Yes it LOOKS better than people's expectations. Watch the documentaries that Vice and BBC did on North Korea (both are on youtube). The whole population is brainwashed. Absolutely no awareness of the outside world. The pictures you see from NK are also only what they want you to see, as you're not allowed to roam the country on your own. They give you a week long tour of the country, show you the subway, the DMZ, LOTS of propoganda, and then make sure you leave.
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Sounds like Pyongyang :D

I hope you don't mind me asking about why your family didn't want to walk around Detroit? Is the city really that bad at street level?
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Depends on where you are. Parts of downtown Detroit are completely safe (as safe as any US downtown), it's when you stray too far from the bars, restaurants, hotels, theatres and sport venues it's dodgy, especially if you don't know where you're going. Walking on the main streets, even outside of downtown is fine at least in daylight. Midtown, especially near Wayne State too. Ditto Corktown, Eastern Market, Heidelberg Project and West Grand Blvd near the Ford Hospital/Motown Museum. Where else would you want to walk in Detroit, anyway? (Unless you were into ruin porn/urban exploration.) I've been to Detroit a dozen times in the last decade and never felt in danger.

Yes, several major buildings are abandoned or near-abandoned (Book Tower, used only for communication towers, David Stott, only for street retail and SkyBar on the top floor) but in the last decade more buildings were fixed up downtown than demolished (only two major buildings, the Statler Hotel and Lafayette Building, met that fate - I'm not counting smaller buildings or the Ford Auditorium)
 
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Johnny Au said:
The Fox Theatre across from Comerica Park had been converted to head offices.
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The office floors of the building is Little Caesars. The theater is still operating and get's a lot of big name shows.

Fox_Theatre_661pw.jpg


I love the old still functioning neon sign.

2186260044_127d6251d5_z.jpg
 
Johnny Au said:
At least the owners of Little Caesars still cares about the Fox Theatre. If it were not for Little Caesars, the Fox Theatre may be defunct.
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It probably would have been gone if it weren't for Little Caesars founder Mike Ilitch, who also owns the Red Wings, Tigers and the Motercity Casino.
 
I have mixed feelings towards Mike Ilitch. The teams he owns are very successful, and many of his properties - the sports venues and the Fox - give people a reason to go downtown. But he's also been guilty of neglecting buildings he owns and demolishing historic structures for parking. He's also assembling land north of the Fox for a new hockey arena.
 
I’m in Chicago right now. I think Chicago has far more things going for it than Toronto does. Not talking about any of the social stuff or crime but from transit, architecture, walkability, structure, public spaces... not even comparable.

Just based on my 1st impression. Not perfect by any stretch but a cool city.
 
TheKingEast said:
I’m in Chicago right now. I think Chicago has far more things going for it than Toronto does. Not talking about any of the social stuff or crime but from transit, architecture, walkability, structure, public spaces... not even comparable.

Just based on my 1st impression. Not perfect by any stretch but a cool city.
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Transit: Much larger system but in much worse shape. Try riding out to the airport. The subway is so loud you'll have to cover your ears to avoid hearing loss. The stations show their age. There isn't much for accessibility.
Walkability: There CBD can be quite sparse off hours and weekends, try finding random good restaurants without research, not many neighborhoods that you can get to by walking safely.
Public Spaces: Aside to the waterfront and river areas is their anything special? I don't recall walking by anything especially interesting.
Restaurants: Food is terrible is you are picking from a random restaurant. Toronto food is much better on a random selection basis and these days it wouldn't surprise me that it's better overall.
Population: It's dropping. People have been moving out of Chicago.

Saying all that I do love Chicago and think it's a great city. Every city has it's pros and cons. Toronto has grown up quite a bit and needs to do a lot more. The major things Chicago has that I love are the architecture and waterfront. I have been discovering new neighborhoods on my visits and can't wait to go back.
 
One thing i love about Chicago is they have lots of hotels to choose from for all budgets. I have been to Chicago many times for business, conventions, and for vacations. You don't have to break the bank to stay in the downtown. Toronto has lost a lot of mid level hotel rooms, forcing my friends who visit and business clients stay outside the downtown. Not everyone can afford 4 or 5 star hotel that goes for $300 to 600 a night room for a week or two. Even NYC has added a huge number of budget friendly hotels over the past few years.


Less room at the inn for Toronto conventions: Report

Booming downtown development is threatening the future of the city’s thriving convention business as mid-priced hotels are converted to condos and others are rebranded and renovated to justify higher nightly rates.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2018/07/17/less-room-at-the-inn-for-toronto-conventions-report.html

Hotel-to-condo developments are threatening Toronto’s convention business: report

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...lopments-are-threatening-torontos-convention/
 
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