Toronto/Chicago comparisons

[jje1000]

Yes the elevated subways are ugly, noisy and horrible to use during bad weather, but they sure are fun to ride! Being elevated high above the street gives you some pretty amazing views of Chicago's architecture and skyline. I wouldn't want elevated tacks in Toronto but i hope places like NY and Chicago never tear them down.

The parts of the EL that run in the back alleyways in Chicago are the best streetscape-wise. The space is not wasted, and the station infrastructure can be built as part of the streetscape. Armitage Station and its surroundings are still one of my favorite parts of the city.

 

[Jasmine18]

Chicago feels like a much bigger city than Toronto to me, perhaps it has more people in the metro area.

However I feel it is rather spread out and the South Side is just a huge blight against the city.

The Waterfront and North Side are really nice though.

 

[Johnny Au]

Why not Toledo while we're at it? Both on Great Lakes, both can go by the initials "T.O."

How about comparing Vaughan and Sandusky, OH? Both have very large and very busy theme parks (both owned by Cedar Fair).

 

[Mercenary]

We need an iron fisted mayor like Mayor Daley to get these kinds of projects done.

Any proposal gets nibbled away at it until there is nothing left.

This is why Toronto will always remain under Chicago's shadow.

 

[old boy]

We need an iron fisted mayor like Mayor Daley to get these kinds of projects done.

Any proposal gets nibbled away at it until there is nothing left.

This is why Toronto will always remain under Chicago's shadow.

Chicago has some great things to see and experience and so does Toronto. There are points of similarity and points of diversion in any comparison of cities of comparable size. I'm not sure why you would choose to say one place is, and will always remain, under another's shadow. Maybe comparing Mayor Daley with John Tory might be a good civics lesson though.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Oh yeah, Daley, paragon of virtue, mayor for all others to emulate. Chicago too, better than it ever was! Nothing wrong with this sort of thing being in your above-the-fold Wiki entry...

He took office in a city with regular annual budget surpluses and left the city with massive structural deficits. His budgets ran up the largest deficits in Chicago history. A national leader in privatization, he temporarily reduced budgetary shortfalls by leasing and selling public assets to private corporations, but this practice removed future sources of revenue, contributing to the city's near insolvency at the end of his tenure. Police brutality was a recurring issue during his mayorship.

Good times!

 

[UrbanAffair]

Toronto under Chicago's shadow??? Yeaaahh, no, not so much. Maybe on heights and architecture, but on little else.

 

[Northern Light]

We need an iron fisted mayor like Mayor Daley to get these kinds of projects done.

Any proposal gets nibbled away at it until there is nothing left.

This is why Toronto will always remain under Chicago's shadow.

As of Tuesday, Chicago, a smaller City than Toronto had

558 homicides
20.66 rate per 100,000

Toronto had

52 Homicides
1.73 rate per 100,000

I have to say, I rather prefer our number.

It's not the only metric in which we would come out ahead.............

But let's not go all City vs City or so terribly off topic.

 

[Mercenary]

As of Tuesday, Chicago, a smaller City than Toronto had

558 homicides
20.66 rate per 100,000

Toronto had

52 Homicides
1.73 rate per 100,000

I have to say, I rather prefer our number.

It's not the only metric in which we would come out ahead.............

But let's not go all City vs City or so terribly off topic.

You called me out so I have to respond:

Architecture - Chicago
Tourist Sites - Chicago
Higher Education - Chicago
GDP - Chicago
Transit - Chicago
Downtown - Chicago
Skyline - Chicago
Parks - Chicago
Waterfront - Chicago
Food - Chicago
Crime - Toronto
Diversity - Toronto
Growth - Toronto

Chicago beats Toronto by a mile.

 

[Northern Light]

You called me out so I have to respond:

Architecture - Chicago
Tourist Sites - Chicago
Higher Education - Chicago
GDP - Chicago
Transit - Chicago
Downtown - Chicago
Skyline - Chicago
Parks - Chicago
Waterfront - Chicago
Food - Chicago
Crime - Toronto
Diversity - Toronto
Growth - Toronto

Chicago beats Toronto by a mile.

Putting aside that you're simply wrong on several of these, you're now engaged in trolling.

It isn't remotely funny, it's inaccurate, it's bashing, it's also off-topic.

 

[Mercenary]

Putting aside that you're simply wrong on several of these, you're now engaged in trolling.

It isn't remotely funny, it's inaccurate, it's bashing, it's also off-topic.

You chose to respond. If you don't like my comment then don't respond to it.

My comment is not meant as a troll or suppose to be funny. But it's factual. But it's ok. Keep thinking you are right.

Goodbye.

 

[desperateAmbassador]

You called me out so I have to respond:

Architecture - Chicago
Tourist Sites - Chicago
Higher Education - Chicago
GDP - Chicago
Transit - Chicago
Downtown - Chicago
Skyline - Chicago
Parks - Chicago
Waterfront - Chicago
Food - Chicago
Crime - Toronto
Diversity - Toronto
Growth - Toronto

Chicago beats Toronto by a mile.

Architecture and skyline are nearly one in the same and very subjective so it's dubious to compare them. (As a sidetone, I've never really understood the fetishization of skylines since you only actually see them when you are outside of the city.) Higher education is hardly better in Chicago (U of Chicago and Northwestern are fantastic schools but so is U of T, especially when you consider that U of T is literal orders of magnitude cheaper to attend). And I've never understood the reputation Toronto has as a bad food city (or at least worse than comparable cities) - anyone who claims this has almost certainly never been here.

In any case a pissing match comparing cities is really an exercise in missing the point. What I will say however (and take with a grain of salt since I haven't spent enough time in Chicago to know) is that my favourite part of Toronto is the non-quantifiable feeling that it is a city in ascension - With it's best days yet to come. I get the same feeling in places like Austin, Texas where growth is visible and exciting.

It's a very different feeling than what you might get in Chicago or many cities in Europe (different in many ways) who are steeped in AMAZING history but feel as if they peaked in dynamism long ago.

Just my two cents - Please keep in mind that never the less I feel like Chicago is an incredible city!

 

[ProjectEnd]

You called me out so I have to respond:

Architecture - Chicago
Tourist Sites - Chicago
Higher Education - Chicago
GDP - Chicago
Transit - Chicago
Downtown - Chicago
Skyline - Chicago
Parks - Chicago
Waterfront - Chicago
Food - Chicago
Crime - Toronto
Diversity - Toronto
Growth - Toronto

Chicago beats Toronto by a mile.

Let's hear it for rapidly declining empires. Love a self-satisfied navel gaze!

 

[NY99]

You called me out so I have to respond:

Architecture - Chicago
Tourist Sites - Chicago
Higher Education - Chicago
GDP - Chicago
Transit - Chicago
Downtown - Chicago
Skyline - Chicago
Parks - Chicago
Waterfront - Chicago
Food - Chicago
Crime - Toronto
Diversity - Toronto
Growth - Toronto

Chicago beats Toronto by a mile.

LMAO
Chicago has better food? Better transit? Are you high?

Toronto is home to some of the best authentic ethnic cuisines on the freaking planet (outside of those cuisines' origins). I have friends from New York who marvel at the sheer diversity and deliciousness of our food options.

Oh, and our transit system carries literally twice the people Chicago's does. With twice as high of a commuter modal share. Transit is simply engrained into the culture of Toronto way more than it is in Chicago. And we're building approximately 50000000x more new infrastructure than they are.

I'm all for criticism of Toronto -- but for Christ's sakes stick to reality.

 

[Johnny Au]

Streetcar lines in Chicago: 0
Streetcar lines in Toronto: 10

Streetcars/LRT serve as an excellent intermediary between buses and subways.