Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

Richard Florida and Toronto's Openness Paradox

Urmi in Urban Issues

Richard Florida, doyen of all things city, has a new book out – Who’s Your City?  While I have yet to read it, publicity materials and early reviews suggest that Florida has drawn on psychological analysis to answer his long-standing query: what is it that makes cities attractive to the “right kind” of people? (Florida’s entrepreneurial, wealth-creating creative class seems to include everyone from IT workers to ballerinas….come to think of it, the only people it doesn’t seem to include are teachers, lawyers and dentists – unless, of course, they are creative).

In an excerpt published in the Globe on Saturday, Florida explains that cities have personalities and that we flock to the cities that match our own, thereby reinforcing the city’s original (or ‘settler’) psychology.  Commendably, these observations are backed by statistical analysis. (Veracity yet to be determined.  Interested to see how the index for "neuroticism" is constructed – psychiatrists per capita plus rate of self-identification with Woody Allen or George Costanza?) 

Florida finds the personality trait of being “open to experience” to be positively correlated to high regional economic growth based on “jobs in computing, science, arts, design, and entertainment; overall human capital levels and high-tech industry, income, and housing values.”  So if “regional leaders must become more aware of how their region’s collective personality shapes the kinds of economic activities that it can do and the kinds of people it can attract, satisfy, and retain,” they should also know that being open makes you the richest.

Taking Neighbourly Troubles Online

Jesse in Urban Issues

Have you returned those hedge clippers yet?  If not, you could be on the internet - Rottenneighbor.com is a website that encourages people to air their neighbourly grievances.  Touting themselves as “the first real estate search engine of its kind,” it allows Home Buyers, Home Owners and renters alike to search for both good neighbours (indicated by green houses) and unsavoury ones (indicated by red houses) living in cities throughout the world - provided that someone has complemented/complained about them.

Equating this to a piece of juicy neighbour gossip, I can definitely see the entertainment potential from such an amenity.  Whether it helps the home buying process is a different story.

How to Get Your House in Order: Expert Panel Reports on Toronto's Financial Situation

Urmi in Urban Issues

The last few weeks have been a good refresher on the importance of public policy making, with newly-released budgets introducing landmark measures, such as BC's new carbon tax scheme.

Toronto is badly in need of some astute policy making, particularly when it comes to its dire finances.  On February 21, an expert six-member panel, including representatives of big business and unions, issued a 86-page document, which, summarized the Globe, delivered a simple message: "It's time for city hall to grow up and take responsibility."  Hopefully, City Council, led by Mayor David Miller, who ordered the review in October 2007, is ready to think long and hard about policy - and push aside that other p-word.

The doc, 'Blueprint', features these notable recommendations:

-setting fiscal targets to realize $50 million in savings in 2008 and $150 million in 2009

-increasing the city's revenue base by encouraging more development and introducing user fees

-reduce the ratio between residential and commercial property taxes

-unlocking high value by taking a unified management approach to the city's entire real estate portfolio

-transferring or otherwise managing key assets, using proceeds to pay down the current debt

-exploring cost-share arrangements with other orders of government, particularly in the area of public transit

-establishing a comprehensive review of HR strategy, including restructuring compensation for senior officials and constraining the growth of salary and benefits for city workers

Above all, the report instructs Council to behave, citing the high prevalence of "petty bickering, grandstanding to score points, mistrust, bad blood and remembrance of past grievances."  Some measures, particularly the one asking the City and unions to work together to contain compensation costs, are predicated on yet to be seen demonstrations of the 'sharing and caring' principle (though it should be noted that Jim Stanford, economist for the Canadian Auto Workers Union, was a panel member).  And while some of the panel's other recommendations, to strengthen the Mayor's Office and the Executive Committee, are intended to help settle Council cat fights - they could merely get animals of a different stripe involved.  While the vision is grand, a lot stands in the way of making groundbreaking policy for Toronto.

Urmi Desai is a policy analyst and a freelance writer specializing in urban issues.  She is editor of the Move Smartly blog. Email Urmi

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TTC - the Costlier Way? Opening Up Toronto's Transit Debate

Urmi in Urban Issues

Last month, Michael Fenn, CEO of the Metrolinx - the agency charged with overhauling the patchwork of GTA transit systems - had some interesting things to report following a trip to Europe.  Of particular interest was a comparison of Toronto's Sheppard extension with Madrid's recently completed subway extension (see map above).  I've pulled together some of the Star's reported highlights along with a few general facts:

Subway/Metro System Facts	Toronto	Madrid
City Area in km2 (Greater Metro Area)	630 (6,200)	607 (8,000)
Population in millions (Greater Metro Area)	2.5 (5.1)	3.2 (6.1)
First subway line opened	1954	1919
Total subway km	68	282
Annual subway passengers in billions (year)	445 (2006)	647 (2005)
Recent subway line extension	Sheppard	Various
New subway km	5.5	150
Cost per new km in millions	200	90
New line started-completed	1994-2002	1995-2007

Most notable is the cost per km difference: it took approximately $200 million per km to build a new line in Toronto vs. $90 million per km in Madrid. 

Fenn and Metrolinx were quick to point out that this comparison is a necessarily compromised one, having taken place in the real world and not a lab.  Geographical differences, such as the relative pliability of Madrid's soil, have an impact on construction costs and should be taken into consideration.  Other differences cited are less compelling.

Toronto's 'Target 70': Update

Jesse in Urban Issues

In a previous post, I had written about Toronto’s roll-out and implementation of its new waste reduction initiative. Various sized blue bins and new solid waste grey bins join the organic waste green bin in what is proposed to be Toronto’s colour coordinated, organized attack on garbage. The beginning of February brought the delivery of new blue bins to Toronto residents. It also brought frustration to home owners and renters as the city’s ideological vision towards waste reduction hit a few roadblocks.

The problem? As reported by the Globe and Mail, residents of Ward 28, specifically Cabbagetown, have found the new recycling bins, implemented by the city earlier this year, difficult to maneuver to the curb for pick-up and a hassel to store. 

Suburban Treasures: Is the End of Richmond Hill's David Dunlap Observatory Near?

Urmi in Urban Issues

Ed. Note:  Thanks to a sharp reader for pointing out that the total area of the David Dunlap Observatory Lands is 190 acres, not 90 acres as originally reported.  In addition to the observatory, the site is also home to the Elvis Stojko Arena.

Friday's snowstorm resulted in the postponement of a planned rally in support of the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill.  But as every school kid knows, snow days can be a good thing.  More citizens now have the opportunity to learn about the pending sale of the observatory and consider joining efforts to save it. 

In spite of the myriad of "save the" efforts taking place across our city-under-renovation any given weekend, it is rare that I can actually feel for - not just think about - the objects in peril.  This is because I spent most of my time growing up in a suburb (or in this case, a suburb masquerading as a town).  The suburbs tend to be littered with public buildings notably lacking in public affection, so it's rare to bemoan the demise of anything out there (the exception to this being nature).

But hearing that the Dunlap was a step away from the auction block made my hard heart stir.  For those of us who grew up in the Hill when its major high schools could be counted on one hand, trips to the observatory were not uncommon.  More memorable than the sanctioned curriculum-filler that was the elementary field trip to the observatory were later evenings on the surrounding grounds.  On dusky evenings, we laid out our picnic blankets, unleashed a smattering of badly-tuned guitars (cue Zepplin's "Friends") and got up to the kinds of things that politicians clumsily find themselves denying years later.  It was that rare suburban species - community.

The observatory has played an even more important role in the scientific community.  Owned by the University of Toronto, it marks the spot where Toronto astronomer Tom Bolton first discovered the existence of what had been a fancy theory only thirty-five years ago - black holes.  The pivotal discovery was made after a determined Dr. Bolton bunkered down in Richmond Hill, not the first time a genius has had to do time in the burbs en route to greatness.

Toronto Neighbourhoods Increasingly Defined by Schools

Urmi in Urban Issues, Lifestyle

Yesterday, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved a controversial proposal to open an alternative "Africentric" curriculum-focussed school in an attempt to combat an alarming 40% dropout rate amongst students of English-speaking Caribbean descent.  The win could be seen as a citizen victory, as a mother, Angela Wilson, and a community worker, Donna Harrow, originally brought the proposal forward.  Opening day will be September 2009; details as to curriculum, results-based targets and location are forthcoming.

Opinions were mixed amongst the trustees who ultimately approved the proposal.  Some unimaginatively took exception to the money - who will cover the estimated $850,000 required for the new facility?  Others were more forthcoming about policy concerns - is self-selected segregation really less harmful?  The debate picks up where a particularly volatile provincial election, largely defined by one candidate's positive stance towards publicly-funded alternative religious schooling, left off.

The school, when formally opened, will join 30 alternative schools already in existence in Toronto.  These schools have come to define their respective neighbourhoods, and there can be no doubt that this latest addition will do the same.  But it's not just religious and community schools that have become ultra-focussed. 

Recently, my chat with the mother of a soon-to-be teenager underscored the fact that a home buyer's search is often tethered to school quality and specialization - goals which are not restricted to the private domain.  Toronto's public high schools have increasingly taken the business of career prep seriously.  And serious means more specialized.  In a 2008-09 TDSB course selection guide for parents and students, aptly titled "Choices," familiar names - Georges Vanier SS and Albert Campbell CI - sit under the rather reticent banner of "Transportation Technologies."  With more pinpoint precision, Social Studies period has morphed into "Genocide: Historical and Contemporary Implications" and "World Geography: Urban Patterns and Interactions."

Whether public, private or alternative, Toronto's schools are increasingly distinct.  They offer diversity but along sharply drawn lines.  As schools define their own boundaries, the pressure to be in the "right" neighbourhood can only increase - can Toronto handle the momentum? 

For more on schools in the GTA area, visit Realosophy for local school and housing stats by neighbourhood.

Urmi Desai is an economic analyst and a freelance writer specializing in urban issues.  She is editor of the Move Smartly blog. Email Urmi

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Photo: Jarvis Collegiate Institute, Toronto

Lifting the Clothesline Ban: Let it all Hang Out

Jesse in Urban Issues, Lifestyle

Clothes are one step closer to flapping in the wind. The Ontario Government's Ministry of Energy is proceeding to end a ban on clotheslines for freehold detached, semi-detached and row-houses; echoing the delay of the green-bin program, condominiums and high rise buildings will be considered at a later date.

Frowned upon for conjuring images contrary to the 'ideal neighbourhood', communities of new developments had prohibited the use of clotheslines decades ago. Our twenty-first century of environmental awareness has drawn attention to this issue once again with the hopes of giving Ontario residents freedom to dry outside.

Citing an average hydro savings of $30 annually if 25% of household laundry is dried on a clothesline, Energy Minister Gerry Phillips hopes that this will encourage Ontario residents to take their clothes off the grid, at least during the warmest months (June to August); opting to line-dry for a longer period (mid-April to mid-October) would further increase monetary and environmental savings.  Installing and using a clothesline is a cost effective way to becoming environmentally conscious while saving money – not just in utility bills, but prolonging the life of your dryer as well. 

A 60-day consultation period has been established appealing to the public on ways to end these restrictions. I will be keeping watch on the outcome which, in my opinion, should be obvious.  An interesting article from All About Cities mentions the debate between home owners who are for clotheslines vs. those who are not: property value vs. a sustainable environment.  Is real estate finally trumping climate change? Maybe the outcome is not an obvious one.

Jesse Fleming is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Email Jesse

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photo credits: www.art.com

Unstoppable Drive: More Canadians Relying on Cars Today

Urmi in Urban Issues, Lifestyle

Stats Can's recent release, Dependence on Cars in Urban Neighbourhoods, reveals that car culture is alive and well in Canada - understandable to those that live the morning rush hour, daunting for those who wish to see this trend reversed.  The report, part of the Agency's Canadian Social Trends series, notes that overall levels of car dependency grew from 1992 to 2005 across Canada.

In this snapshot, 'dependency' generally means using the car for all trips in a single day.  Looking at the urban/suburban divide, the report confirms that there is a strong correlation between car dependency and living in low-density neighbourhoods (defined as areas in which 66.6% of dwellings are traditionally suburban - e.g., single, semi-detached or mobile homes).  Ditto for living further out from city centres.

Given that current growth plans put a high premium on high-density growth that promotes the use of public transit, you would think that we are only correcting mistakes of old.  Instead, rapidly sprawling cities of today such as Edmonton and Calgary are most car dependent - with 77% and 75% residents making all trips in a single day by car. In older, once bounded-by-water Montreal (see left), only 65% of residents indicate such usage.

 And it appears that it is hard to escape the destiny of that initial housing footprint.

Toronto's 'Target 70' - Part 2: Green Bin Roll-Out in Multi-Unit Dwellings

Jesse in Lifestyle, Urban Issues

I received this email from greenbin@toronto.ca in response to my inquiry about how the green bin program is to be implemented in multi-unit buildings:

“Our pilot project that has taken place in numerous multi-unit buildings across the City has been a huge success. The City has received approval to roll out the program City wide in 2008. I am waiting for more information as to when and how the program will be implemented.

Please visit our website at www.toronto.ca/garbage/multi/aptsgreen.htm to view the three types of collection systems that are being examined. If you were to purchase a green bin and place it out in front of the building it will not be collected. Once we are closer to rolling out the program, the property management team will be notified by the City.”

After reviewing the methods of collection provided on the City of Toronto website, I am of the opinion that the bulk bin system will be the easiest to install in most buildings and town homes.