I've never dragged my feet on a term paper ever. The course is Planning Theory. It's not a planning curriculum without the study of planning theory (sadly).

But I encountered one of the most fascinating books related to the topic. How bizarre, I know. It's called Planning Theory for Practitioners by Michael Brooks. I found a neat anecdote that really helped me personally close the chapter on the merits of rational-comprehensive planning-- since I had continued to be a proponent of the rational part of rational-comprehensive planning.

Reliance on rationality may be damaging to the planning process because it contributes so readily to self-delusion. If we follow the tenets of rational planning, one might ask, aren't we simply doing what planning is all about-- regardless of whether anything comes of our analyses and plans? An exercise I often give my students posits the existence of two firms, A and B. Firm A makes all the right planning moves-- defining its mission, studying its competition, carefully analyzing the market for current and potential products, and formulating goals and strategies for its short-term future. Firm B, on the other hand, is run by a happy-go-lucky CEO who makes all decisions for the firm by flipping a coin. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Firm A, despite its good planning behaviour, goes down the tubes, while Firm B prospers and becomes an industry leader. The question is, which firm is more rational?

My students almost always answer correctly--namely, that Firm A was the more rational because it behaved in a rational manner, while Firm B was not rational at all.

This exercise illustrates the fact that "rational planning" means "planning conducted in a rational manner"; the focus is on the process, not on the results. [...] Public planning is about improving the quality of life in our communities, and we should not take comfort in methods that sooth our psyches but have little world impact.

Planning Theory for Practitioners is a definitely a must-read for all planners.

... way better than KW at least.

I want to quote my friend Denise, a long-time student at McMaster:

Wow, I have never heard someone use Hamilton and beautiful in the same sentence! But it's true, you just have to look hard to find the nice spots.

... and we certainly found many of these 'nice spots'! I find that most people never even consider visiting Hamilton because travellers like me are turned off by the big steel manufacturers which is in clear view when driving along the Queen Elizabeth Way.

Anyway, believe it or not, Hamilton is a beautiful city with so much potential. It has a large city feel, and because the inner downtown core hasn't developed much since the 1960's-- they've retained much of their old architecture.

Our first stop was along the waterfront to the Pier 4 Park. There was very few people by the water, but the park holds a Federal Government "Discovery Centre", a marina, a small coffee shop, many sailboaters, and even some fisher-people! I can feel the effort the city placed to fix up the area-- but it seems like there isn't enough of a draw for people to visit, perhaps because it's quite a distance from the downtown.

Then it was off to the downtown. Wow. Urban designers should really check out Hamilton. The City's recent redesign of street features, especially the sidewalk, is seriously worth commending.

It's called the Urban Braille System, and it incorporates tactile elements on sidewalks that help those with impaired vision get around efficiently. I understand that Downtown Kitchener has implemented a similar concept along some stretches of King St, but it's definitely not as expansive as Hamilton's. Check out Plan Canada's feature on the Urban Braille System.

We travelled around James Street, which is a very diverse part of town. I understand that it is slowly transforming to an up-and-coming art and design district. The street has major 'bohemian' character and the rents are cheap-- so it comes perfect for this demographic. Check out the James Street North Art District website.

Then there is King Street, a main arterial bisecting east-west across the city. I particularly like the street-lined buildings along the downtown stretch. Except for the downtown epicentre at King and James, most buildings along this strech of King Street ranges roughly from four to ten storeys-- the perfect height, methinks.

Perhaps the biggest planning disaster that took place in Hamilton is the construction of the downtown malls, Jackson Square and Hamilton City Centre (formerly Eaton Centre Hamilton). Many cities in Ontario also share a similar disaster.

Through the Ontario Downtown Renewal Program, downtown malls were constructed in most medium- and large-sized Ontario cities in the 1970s and 1980s as a way to 'save' the downtown from the retail competition in the suburbs. Instead, the malls sucked the life out of the downtown, while at the same time, had increasing trouble retaining tenants. Jackson Square and the Hamilton City Centre however was able endure longer than other cities like Kitchener (Market Square), Waterloo (Waterloo Town Square), London (Galleria London), Brantford (Market Square), and Sarnia (Eaton Centre). Now, with the exception of the Toronto Eaton Centre, nearly all the downtown malls have since more or less been re-marketed to fit other uses, and in some cases, demolished outright.

While the Jackson and City Centre malls continue to have a large retail component (mostly B- or C-list stores), they continue to be under capacity. This has forced developers to find other uses to keep them operating, and many have opted for
the conversion to office space. Our own Pierre Filion and Karen Hammond wrote an article articulating these changes in Plan Canada.

Anyways, I'm stirring away from the disaster element of this development. At the time, Hamilton demolished what appears to be six city blocks for the multi-phase redevelopment of the downtown. This "Super Block" development included the construction of the Jackson Square, Hamilton Public Library, Stelco Tower, Copps Coliseum, a major hotel complex, a farmer's market, the Standard Life Building and the Hamilton City Centre.

Now in 2007, the office towers sit nearly empty, and the podium level 'roof top garden', which connects the office complexes to the library, farmer's market and Copps Coliseum remains extremely quiet and I believe it is a easy venue for criminal activities.

Aside from that, Hamilton is great. The Hamilton GO Terminal is beautifully constructed in the Art Deco design. It is the main hub for all GO Trains and Buses. I particularly like the interior. It is like stepping into history.

Then we ventured to Hess Village for a drink. Hess Village is a quaint, pedestrian-oriented, tucked-away part of town and the main hub for neat restaurants and bars. There is seriously no place like it that I've been to. I suppose Crescent Street in Montreal has the closest resemblance but with much fewer cars. Anyway, I hear that it's a happening place for post-secondary students.

There are a few other neat places we visited, but I think I'm going to cut it short for now. If you ever feel like venturing to Hamilton, let me know!

Here are some photo credits:
Hess Village - [hickerphoto.com]
Hamilton GO Centre Outside - [flickr.com]
Hamilton GO Centre Inside - [flickr.com]
Downtown Hamilton - [flickr.com]
Eaton Centre Hamilton - [flickr.com]

Here's a typical planning issue featured in today's Star.

Wal-Mart wants to locate one of its stores in Port Elgin, a small town close to Owen Sound on the coast of Lake Huron. It is part of a recently merged muncipality named Saugeen Shores and holds a population of about 7,000 people.

As with any new Walmart development noadays, there is massive protest from residents. While the big box development is being approved by council, it is being appealed by the citizen's group, Friends of Saugeen Shores, at the Ontario Municipal Board.

The municipal planner in Saugeen Shores believes that a big new Wal-Mart on the edge of town would be good for the community, and the town council believes that it will bring needed money and jobs to the area. Each OMB case involving big-box developments always use the rationale of increased employment as a way to support such plans, but does it actually hold true?

I suppose these rural Ontario towns may be desperate for any sort of development, given that the "[l]ocal industry has dwindled" and that the "locals [are] anxious for something to bring prosperity back so their children won't have to leave." But at the same time, I am seriously curious if anyone has done any reserach whether a big-box development, like Wal-Mart, acutally yields a net increase in employment growth to a region.

Anyway, according to the article, the impacts this big-box development has on areas like the downtown are not considered planning issues-- which I was seriously not aware of. So the opponents have taken up safety as a planning concern, with an emphasis on women's safety.

I guess that's kind of creative. I'd really like to learn more about the case, but don't you think it's a little too creative? So creative that it smells of desperation?

Is this issue seriously going push the Board or Wal-Mart to oppose the development? The case cited a recent U.S. study as evidence that police respond to almost 1 million incidents at Wal-Marts across the U.S. a year, and that an American court judge declared that Wal-Marts are "a virtual magnet for crime."

I think these statistics are bogus, especially they're not given any context. What kind of crimes are being reported? How do these "1 million" incidents compare to other retailers? Why is Wal-Mart targetted specifically?

Then there are other questions. Aren't parking for office complexes, for exmaple, just as unsafe? They too can have poor natural surveillance, and they too faciliate one type of land use. Would there be opposition if say an office complex was built rather than a big box?

Also, as much as I loathe surface parking, I find them to be much safer than other urban or suburban settings-- at least you can see far in the distance in the sea of asphalt. Seriously, the argument is weak, and I don't think it is a tipping point issue to halt the development.

My planning conscience tells me this development is poor planning, but my logic is telling me that the points to oppose the development seem unwarranted.

I guess my conscience is illogical. What do you guys think?

Wal-Mart foes are playing it safe - [thestar.com]

Did I offend anyone already? After years of being educated about the problems associated with cul-de-sacs, I suddenly have a change of heart.

Cul-de-sacs have been given a bad reputation mainly because of its hinderance to provide direct transit and pedestrian access from Point A to Point B. These road patterns have been built mainly as a way to deter vehicles from bypassing certain neighbourhoods. It forces drivers to use larger arterial roads, in which these cul-de-sacs are fed into. Because of this great luxury of having a peaceful, quiet, and kid-friendly streets, homebuyers in the past have preferred these 'courts' over others.

These road forms became so popular in the 1980s and 1990s that there are some urban areas that literally have nothing but cul-de-sacs. It's actually quite abysmally disgusting to see aerial photographs of suburban areas in Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, Calgary, and even Milton Keynes, In these places, the impermeability of the street network meant that it may require a 10-minute drive just to get to an adjacent property.

So while these 'courts' are intended to allow people to play safely in the streets, it also meant that residents would need a car to get to any destination outside the street proximity. Transit wouldn't be sustainable, just because it would have to weave through these squiggly routes that were essentially designed to discourage through-way access. This criticism is essentially the New Urbanism school of thought.

While we think that the GTA's sprawl is bad, it really isn't in relative terms. The GTA has never religiously adopted this pure cul-de-sac road network, but that doesn't mean we're not guilty of transit-unfriendly street patterns, as we too have adopted a strict hierarchial curvilinear road network structure in residential neighbourhoods from the 1970s to the 1990s.

As a way to reverse these old mistakes, and to encourage more permeability for car and pedestrian gtraffic around the neighbourhood, New Urbanist principles have since been adopted in almost all new low-rise residential subdivisions in Greater Toronto. It can easily be witnessed in new developments in Markham, Vaughan, and to a lesser extent Brampton.

Wow, my love for cul-de-sacs ended up being a long discussion about planning. I apologize as it really wasn't my intention. Yes, I love cul-de-sacs. But as a disclaimer, I'd like to say that I love cul-de-sacs, but only in close moderation.

Cut to the chase...
I'm going to segue into a small anecedote about numerous conversations I have had in the office today.

But first, some context: Our beloved Paolo tells me that he has frequent street parties and BBQ events with families on his cul-de-sac street in London. He tells me while we all talk about the issues of cul-de-sacs, he actually enjoys his close-knit street-oriented neighbourhood, and it actually is quite refreshing to see how much life there can be in a suburban neighhourhood. Because seriously, I doubt there are many closely-knitted surburban neighhourhoods like Wisteria Lane.

Anyways, on the the story-- while talking with one fellow co-worker on Monday, he told me that he, too, had a street BBQ, and quickly, I asked him whether he lives on a cul-de-sac.

He told me he did. Wowsers. I thought to myself if it was a tradition for cul-de-sac residents or something.

Surprise surprise? I truly do think that the way that homes in cul-de-sacs are oriented towards a centre loop encourages more social cohesion. Also, I figure that they know and can easily spot their neighhours because there really is no reason for outsiders to be entering the street.

I am very jealous of these neat street parties, and I seriously doubt that anything could be organized on my Markham pseudo-crescent street.

To all the residents of cul-de-sac streets, I salute you.

Cul-de-sac - [wikipedia.org]
New Urbanism - [wikipedia.org]

I'm back at work now, and I had a chance to do some field work up in the northwest quadrant of the city, in an area widely undiscovered to me. I have never been to York Uniersity before, and to be honest, I wasn't very thrilled about going initially, just because I assumed that it would jus tbe another suburban campus like Waterloo.

But seriously, I was surprised how completely beautiful the campus is! The views are astonishing from the campus centre Student Common. The whole campus itself has the tranquil feeling of a suburban campus, without the feeling of being dead and mundane. The architecture doesn't resemble a dated institutional look, and it reflects those cool lifestyle retail centres.

Vari Hall, the campus focal point, similar to U of T's University College, proudly stands outlooking a beautiful expansive space in front of it.

Waterloo's focal point, arguably the Dana Porter Library, is without any grandeur and stands almost timidly behind South Campus Hall, which to me is the awfully the worst building on campus in its interior and exterior.

Despute York holidng the record for having the largest university campus in Canada, the buildings at York are highly concentrated in the centre of the campus. A recent massive capital expansion of university facilities brings very exciting times for York.

Not only are they building plenty, they're building well. In fact, an active streetscape of modern glass structures is quickly emerging on the east portions of Ian MacDonald Blvd. Above is the expanded Schulich School of Business.

While there was a major controversy many years ago with York selling its southern property to private townhouse developers, I believe that the development complements well with that urban lifestyle character of the neighbourhood. Though stacked townhouse would be my ideal density for the area. Above is a picture a typical New Urbanist facade at the Village at York University.

Oh yes, how can I forget about the York Lanes Mall and the adjacent Student Centre. It's very cool. It is great to actually have shops and restaurants in the centre of campus. Waterlosers, could you imagine perhaps the University Plaza in a indoor shopping complex in campus, instead of being just outside it? That would rock. The neatest thing about the Student Centre is the peripheral canopy that helps connect Vari Hall to York Lanes. From what I understand, the horizonal glass panels are raised up during the summer months to extend the outdoors, and they are pulled down during the winter mto shelter students from the elements.

I hear that the Student Common area is a transit nightmare. But because it is already the Spring term, I couldn't experience it. Too bad. But just looking around, I could sense the madness, since the TTC takes up the entre north side of the York Blvd Loop, where each route has its designated bus stop, while GO Transit takes up the entire south side of the loop. The TTC alone operates six routes: 60C/F Steeles West, 35E Jane, 106 York University, 196 York University Rocket, 41/B Keele, 107 Keele North, and 35E Jane.

I also forgot YRT/VIVA, which operates on-street on Ian MacDonald Blvd.

York U is transit crazy, and good on them for being green! And look how cordially York students line up for the bus!

Lastly, I have to give major kudos to York's wayfinding signs. It is clearn, modern, consistent, and are all over campus! Their logo is embedded on all signage and brings about an appealing visual identity for the campus.

I love the campus so much! I am just so amazing at how well it was able to reverse its suburban dullness that was so prevalent in post-war universisties into something much more grand and captivating. If it's any indication, the original campus 'ring road' network and the bisecting Black Creek is almost identical to Wateroo. Given that Waterloo and York was constructed under similar plans, why has York done so much more for themselves? I guess it helps when you have a campus with 50,000 students...

York University - [yorku.ca]
York University - [wikipedia.org]

Jump for joy folks.

The first installment of 2006 Canadian Census has been released. It includes only population and dwelling counts for the entire nation.

If you're a planning nerd like me, you will realize the excitement of getting to use an updated set of data of the nation's most expansive survey. Census information is a pivotal source for research and decision making tool.

Here's some highlights from the Star:

• Population growth:
  • By Province:
    • Ontario and Alberta is responsible for two-thirds of all population growth.
    
    
    • Quebec and BC is reponsible for the most of the remaining one-third of population growth
    
    
    • Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador were the only two provinces with a population decrease
    
    
  • By Municipality
    • Milton led the nation in growth - 71% since the 2001 Census.
    
    
    • Brampton, Vaughan, and Whitby are the other Ontario municipalities in the top 10
    
    
  • By Census Metropolitan Area
    • Toronto CMA grew 9.2% to 5,113,149 since 2001
    
    
    • Kitchener CMA just missed the top ten in population, which grew 8.6% to 451,235 since 2001
    
    
    • Calgary and Edmonton CMA's grew the fastest at 13.4% and 10.4% respectively.
      
      • Both CMA's reached the 1,000,000 mark during two census studies.
• Immigration and the world:
  • Canada had the highest growth rate (5.4%) of all G8 countries, followed by the US (5.0%) and Italy (3.1%).
    • While Canada's fertilty rate is lower than the US, we experienced much greater population growth due to immigration.
  • CBC reports that immigration could become the only source for population growth by 2030, when the peak of the baby boomers born in the 1950s and early '60s reach the end of their lifespans

I'm not sure if I'm just a planning nerd or if it's just my Chinese consumerist ways, but I decided that I wanted to check out the new Walmart Supercentre in Stouffville on a Friday night.

As you may be aware, Walmart recently opened three Supercentre locations in Ancaster, London, and Stouffville. They call them "Supercentres" because not only do they have the regular selections that you would expect from a Walmart, but they have an in-store grocery store.

Though many of the "smaller" format Walmarts (irony?) already stock some grocery items-- mostly preserved goods, these Supercentre stores carry everything from produce, meats, deli, bakery. I have seen these Supercentres in many areas when travelling to the US, many of which are often pretty dingy looking. For that reason, I was curious to check out how the Canadian adaptation is compared to the American counterparts.

So after a half-hour drive from Markham, I arrived at the store, which was surrounded by undeveloped land. I guess that doesn't come as any surprise; it's the Walmart way. Find the cheapest land available, and change the urban landscape forever.

Anyways, I can start to see a ring-road retail road structure, and I definitely expect to see other retail pads to be built in the site in the future. Once inside, your first reation is 'Whoa'. Serioysly, there's nothing to say but 'whoa'. It's that big.

The main store arterials are exceptionally wide, and really diminishes that feeling of product claustrophobia that I often get when shopping at the its "nanostores".

The store colour palette in the interior and exterior is very different than the other Walmarts. The store walls are not grey with the infamous red and navy stripes, it has a much more confortable tan colour. The floor tiles similarly are a darker tan colour. The store signage materials are an improvement; there's a bit more colour other than the large black-text on-white-back price signs.

It is my assumption that all the "smaller" stores will also reflect this new colour palette. The new Fairview Park store in Kitchener recently underwent renovations and looks similar to this.

So, how was the experience? Wonderful. You can't stop but say "whoa, it's huge!" It's definitely your one-stop shop for everything that you can possibly need. It was very spacious, and not a bit crowded. Mind you that I was shopping at 11pm in the evening.

So, how was the service? Exceptional. Perhaps it's because the employees are new, and haven't encoutered any real craziness like the other stores. I don't expect the store to get that "crazy", since the store is seriously in the middle of nowhere.

So, how was the prices? Pretty cheap. The general merchandise stuff is the same as the other stores. But the grocery items are undeniably cheap. Perhaps even cheaper than No Frills.

So, the bottom line, would you go there again? No. The experience is great, but seriously, it took me a half-hour to get there. Sure, it's convenient to have all you need to buy under one roof and one bill, but what is the overall benefit? Wouldn't the 30-minute drive to Stouffville actually exceed the time if I were just to go to Markville and head to Loblaws afterwards? Definitely.

Would my decision change when the Scarborough location is built? Maybe. But at the same time, it looks like the competition is fierce. Today, I realized that a Real Canadian Superstore is expected to open in the periphery retail pads at Scarborough Town Centre.

At this time, Wal-Mart has plans to open up to 14 new Supercentres in 2007.

Walmart Canada - [walmart.ca]
Walmart Canada - [wikipedia.org]
Real Canadian Superstore - [superstore.ca]
Real Canadian Superstore - [wikipedia.org]

Planning nerd alert!

Can you recognize which municipality (old or new) these street signs originate? Some are easy for obvious reasons. Answers are below.

Click for a larger view

Matthew Blackett of Spacing recently wrote about the form and function of Toronto's new street signs, and it's time for me to contribute my few cents on them.

I'm sure many of you have already become very accustomed to seeing our new street signs which have been slowly installed in streets across the city in the past years.

Allow me to define a few terms before I begin: 'Signal-level' street signs are the new blue background street signs affixed adjacent to traffic signals (Sign #15), while 'pedestrian-level' street signs are the smaller blue or white background street signs (Signs #2 and #8).

Let's begin with the signal-level street signs. I really do like these signs. I think that the font is clear, legible yet stylish-- I later learned that the font is called ClearviewHwy. I do appreciate how the signs are in upper- and lower-case and that the the street type is displayed in superscript and consistently abbreviated.

York Region and Mississauga have implemented a similar signal-level signs program, however they definitely did not execute it as well as Toronto. In the case of York Region, an all-caps Arial Narrow type font was used (disgusting!). Also, there are no consistency in the the street type format-- some are spelt out, some are abbreviated, some our superscripted, some are not. It's so frustrating having to see one of those signs. Argh!

Mississauga is not any better when it comes to the large street signs. Although it maintains a uppercase/lowercase format, the text is stretched/compressed so as to fit the entire width of the sign-- this makes it extremely hard to read, especially when you may have a two street signs one on top of each other indicating the different names on either sides of the street.

Perhaps I will post some pictures of York and Mississauga's street signs, when I get my hands on some.

Let's return to Toronto and talk about the pedestrian-level signs. Here I agree with Matthew Blackett's exerpt that the new signs look like "cheap knockoffs [...], which are bereft of any kind of sophistication." In the former City of Toronto, streets were blessed with the older "3D" embossed signs-- and it really reflected this quality old craftsmanship. The new signs inherited similar elements like the peaktop in the middle but I hate the fact that it is completely flat-- thus making them look cheaply made. It's like Toronto bought a fake LV bag and placed it on every corner. If there was no intention to make them "3D" and embossed, then perhaps the City could've just started a completely new design-- I think that I would've accepted it better.

I also find the new pedestrial-level signs uncomfortably large. Nevertheless, I can accept this as being a progressive step towards better accessibility.

But what I find most disappointing is the continuing homogenization of the former municipalities of Metro Toronto. Sure you can say that the suburban parts of Toronto were "homogenized" from their suburban-ness, but it just seems like there are ever-decreasing indications that the former muncipalities of Toronto, like Scarborough, was once its own city. I feel that street signs can provide strong build a sense of community character-- and therefore, if I had any power in decision-making in Toronto, I would incorporate elements related to the former municipalities into the design.

In the meantime, take a picture of your home street signs-- before they disappear over time.

Answers:
1. Kingsview Blvd - City of Etobicoke
2. Cambridge Av - City of Toronto (New Design)
3. Sesame St - City of Scaborough
4. Logan Av & Floyd Av - Borough of East York
5. Nealon Av - Borough of East York (without logo)
6. College St - Former City of Toronto
7. Strawberry Hills Dr - City of Scaborough
8. Torrens Av - Borough of East York
9. Jane St & Finch Av - City of North York
10. Abtibes Dr & Drewry Av - City of Toronto (New Design)
11. Torrens Av - Borough of East York
12. Nassau St & Bellevue Av - Former City of Toronto
13. Mike Myers Dr - City of Scaborough
14. Goldfinch Ct & Finch Av - City of North York
15. Shuter St - City of Toronto (New Design)

PS: Does anyone have a picture of those imfamous yellow lit downtown street signs that were widespread in the early 90's? Those were just awful, but I'd love a picture for memorabilia's sake.

Toronto Street Signs - [spacing.ca]
Search: Toronto Street Signs - [flickr.com]
New Toronto Street Signs, Revisited - [andrewspicer.com]

I'm going to interrupt my regularly scheduled programming of Oxford pictures for a rant.

As all of you all know, I take the 53 Steeles East bus everyday to and from work, and I have noticed for a while now that there are no garbage/recycle bins at any of the bus stops along Steeles from Warden to about Markham Road.

Many of these stops are infested with beverage cups, burger wrappers-- you name it. The situation gets worse when people attempt to place their garbage in those free media boxes (i.e. the Big Yellow Box), which means the garbage is never collected.

I am not a big fan of The Fixer, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a few phone calls.

I figured that because the bus stops going westbound are north of Steeles, it should be within Markham's jurisdiction to take care of it. After being transfered several times, I was told that because TTC operates the Steeles route, it is the City of Toronto's responsibility.

Fine.

I found out that it is the responsibility of transportation services in the Scarborough district--now the "East District"--to look after public garbage bins, and gave them a call. I was told that it was Markham's responsibility, because it is north of Steeles.

So now what?

My garbage bin dilemma is great example of the problems related to today's municipal structure-- this lack of coordination spreads from all areas such as the provision of capital infrastructure and social services, as well as dealing with growth and environmental management.

You can use pesticides in York Region, but not in Toronto. What good is that for the environment when we reside in the same watershed? My closest library is actually the Alton Towers branch-- but I cannot use it because I'm not a Toronto resident. I take the TTC everyday to work, but as a Markham resident, I don't contribute to transit subsidies. All GTA municipalities essentially function as one economic unit, so why should we be governed separately? It all seems so counter-intuitive.

This is why I'm so keen on better regional planning. I truly believe that a GTA regional governance structure-- an superimposed regional council including Toronto, York, Peel, Durham and Halton-- will really help to even out the playing field for Greater Toronto.

This idea is nothing new, the Greater Toronto Services Board was created by the conservative government in 1998 "to promote and facilitate co-ordinated decision making among the municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area", but was disbanded in 2002 after huge criticisms that it was "hobbled by a small budget, (and) a fuzzy mandate."

Surely there are some tweaks that need fixing for the GTSB, but I believe that the provincial Conservatives were onto something--they simply gave up too soon. If we provided it (1) authority over land-use planning (2) increased taxing powers, (3) oversees all regional services equitably. The third point may be harder than I make it sound, but I won't go any further, as this topic is a thesis in itself.

As for my garbage dilemma, there continues to be a tug-of-war between the two municipalities and the City of Toronto will get back to me when they have resolved the issue, but when?

Until then, garbage will continue to fill newspaper boxes. It's a great day for Toronto.

Update- June 13:
City of Toronto got back to me, and informed me that they will be taking care of both sides of Steeles Ave when it comes to garbage bins. But, at this time, the City is out of bins to install, we will have to wait until a new shipment will arrive. She could not tell me a date in which it will be installed.

Developing the Framework for a Greater Toronto Services Board - [mah.gov.on.ca]
Regional planning and transit: adequate funding is the key - [transport2000qc.org]
Neglect breeds sprawl - [eye.net]
Greater Toronto Services Board Act, 1998 - [e-laws.gov.on.ca]

Sometimes, I feel like I'd make a really bad planner. Let me explain.

As many of you know, I'm currently working part-time for the Planning department as an information mangement assistant-- doing mostly rather mundane things such as administrative duties. Nevertheless, I don't mind it, it's a good break from the work I do at school.

Recently, with a lot of the admin work aside, I've been working on some promotional material for the school-- which involves my favourite Photoshop and Illustrator. Oh how I love thee.

Anyways, I presented my work to the planning ladies, only to find suprisingly quite a bit of criticism. Mind you, the comments were constructive, but inside my heart, I was quite disappointed. I went from Gill Sans (My latest favourite font, thanks to Larry-- Sorry Century Gothic, you've served your time), to Arial (GASP). From a trendy green pallate to gold (GASP-- Waterloo and their Gold). From portrait to landscape (not so GASP, but still).

My point is that I hate compromising my designs. As what Limp Bizkit always says (I know, so inspirational, that man), I like it "my way or the [congested] highway."

Call me a design / planning nazi. I don't care. Just don't make me compromise. It think that it is quite sad beacause my little incident is the microcosm of the realities of the Planning field.

We compromise almost everything.

Private consultants compromise by building further unsustainable unsustainable suburban development in the pursuit for money. Policy people compromise their ideas and beliefs from the always demanding public-- not to mention the lack of public funds. Urban designers, you compromise with your team members. Environmental planners compromise... well, because generally people just don't care.

Just as an aside, I refuse to believe that our main objective is to "facilitate." We need to be more than that. Let's move the planning field back closer to the rational-comprehensive model, and give the power back to the Planners! I feel I speak for many planners in that we refuse to compromise.

Now more than ever, I would like to establish my communist island.

Compromise is the devil. Banish compromise with the outside world, and I'll be a happy camper.

Now that we've got that covered, how can we avoid compromise within the planning profession? One can only dream.

Seriously, how could I resist not writing about Markham?

The GTA section of today's Toronto Star [Bugmenot] discussed the success of the new Green Bin program. I remember just two months ago, we were greeted by infamous suburban signage in public parks town-wide-- introducing us to the Mission Green initiative and the new bin that is hitting town. I was quite excited when we first received our Green Bin welcome pack-- which included the Green Bin, the mini green bin, and the hip instructional DVD-- which, by the way, is excellent.

Although it took time to get used to, my family has learned to accept this new process of sorting out "waste" in our home. I get this crazy giddy feeling every time I have an opportunity to put something in there, whether it is small things like nail clippings, to large things like watermelon skin.

My mother has definitely been the strongest advocate for ensuring that Green Bin items go into the Green Bin-- not primarily because she's pro-environment, but because she just loathes having garbage sit at home for two full weeks.

Since the start of the Green Bin initiative, the Town changed its collection schedule to have Blue Box and Green Bin items collected weekly, while the remaining waste (now known as residue) will be collected bi-weekly. This I think has made the community think twice before they throw anything, especially as it has been so hot and humid the past few weeks. Councillor Jack Heath had this appropriate quote:

We call it a little bit of tough love... If you want to hold on to the yucky stuff for two weeks, you can, or you can put out your green bin once a week.

According to the Star, 66% of Markham's garbage is being diverted away from Michigan landfill sites. From my personal household observation, however, the proportion doesn't seem that high. Though I do notice that we continue to only have one garbage can full of residue, albeit more full, with the new bi-weekly residue collection arrangement.

I recently had a conversation about Green Bins, and we brought up a few noteworthy points:

• Organics are being diverted at the small expense of additional bin liners. The Town requires that we keep our large and mini-Green Bins clean by lining them with plastic bags. I'm unsure whether the bags are later recycled.


• How are plastic bags removed from the organics? See Page Two


• How do we encourage people living in flats to support Mission Green? (Not that there's many highrises in Markham.) From my personal experience living in rez, my roommates are sometimes too lazy to bring the items down to the ground level.

In addition to the Green Bin, the Mission Green program introduced new materials that are accepted in the Blue Box, including paint and aerosol cans, and all Plastics 1 thru 7. Sadly for take-out kings like our family, polystyrene is still not accepted, and must be taken to recycling depots.

In 1995, Carole Bell, then-Deputy Mayor of Markham, made comments about the Chinese community that cause a disturbing turbulence in the Town which rippled across Greater Toronto and the international Chinese community.

With the increase in immigration from South and Southeast Asia, retail concepts that reflect the needs and wants of the Asian community became increasingly popular. She stated that many of the new retail developments in Markham catered only to the Chinese community, and many of the stores which only carried Chinese store signage.

In the meeting in York Regional Council in Newmarket, Bell made the following remarks:

The growing concentration of Chinese in Markham was causing long time residents, the "backbone" of the community to feel unwelcome.

Everything is going Chinese. This is a racial monopoly [...]. We have citizens demanding we pass by-laws prohibiting signage in a language we can't read [...] at Chinese malls whose developers are focusing on one group, giving the impression [...] that non-Chinese basically weren't welcome [...]. The growing concentration of ethnic groups is causing social conflict.

The statements that were made at the Regional Council meeting was just a tip of the iceberg that was to follow. As the public outcry began to take place in the Town, Bell refused to take back her words and further had this to say in an open letter to the editor in the Markham Economist & Sun:

When dozens of individuals who are the backbone of Markham say they are moving away, as dozens of other neighbors and friends have, then we have a problem that must be addressed [...]. We once had one of the finest communities in North America with enviable business parks and the top corporations in the land. Now all we get are theme malls to serve people way beyond our borders [...]. We need to strive for harmony not monopoly.

This is my feeble attempt to collect the quotes that Bell spoke of. I have a lot to say, but I'm having trouble to find out how to best communicate them.

Bell: The Good Things (or "Dings"):
Let's start with the good. I give her credit for being forthright about the her and her constituent's concerns, it's never better to just shy away from our problems due to, what it seems to be these days, an excess of political correctness. I'm sure she's not the only resident who felt concerned-- apprehensive even-- about the rapid migration of Chinese migrants to the area. I think that it's great that we're at least talking about it, rather than having these issues built up.

The Sign[s]- Ace of Base:
I'm going to start by talking about the issue of exclusively Chinese signs on store frontages. First, I agree with her that having signs in Chinese does damper and indirectly exclude other ethnicities from feeling welcome into the area. If I to enter my community to suddenly to only find, say, Italian writing for example, I too may feel partly snubbed and alienated.

However, at the same time, I have the mentality where "why should I care?" If these businesses are dumb enough to only cater to Chinese people, well then that's their fucking loss. They clearly are neglecting a much larger market of customers and it is these businesses that will eventually suffer. So yeah, power to the bilingual signs and power to the people (...all people).

Politicians don't "ring" well without accountability:
There are a lot of contradictions on what she's stated. She denies that her remarks were racially motivated and that all she was doing was voicing the opinions of her constituents. Shea adds that we shouldn't, as she calls it, "shoot the messenger." I must say she has squeezed out the last drop of integrity that's left in her. It is one thing to make remarks about a particular community, and it is another to not accept responsibility for her words-- claiming that it was from her constituents.

Fine, politicians may act as a voice for constituents and sometimes may not reflect the politician's views, however, in the "Multicultural Markham, 10 years on" article in the Star on Canada Day, she says:

I don't live in Markham anymore. I am not going to comment on the diversity in Markham.

Cheers to the lack of accountability. Here here. Her latest comment really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, like sip of warm beer.

"Monopoly": Don't speak English, don't collect $200.
It was a different time ten years ago, I will admit that there was at the time an ever-increasing Chinese population in the community-- almost seeming like it wasn't going to end. However, I want to be clear that not now and not ever will Markham be "monopolised" to a Chinese town. Her "everything's going Chinese" remark clearly displays her xenophobic views about the Chinese community. It almost sounds as she thinks that we're an army of Chinese immigrants that are ready to penetrate and conquer Markham. It's like it should be plastered on headline news "Beware, the Chinese people are coming! They're going to get their tanks and crush this place! Ahhh!"

I want to affirm that Markham has never been catered only to Chinese people. In 2005, ten years after the controversy, the Chinese still only account for just under 30% of Markham's population according to Statistics Canada. Sure, the Chinese may be the largest ethnic group in the town, but where I live, in the heart of the "ethnic enclave," is home to people of all ethnic groups: Indians, Sri Lankans, Jamaicans, Latin Americans, Eastern Europeans, and people from the Caribbean-- or better known today as Canada's largest immigrant groups. So to say that we as Chinese people huddle exclusively together is ignorant and offends our community. Markham is town of immigrants--that in fact is true. The Chinese demographic is simply one of those immigrant group components.

Economic Development Depression:
Let's switch gears to economic development. In 1995, we apparently have "enviable business parks." Now in 2005, we talk about how unsustainable they've become, so definitely, they're not something to be bragging about.

I'm digressing again. Bell seems to suggest that business parks have greatly contributed to the Markham economy (and rightly so), but ethnic malls do not. However, believe it or not, Chinese people are also generators of economic development. Several notes to observe:

1. Chinese people are tax-paying citizens (30% to be exact), you know, the people who paid for whiners like Bell.
2. Customers at Asian-themed malls earn money, and then spend money at these malls- money that that then benefits the local community. More money means more jobs, more jobs means more taxes, more taxes mean more money again for whiners like Bell.

So what seems to be the problem? I don't see how these developments deter economic growth.

More on the economic development forefront-- no, better yet, economic discouragement. She thinks that Markham has Asian-themed Malls that "serve way beyond our borders." Since when did we only want to create development that only serves our "borders"? Come to think of it, wouldn't it be better than store owners reach a broader range of customers from across the region, so maybe be able to capture more money in the town? Remember my spiel about "more money for whiners like Bell"? That applies here too.

Sure people might point the gun at the increased traffic that may occur-- which is true-- Pacific Mall for example is a traffic nightmare. But we need to realize that traffic is caused by the lack of transport alternatives, not because of Asian-themed malls.

Good Bye "High-Tech Capital"?
Tying into the previous topic, what Bell seems to be suggesting is that we should scale down all our developments to serve the only local community or the "borders," as you will. Perhaps this due to the "small-town syndrome" that plagues many of the peripheral towns of large urban centres (I completely loathe this). In our car-oriented environment, it is certainly common for someone to be living in one community and work and shop in another. So what's the problem of interregional developments? From what I understand, she feels that we should scale down operations at IBM, Motorola, HP and ATI because obviously we should only limit jobs to those only who live in the "borders." Right.

Thank the lord that she's not our mayor, because if she was, not only will there be no Chinese people living here, there will be, well, no one.

Ethnic Enclaves and "Social Conflict":
Bell suggested that the concentration of ethnic groups cause social conflict. However, in Canada, the concentration of ethnic groups is nothing new as evident in many communities in the GTA. A large population of Italians live in Woodbridge, Jewish in Forest Hill and Thornhill, South Asians in Brampton, the Greeks on the Danforth. So to target the Chinese community and to denounce them as perpetrators of "social conflict" is unwarranted and unfair. All these neighbourhoods are vibrant, functional, and contribute to society and the economy. She seems to lack the understanding that immigrants often have the feeling of "homesickness" and may want to possess something or be in a place that strikes familiarity to them. Canada is undeniably a diverse and generally accepting country, but settling here from a foreign country still does not come easy (I will touch on this topic later).

Now in 2005, there are definitely more peaceful times in the Town of Markham, and definitely not the "redneck capital of Canada" as what articles suggested. People, to what I feel, seem to get along with one another and I feel that the town has achieved that "cultural mosaic" here we should be truly proud of.

In my next installment, I want to touch on the issue of my life as Asian here in Markham and my views on the larger community and the future.

Related Reading:
If you happen to be at the Markham Village library (Main Street Markham & Highway 7), take a look at the media clippings section. There were among almost a hundred articles in the Toronto Star, Economist & Sun and local papers across the GTA that covered this story. All interested should check it out.

• Knowing the neighbours [thestar.com]
• Subtle flavour in Vaughan [thestar.com]
• An economy unto itself [thestar.com]
• A little piece of the Punjab [thestar.com]
• Where the plaza is just like 'home' [thestar.com]
• Faith, family, gefilte fish and Friday nights [thestar.com]

Comment me your thoughts; I may be biased, as I am Chinese. I'd love to hear from you.

My discussion begins with a bit of background to provide you a little flavour of the changes in change cultural landscape in Markham. I may go a little off-topic from time to time (as you may realize), so please forgive me.

First off, Carole Bell. How could I mention Markham's ethnic relations without referring to Bell? The infamous Carole Bell was the Deputy Mayor of Markham back the late-1980s, early 1990s. She caused major uproar in the Chinese community when criticized that "everything's going Chinese" in the town.

If only I get a dollar every time the quote is mentioned. I have simply lost count of the times the comment was quoted over the years particularly in newspapers and planning literature. She denounced that the influx of migrants from Hong Kong was creating a "racial monopoly" that might drive away the "backbone of Markham" better known as the established white population.

Specifically, Bell was very much concerned about the proliferation of Asian-themed malls during that time, namely the huge redevelopment of the Kennedy and Steeles better known today as Pacific Mall / Market Village. This is the when the nitty-gritty backgrounder material begins.

Cullen Country Barns: Before the Redevelopment
Before the construction of Pacific Mall once stood a large barn which was later converted into a large cultural antique shop and upscale garden nursery called Cullen Country Barns-- which is the same owner has Cullen Gardens Miniature Village in Pickering. This place sold probably the most train sets, stain glass crafts, antique Christmas decorations, dream catchers, beaded art and other nostalgic paraphernalia anywhere in the GTA. This area, which is complementary to the neighbouring Market Village, had the feel of a small German cultural small town comparable to the St. Jacob's Farmers Market.

Market Village: Where are the people?
The area around Market Village, which was then a little more than six years old, was intended to mock the traditional Anglo-Saxon "Main Street" concept but adapted for the suburban car-oriented landscape.

Since its construction in the late 1980's, Market Village has gone through many phases of redevelopment. This is quite evident now as you might feel the mall lacks a sense of cohesion-- parts of the complex hold the different retail atmospheres. The original indoor market area (aptly known as "The Market") only stretched along the corridor from where Green Grove Bubble Tea to the Korean restaurant (facing Steeles Avenue) now stands.

The remaining areas such as the food court, and the retail strip from the LCBO to Food Fair Supermarket was exposed to the elements. This is where the small town mock "Main Street" once stood- with fake traditional gas lit lights, and brick facade storefronts.

You might recall the Bandshell around the area of the food court. I remember during Canada Day, people would congregate around there and listen to the instrumental tunes that the local Markham band played on stage. However, despite some success during holiday special events, the outdoor portion of the Market Village development never took off; while the indoor portion of the mall became progresively more busy as we begin to see the rise of Chinese fish markets, vegetable stands and butcher shops.

Despite some success in the indoor portion of the development, many stores remain empty, mainly because Markhamites continued to perfer "real" traditional environment at Main Street Unionville and Main Street Markham.

Market Village: Restructure and Rebuild
In the early 1990s, Market Village was redeveloped by Cedarland Properties to "meet the changing demographics of the surrounding markets in Scarborough, Markham and Richmond Hill" (from marketvillage.net)- namely the rising Chinese population (which includes yours truly). Since the change in controllership, "The Market" portion of Market Village became an instant success and retail space was quickly occupied.

Cedarland thought that they may be on to something and decided to enclose the space around the Bandshell performance area (now the Food Court) and the LCBO-Food Fair Supermarket corridor into an expanded indoor shopping complex (know as the Phase Two development project). This is the reason why the corridor looks so awfully weird, as the roof was superimposed on the existing outdoor environment.

"Golden Food Market" (Chinese people and their shitty business names) once stood a "Home Hardware" home improvement concept called Cashway. At the time, Cashway was not yet connected to the indoor mall until redevelopment in Phase Three. Nothing much has changed since 1995s Phase Three development. The arguably the most exciting development at Market Village was the Club Monaco Outletstore, which then moved to the cheap rent location at the Woodside Centre (across from First Markham Place)

In 1994, when the community started to realize how unreasonably expensive Cullen Country Barns became to be, people became to treat it as an interesting museum, rather than a store. As a result, business slowed and the store folded. Observing the success of the newly Asian-themed Market Village which flanked Cullen, Living Properties acquired the space occupied by Cullen, demolished it, and built what we all know today as Pacific Mall.

Pacific Mall: The Beginning of Controversy
The development of Pacific Mall was without a doubt the spark that led to the Carole Bell controversy. The destruction of the of the European-influenced Farmer's Market and Cullen Country Barns into these Asian retail centres accurately portrayed and instilled fear that there is this (which I hate to call it) "Asian Invasion."

This concludes my first entry on the contextual background of the Markham cultural evolution. In the following entry, I will further discuss the Carole Bell controversy and the personal viewpoints about it.

FYI: Recently, Pacific Mall / Market Village have put forth plans to further exapand its retail space for an additional 400,000 square feet of retail space, a new luxury hotel tower and a multi-level parking structure. Say hello to more traffic headaches-- that is another entry in itself.

Related Articles:

• Multicultural Markham, 10 years on [thestar.com]


• Pacific Mall Growing Up [yorkregion.com: Economist and Sun]

Just a small rant on the environmental front. This one really puts me to shame, especially being a York resident.

As you might have read in the news, York Regional Council "unanimously" approved a Big Pipe extention that cuts right through the sensitive lands of the Oak Ridges Moraine. [Read Article]

The project, which involves laying down sewer pipes along 19th Avenue between Yonge and Leslie in Richmond Hill, has significant environmental impacts because it will pump substantial water resources (up to 66 billion litres, according to environmentaldefence.ca) underground water from the Oak Ridges Moraine.

This is definitely another wake up call, as it seems as though York intends to spark further urban sprawl into areas in King Township and the northern stretches of Vaughan. I am disappointed that although York has been so adamant to bring upon a viable transportation alternative and more sustainable communities -- with the Viva BRT project and the creation of "Transit Communities" in 4 new high-density nodes (See Markham Centre)-- that we continue to see the subsidy for further urban sprawl. It seems as though there is a great will to provide for sustainable development, but once again, no one in the Region have and political guts to stand up against these sprawl development initiatives.

They see it as there's nothing to lose. More development yields more property taxes and more development charges. Sounds good economically no?-- of course, we've neglected the long-term effects on the environment.

Meanwhile, curbing sprawl is easy: stop providing water/wastewater infrastrucutre to new areas. No water infrastrucure yields no urban development-- it's as simple as that.

What is most disturbing is that Bill Fisch, the Region's Chair and CEO, stated that the sewer connection will not damange the natural area because it will run underground.

He makes a remarkable point. If we stash things underground, things will magically heal itself. Riiight. There is apparently no ecological connectivity once structures are placed beneath the soil. Yep. So burying radioactive wastes would be okay too because yes, it would run underground.

Yes, this is the man that we've put in charge to run our region. It is sad that he was caught in the media stating such irresponsible, absurd and ignorant comments.

I think he needs to hire me as a co-op sudent to write him some background briefing notes before he opens his mouth.

Politicians. What would they do without civil servants?

He was also stated in the article as saying "we're putting the environment way ahead of almost anyone else in the province," now I'm quite disillusioned on what exactly he believes is taking that "environmental" step.

Right now, it all comes down to whether Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of the Environment, will approve this project or not. She better have a good set of Reseach Analysts! But really, with the Liberal government's strive for more sustainable growth, and the recent Greenbelt and Places to Grow (which passed Royal Assent a few weeks ago) initiatives-- not to mention a possible violation with the Canada Fisheries Act-- lets hope they'll be able to stop the enviornmental madness.

Hmm, I'm totally having blogging writers block-- but the disappearance of the most recent entry has called me to at least write something.

So instead, I realized pictures are worth a thousand words. So here you are. I scrounged through my sister's computer to find some interesting pictures I've taken back this summer. Yes, one of those totally crazy days of boredom that weirdly becomes a good time.

Meet my sister's cushon. It's actually kind of freaky, especially in the middle of the night. It always looks like it's staring at me. Ah!

Bowie's Home Alone rendition-- too bad the cushon didn't have a screaming expression

Here's me as Paris Hilton and her Chihuahua. I look so pretty.

Here's me in bed with my lover.

NEW UW WEB FORMAT:
Waterloo has finally announced that transition to the new layout standard. Say goodbye to the Gold Standard that we've all become used to-- and sick of. The old format was tiresome, has way too many unnecessary images, and just doesn't work well for the visually impared. This new layout is refreshing, organized, and accessible for all users. I'm lovin' it, McDicks Waterloo.

You might have seen the new layout being implemented already: Jobmine, Research + Technology Park, AHS, Campaign Waterloo

I can't wait to update the School of Planning website. Ah! There's actually an info session this week for all the web developers. I'm so excited. Yes, I'm a nerd, and totally proud.

I LOVE MTR
Shima mentioned if I was on something for me thinking Leo looks like Usher-- well, and I sort of am.

I'm totally high on Hong Kong's MTR's transit expansion plans. (I know you're totally jealous of my beautufilly composed segue).

MTR, or "Mass Transit Railway" (I know, so creative) is exactly what it is-- the region's local mass transit system. They have major plans to extend its existing rail developments into the east and south sides of Hong Kong Island.

For those who may be interested:
Here's the proposal video. This is like better than porn. *drools* You guys should really check it out.

Also, you might know that Hong Kong, in its attempt to bring further promote is flourishing tourism industry, is the site of the newest Disneyland Resort. And of course, new developments mean new mass transit infrastructure. Disneyland is on the east coast of Lantau Island. The MTR will be creating a 3-km railway connection directly to the resort. Here are some potential designs of the train's interior. Here are project details.

Two words: TTC what?

Wait a minute, what happened to my writers block?

Yep, it's that time again, let's talk up KW.

First off, yes, here I go again, talking about this place we love so dearly........ yes I know what you're thinking, maybe you can give me a chance. And just for some Jepoardy trivia: all thanks to Leo, he made me realize that my Chinese initials are, too, "KW". Crazy boy.

So yeah, I donno... I was so bitter about being here in Waterloo in second year. I don't know why-- well actually I do know why, but is beyond the scope of this entry-- but just it was just not a fun year to be in. And one of those things that got to me is this darn city we call Waterloo.

But really, come to think of it, when you snap out of it for one second, Waterloo really isn't all that bad. It seems like it's has become so natural to the mouth to say how much we hate Waterloo, but when someone asked me this question several weeks back, I really don't have much of an answer.

I understand that people hate Waterloo because they associate the City with the institution. Surely I can understand that at times... it can be very frustrating and not fun. However, I feel that we will feel a lot better when we separate Waterloo from UW. I really think that I feel a lot better after doing this. Also, I went home too often last year-- to the point that you're only here in Waterloo for school and school only. No wonder I was totally bitter about this place.

Yes back to the question, I really can't think of what's bad in Waterloo. To be honest, besides the lack of authentic Chinese food and the crappy gay nitelife, there really isn't anything that you can do in Toronto that you can't do in Waterloo. Toronto surely has more alternatives of similar things... but the things you do are similar. Bubble tea, movies, clubbing, restaurants, karaoke, and shopping.. all can be done in KW-- and you can do all that cheaper! C'mon where else can you get 1.75 beers in Toronto? And where can you actually find XS and S sizes in the clearance section? Fairview Park Mall. Who needs Vaughan outlet malls, just go to Waterloo!

I really think that KW has potential to be a great city, if there just was better accessibility to ammenities. Right now, a resident without a car, is like a man without his legs (pardon my non-PCness)-- it's so hard to get anywhere. KW has a very unique culture. It has its own arts and sophistication. If you guys remember Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class and how hey thinks that people need a creative communities to produce products of innovation. I really see KW as potential to be that city. All we need is to revitalize and raise density in Uptown, and Downtown Kitchener, put in the much anticipated LRT line, and I really see KW being a great city.

KW has potential really because it's far enough from Toronto to really establish its own cultural centre, however Markham-- despite exciting plans for a downtown-- will remain a suburb of Toronto forever. Toronto will for eternity suck up any real arts, culture and entertainment-- all the creative things-- out of the GTA nodes.

Anyways, I'm writing this entry to remind myself that Waterloo is not so bad, in the case that I become viciously bitter again. The main gist of tonight's ramble is that KW has the capability to be a vibrant, creative city.

Its weird how I always end up rambling in these entries. I apologize for my little off-topic dicussions, and commend those who've made it this far in the entry. :P

goodbye and goodnight!

My apologies for my non-updatedness. There's lots to catch up on.

Camping was super-duper fun. Aside from the huge mosquito bites and the crazy cuts I got following off the tube when we were tubing on the gorge. Thanks to Ramanan, he managed to capture back some of those crazy memories. Here we all are all happy as we head towards the tubing starting point on the Grand River, and here is after I fell for off for the first time trying to catch up to some of the others, because of the previous gusty waves from earlier. Oh yeah, Ram is like the photography guru guy. His photos kick crazy ass, check out his photoblog and abuse his broadband.

What else about camping. OH yes, the mega-moaning from a particular mysterious tent. Lets crack down this mystery shall we? Detective Matt has discovered from this entry that Tiff has professed it was not from her tent, and I am certain it wasn't Shima's tent since the offensive sexual resonances just didn't seem to be coming from that direction. And I swear to all you planners that it was not me and Martina. C'mon trust me, if I really made someone moan like that, I would definitely admit it.

Consequently, I have narrowed it down to three possible suspected moaning culprits:
- Paolo & M-tuna (Yes I know, all three of us shared a tent, but you never know, they might have taken advantage of my tiredness but little did they know...)
- The "TWIT Bitch" (But then again, they said they had kids on the campsite, I don't think they would succumb their children's innocence
- The remaining third party, I won't name names. Yes, maybe the third party. Ahhh yes. The third party.

Case is closed.

But seriously, that was gross. Even for me, and I'm fucking dirty.

Oh yeah, speaking of dirty, Liz and Jeff made me an interesting birthday card!!! Let's just say that it involves a certain Calvin Klein underwear model and a pop up penis. I love it! You certainly can't get these at Hallmark!!! I must say, those architects can definitely create some good work!!! You can erect my structure anytime.

Oh oh, it has a great birthday message too, "Bon(er) Anniversaire!" Very creative guys! Even I can't think of that one! ;) and hopefully, Liz is right that I get "stimulated" soon.... academically that is. Thanks for all the signings, I love cards.

Oh yes, thanks to Les/Tiff and the Shimester for the transportationness. :)

My time back in Toronto has been fun. Went to Centre Island, $1 Ikea Breakfast, Kill Bill Marathon, managed to walk on Yonge from Dundas to Eglinton, not to mention from the Ferry Docks to Chinatown. Yikes.

I went back to Waterloo to do the billion errands I missed and of course, bring the shitload back to Toronto. Awww, I'm really going to miss my room. You really develop an attachment to it after one year; even those it was indeed a shitty house with the shitty small bathroom.

Oh yeah, I have news from the Planning. It's quite big (not me... well, yes it's big, but that's besides my point). Ajay is not with us anymore. He secured another professor job in the States, where is wife resides. I guess no more brutal urban design crits!! But actually, after working with him last term, he's a pretty good prof. For the time being, Michelle and Anu will be back to teach the design courses along with Karen, so planners keep your panties and manties on.

As much as we all complain about the Planning ladies, I like them. Yes, I'm the brainwashed planning co-op student. They're fun old ladies. They're so "see lai", and they've totally converted me to be as well. From healthy lifestyles, to gardening, to decorating. Forget acadmic advising, they should go into home design consulting! Me and MJ managed to talk about backyard gardens for like an hour. Becuase if her, I am determined to rip out the disgusting weeded lawn in the backyard make the awesomest garden.

I will not rest until I'm the Asian Martha Stewart! You'll see.....!!!

Ahhh yes, decided to blog today because I have, yet again, officially named today "slack day". Since my report i'm working on at work has passed the first milestone. I'm researching and analysing the the nature of the Planning co-op jobs and the qualifications necessary to filfil job requirements. It's funny, it's actually a report I enjoy writing-- not like those Planning Policy reports we wrote in PLAN103. AH!
This entry is awfully long-- i need to stop writing long entries. So i've anchored the entry:

• Christopher Hume (and Transit)
  
• Britney Spears (and Skanks)
  

Mr. Hume, my hero
So yes, I'm in love with Christopher Hume-- the Urban Issues columnist for the star. His articles are always enlightening and he really understands the needs for cities, especially neglected Toronto. :( Today he writes about the Queensway streetcar line which was proposed back in 1969, but has still not materialized.

Did you know that Toronto once used to be the primary visionary model for urban planning in North America? and of course that all changed with dismal transit funding in the past decades-- now it's Portland. Anyways, my point is again- I love Christopher Hume, you can see his articles here.

Speaking of public transit, Toronto is the home of a gizillion "ghost" subway tunnels, tunnels that were constructed but never completed. The Queen Street Subway line is one example-- There are actually remnants of tunnels still existing today. Though the Queen Street subway would be really cool and ease the lack of transit priority on the streetcar line, I don't suggest its reconstruction--it is already a well represented area.

Also, did you know that there's an abandoned subway station under the Bay Station? Called Lower Bay Station, tho the concept sounds really appealing-- it was closed after just months of operation back in the 60s. Bay Lower acted as a station that integrating the Bloor-Danforth Line to the Yonge Line-- so that essentially, you can take a train on the Danforth Line and end up at Union Station without getting off the train! Cool or what!?! But of course, this causes major logistical problems.

That's why you see those "NEXT TRAIN" signs in subways-- that seems somewhat useless nowadays. Here's some articles on Bay Lower: here, and here
Now the subway is used in a lot of films :D.

AHHHH! I lust for this stuff!

Mmmmmmmmmm Britney:
I went to see Britney Spears with John last Saturday! WOO! She was great and sexy as usual! Though not as good as her last concert. Called the "Onyx Hotel Tour" (whoring it away already, lol), she really skank's it up in this one. But that's okay, I like sluts.

There were five different themes, each portrayed as if she was at a different "hotel": (by the way, I made up these hotel names :D) I hope I remember everthing correctly; I should have took minutes.

All this done lip-synching of course, but that isn't a concern, i suppose. And the teen-y, and tween-y demographic was not the case at all-- a much older crowd of mostly twentysomethings. tho there were those annoy teens in front of us who stupidly got floor seats who couldn't see b/c they're short. they wanted to stand on the chair and watch, but will not tolerate crap. I'm a bitch, i know :D

hello hello.. yes... FINALLY.. that's crappy KISS92 is off the air... i never liked it since they changed to urban/hiphop.. and now it's called JACK FM... (dirty name dirty name).... all the crappy DJ's are gone (including Tarzan) but Mad Dog and Billie are staying (but they're getting annoying too). And the cooler DJs like Cory Kimm is at ChumFM.. good for him.... But kiss 92 definitely brought great pop memories... good old Backstreet Boys and Britney dayz.. man i miss bubble gum pop music.

yes.. i'm here to talk about the yonge-dundas square. but first, my week...not much saw Bruce Almighty-- funny, yet inspirational. Good stuff. And we're soooooo seeing "FINDING NEMO" right eugeners? (eugeners sounds like Engineers, LOL) yes.. and i worked a lot.. Chapters is getting a renovation YAY!.

Songs I'd like to mention:
> Jason Mraz: The Remedy (Good song, very John Mayer and Dave Matthews)
> Train: Calling All Angels (Not proud of this one, I just like it!)
> Chantal Kreviazuk: Time (Her happy music is good. I enjoy her)
> "Time Machine" Soundtrack: Professor Alexander Hartdegen (For those who like wind classical, this is the main theme from that great movie)

THE SQUARE:
As an planner, I'd like to share my take on an Urban Issue-- the Yonge/Dundas square. This overhyped and talked-upon project is, i think, a big disappointment. There was the great big grand opening bash two weeks ago. Opening of what exactly? For all those "UTSGC" (LOL. Bowie and I made it up: University of Toronto St. George Campus) students, I'm sure you've become very familiar to the your trip to the Eaton Centre.

Since the contruction of the Eaton Centre in the 70s, it has really sucked up the outdoor atmosphere of Toronto's Entertainment District (or lack there of). So the city decided to bring people back outside and provide a "sense of place" back to the busy Yonge and Dundas. Hence, they thought of the new square--good idea. But right now, what do you see? A cheap Times Square imitation advertising tower above the Gap (with the infamous LG ad) and not to mention the "lovely" block of nothing on the North-East corner-- which also has become the home of great L'Oreal Paris advertisements.

Where's the great AMC Metropolis development? For those who aren't aware, they was big talk to place a 24 theatre AMC at where the L'Oreal ad stands where during the daytime, it would be used as Lecture Halls for Ryerson students.(Good idea).

Supposed to be filled with chic coffee shops, the Virgin Records, DisneyQuest(a "Disney Playdium"), and other exciting stores, this corner was supposed to be a huge attraction to the area besides the Eaton Centre. But right now, it's just a figment of our imagination. Here's what it could've looked like.

View of the once-proposed Yonge-Dundas Square from the Eaton Centre looking towards the infamous L'Oreal Construction Barricades.

Oh right, did i mention the great block of nothing that sits right on the Square? There's nothing there besides water fountains and a ticket booth! Where's the cafes with patios seating? Where's there a place to sit and enjoy the downtown atmosphere? And, most importantly, where's the entertainment? It is the entertainment district isn't it? So why is the Yonge Dundas square open? Cuz it's definitely not open-- it's just open space. Would you want to sit in that space right now? Kinda creepy now isn't it?

As a urban planner, i'm tired of seeing this great developments coming about and then realizing that they never materialize. The government placed a major push on this development, but time and time again, we get disappointed. We continue to want to make Toronto a world class city-- but I think this is just a load of bullcrap... let's take initiative and finish what we started....