Postmodern City Space of Flows 2 Torontos and

Postmodern City & Space of Flows (2) Toronto’s and Montreal’s Examples

Outline ¢ Toronto: from Modernization to Postmodernism Modernization and Anti-Moernism: Regent Park as an example l Postmodern Urbanism: l • Renovation of Historical Building and the Retro Chic • Urban Social Movements • Social Geography of Toronto: the Issue of Gentrification

Modernization and Anti. Modernism ¢ Modernization – architecture: geometric design; universal structure committed to a ‘unified organization of life. ” (Less is Beautiful; More is Bore. ”) l Urban design – rationalized division of functions in life// zoning of a city l

Anti-Modernism ¢ 1. 2. 3. 4. e. g. Mumford, Jane Jacobs, Venturi (p. 102) destroy the historic fabric and organic structure of traditional cities De-humanizing; mechanical Ignore the practical functions of life (e. g. pedestrian walkway “The City is not a Tree. ) Hostility between the modern forms and the city dwellers ( Regent Park)

Modernist Housing Project ¢ ¢ Canada's oldest social housing project, having been built in the late 1940 s. Location: bounded by Gerrard Street to the north, River Street to the east, Shuter Street to the south, and Parliament Street to the west. A majority of families in Regent Park are classified as low-income, with 68% of the population living below the LICO (Canada's Low -Income Cut-Off Rate) in one of its census tracts and 76% in the other (compared to a Toronto-wide average of just over 20%). Now being revitalized (source )

Regent Park: Location East

Regent Park: Location

Regent Park: Image

Postmodern Urban Design ¢ A mixture of styles ‘consistent with nearby traditional forms. ’ (p. 101; 105 ) 1. 2. 3. ¢ a difference practice of Modernism’s egalitarian objectives; Dialogic, rather than monologic (107) Turns the utopian vision into something communicative—created by the people, but not the designers alone. Examples: l l l Yonge Street BCE Place; some malls in the suburban areas

Renovation and Preservation of Historical Preservation ¢ Yonge Street, north from Adelaide, Toronto, Ontario, c. 1885.

Renovation and Preservation of Historical Preservation ¢ Yonge Street, present

Historical Preservation: Retro Chic Canada Trust BCE –More …

Historical Preservation: Retro Chic Façade of an old building

Mall – Disney Like ¢ Erin Mills Town Centre Mississauga, ON Woodbine Centre Etobicoke, ON More. . .

Woodbine Centre: Fantasy Land Déju vu?

Urban Social Movements ¢ ¢ Local Social Movements—not necessarily organized by class. Two different views: l l ¢ In resistance to the global flows and flexible accumulation, urban social movements cannot avoid sliding into ‘parochialism, myopia and self-referentiality. ’ directed at specific circumstances, but not the general, more strategic objectives. failure to attach the real targets. e. g. Middle-class resettlement in Toronto (p. 109 -110); 七號公園vs. 保護寶藏巖運動。

Social Geography of Toronto: General Characteristics 1. 2. 3. 4. Gentrification; Waterfront development; Increasing demographic and functional diversity of suburbs. – GTA: polynucleated urban region. Deindustrialization of inner city; deagriculturalization of some rural villages.

Social Geography of Toronto: General Characteristics (2) Development Mercantile (重商) Commercial Industrial Corporate 1. Differences from the American cities: no utter abandonment of inner residential districts; similarities ‘Anglophone suburb’ 2. How about Taipei? 1.

References ¢ Virtual Tours: Toronto http: //www. toronto. com/feature/244/index. html ¢ Greater Toronto Area: Places & Streets http: //www. dplib. com/epc_tor. htm ¢ ¢ Examples: Regent Park http: //encyclopedia. thefreedictionary. com/R egent%20 Park 從寶藏巖出發，然後我們回到城鄉所 http: //www. ncu. edu. tw/~eng/csa/journal_park 135. htm