When you scratch below the surface of the tall buildings that immediately catch the attention, cities, through their architecture, reflect culture, heritage and social priorities. Walking through a city one witnesses the change, virtues and the iniquity.
My first visit to Toronto was Christmas, 1954. I donโt remember much from that trip. I remember, however, visiting in the early 1960s. At that time, the tallest building was the Royal York Hotel. Now, 60 years later, it seems like undergrowth in a forest of skyscrapers. My first job in Toronto in 1984 was…
Toronto has a vast system of valleys that traverse the urban landscape, and between these channels of green are parkettes finding their places in urban niches. Framed within the skyscrapers they provide an oasis of green within a concrete and glass desert.
Waste cans dot the city, in parks, near bus stops, by building entrances. Throwing litter on the street seems like a form of entitlement, a snub announcing I am in a position to do this.