Raise the Hammer

Statius,

Great comments. While I agree with a lot of what you say (I live in downtown TO), I would make the following clarifications/points:

"Toronto has a lousy downtown" - you have correctly disected the problem with vibrant neighbourhoods like Queen West and the Annex. They are rich enclaves for sure. The lack of intergrated income neighbourhoods in TO is alarming, however, although that is a hugely significant gap, I'm not sure it's fair to write off these neighbourhoods entirely. They are vibrant, and fun to visit (if not affordable for most of us to live in...) and the generate lots of tourist and local dollars.

Again you are right in your one-way street analysis. Huge stretches of Wellington and Richmond are bare and these downtown freeways are a big reason for this.

I would also point out the Financial District. Huge office towers teeming with people from 9 to 5. Dead any other time. All the 'street life' between these times is on the underground PATH network... not a good neighbourhood design.

As for the film, Everybody hates Toronto - I didn't see it but I saw snippets - doesn't this film conclude that the biggest Toronto haters are Torontonians themselves? The Prada bag image of TO is not the real identity of this town. If you go to a rich neighbourhood in TO (or anywhere) you will see rich - or upwardly mobile folks pretending to be rich - acting like many rich people do. Surely Toronto can't be faulted for attracting wealth? In many ways TO has problems caused by the wealth it's success attracts - virtually gated communities, pretentious citizens, high prices, etc. It's not in attracting this wealth that TO has failed (Hamilton should be striving to increase the Quality of Life (and that includes wealth) of it's residents too) but in how this has been managed.

As for useful Hamilton comparisons...one-way streets, mixed neighbourhoods, attracting businesses, tourists and wealthy/creative residents through an improved Quality of Life - Hamilton can surely learn A LOT from Toronto. Many city building initiatives are independent of the town's size.

It's true that Hamilton has a unique opportunity to prosper and not make the same mistakes as TO. The problem, as I see it, at the moment, is that Hamilton is not doing much at all.

Cheers

Ben