Raise the Hammer

Hi complainer,

The only reason I would elect to post a Toronto-centric piece is if there is something useful Hamilton can learn from it. I'm sorry the comparisons with, and learnings for, Hamilton were not more apparent to you in this piece.

There is a lot of stuff going on in TO right now which relates very closely to Hamilton's own experiences. I believe that many RTH readers are interested to learn more about them.

I included some links in the piece, to other articles where I have explicitly identified areas Hamilton can learn from.

Some things TO does especially well - and Hamilton should pay attention to these. Some things TO does not so well and, similarly - Hamilton should pay attention.

Hamilton does not strive for an efficient and 'livable' urban climate in isolation - all cities are working towards this. And all cities are facing similar challenges. Looking at how other cities address these challenges is a wonderful way for Hamilton to avoid other people's mistakes and mimic their successful approaches.

In so far as I am able (blogs are usually written and posted in a short-time frame so they ocassionally lack a little writers polish)I will continue to try to point out specific comparisons and learnings for Hamilton. However, where I do not, I leave it up to the reader to work out what there is to learn.

For this piece the comparison I had in mind was Gore Park. While we at RTH have written extensively about how we would like to see the area pedestrianized and reverted back into the people place it once was, it is also wise to note the experiences of other public spaces and ensure we do not make the same mistakes.

If you have any further questions about the validity of RTH content check out the 1st Principles at: http://raisethehammer.org/index.asp?id=8...

and submission guidelines: http://raisethehammer.org/index.asp?id=1...

I hope I have addressed your concerns. Thanks very much for your comments.

Cheers

Ben