A few days ago I was paraphrasing philosopher Alain de Botton in my post about the future of the city. A more accurate transcription of his words follows:
True diversity comes from communication and contact [...] if there is no meeting point [the city] is not diverse [... a city] can look superficially very diverse, but if you actually look at the levels of integration and communication and public space and places where very different communities can come together, then all of the sudden [the city] can start looking at lot less diverse.
He was talking about London. Today I came across an article in Spacing magazine that questions the same issues, this time in Toronto. The article “Come Together” by Dale Duncan reports the activities of residents associations in what is known as “immigration gateway communities”. To understand the context, it is important to know some stats about the Toronto population mix:
- 30% The percentage of all recent immigrants to Canada that live in Toronto.
- 50% The percentage of Torontonians born outside of Canada
- 47% The percentage of Torontonians who have a mother tongue other than English or French
Immigration gateway communities is a creative way to label rough neighbourhoods characterized for lack of infrastructure and a high turn-over among their residents as people get out of them as soon as they can afford to do it. While the city has clearly identified 13 priority neighbourhoods, it is their citizens who are making a difference by creating the spaces where people can come together to talk about their needs, frustrations and sometimes even find solutions and have a stronger representation at City Hall.
When people migrate to the big cities assuming the better life style they will find, the reality of these communities -the only areas where they can afford to live in- quickly sinks in. Having travelled from so far away to find these obstacles only emphasizes the gap that exists between social groups. It aggravates the situation as they can see people around them with access to the life style they dream about, but they can’t get to it. For some this gap is an unmanageable trap as access to resources and opportunities becomes increasingly difficult. In the best case scenario the years that it will take a new immigrant to “graduate” from these neighbourhoods into better places will be remembered as a necessary sacrifice to realize the ultimate dream.
A responsible city has to create opportunities for integration. Not only by developing infrastructure that makes “gateway communities” better connected with the productive engine that requires these immigrants, but by creating public spaces that invite all the various social groups within a city to converge… More than two years ago I wrote the post “observe, analyze, generalize” as a tribute to what I was convinced was the quintessential “meeting point” suggested by Alain de Botton. In Toronto we call it Harbourfront Centre.
To be fair with the City of Toronto, there are major plans to improve infrastructure to better connect some of these areas via a new railway system. If only some of these plans could live up to the standards of other major cities with transportation that is not only functionally efficient but a distinctive trademark that makes it as unique as its diversity.
The title of this entry is spot on.
Most of what you describe can be applied to my city, but we do have a great and extensive public transpo system. Nevertheless, I was recently thinking that pride in one’s neighborhood/community can be fostered.
This, in turn would alleviate some of the aggravation that is experienced. It takes the city to not favor certain neighborhoods over others for gentrification or beautification projects. I think public spaces, investment in local business, outlets for youth and infrastructure should also go into “immigrant “neighborhoods to attract people that would not usually find themselves there. In the realty of the way things work, this will probably get the city to extend the public tranpso lines much faster once they see the city people’s demand to visit these areas.
Moreover, if a city really wanted to grant access, I think it should look into planning more economically diverse neighborhoods and buildings, so that immigrants and lower-income ppl don’t have to live in poorer, isolated conditions. From my experience, the best way to learn about a different group of people and culture is to live with or beside them as neighbors.
Therefore, only creating a space for people to patronize or voice frustrations , and then sending them back to their respective enclaves isn’t my idea of a responsible metropolis.
I am pleased to come across your site. I appreciate the thoughts shared and the information you present. My team and I at Casa di Culture also engage in understanding and conveying many of the topics you discuss on here; however, we try to present it visually.
Keep blogging!