Chapter 1: Make-shift Slums

As Kevin Kelly rightly points out, “every city begins as a slum … a seasonal camp with free-wheeling make-shift expediency.” Cities are founded on economic opportunity, spontaneous slums, and lawless saloons. Eventually gender ratios equal out, churches move in, government takes shape, and urban planning is institutionalized.

Chapter 2: Hegemony Rules

During the transition from slum to civic center some social group usually takes power and dictates policy. It tends to be the ethnic majority though in the case of colonized countries that was almost never the case. In most cities in the United States power lied among the WASP community. Ethnic minorities were pushed out to the edges while the elite built Victorian homes around the downtown business districts and plazas.

Chapter 3: Suburbanization or scalability of the dream

This is the chapter that takes on different manifestations depending on the ethnic and class make-up of a city, but the basic concept is still generally applicable. During WWII in the United [...]]]> The following is an adaptation of the post by the same title appeared in el-oso.net, with a few of my own conclusions. In the original post “oso” explores some of the common patterns in the evolution of cities.

Chapter 1: Make-shift Slums

As Kevin Kelly rightly points out, “every city begins as a slum … a seasonal camp with free-wheeling make-shift expediency.” Cities are founded on economic opportunity, spontaneous slums, and lawless saloons. Eventually gender ratios equal out, churches move in, government takes shape, and urban planning is institutionalized.

Chapter 2: Hegemony Rules

During the transition from slum to civic center some social group usually takes power and dictates policy. It tends to be the ethnic majority though in the case of colonized countries that was almost never the case. In most cities in the United States power lied among the WASP community. Ethnic minorities were pushed out to the edges while the elite built Victorian homes around the downtown business districts and plazas.

Chapter 3: Suburbanization or scalability of the dream

This is the chapter that takes on different manifestations depending on the ethnic and class make-up of a city, but the basic concept is still generally applicable. During WWII in the United States there was an influx of black americans seeking work in urban centers. After WWII four developments (other than blatant racism) led to white flight from urban centers to suburban communities. First was population density. After the war soldiers returned home to urban centers, but those who moved in while they were gone also remained. Then there was the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which began the process of desegregating the country’s public schools. White parents felt that their children would receive a lower level of education in a desegregated school, and so they moved to suburbs where neighborhoods and their schools were all white. Third, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 enabled the workday commute from suburb to city center. Lastly, suburban developers had large returns to scale as they could purchase a single large plot of land and build hundreds or even thousands of nearly identical homes.

Chapter 4: Urban Gentrification

While the majority of white Americans from my generation grew up in mostly white suburban neighborhoods, our schools and public institutions became increasingly integrated and multicultural. Television and mass media brought the Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, Fresh Prince, and Family Matters into our living room. And then came hip-hop. All of a sudden there was nothing less cool than to have grown up in the suburbs. Young people from affluent suburbs moved into lower-income urban neighborhoods where they opened coffee shops, art galleries, and cocktail bars. Awkwardness and antagonism between the newly arrived affluent and the established lower-income population were inevitable. In the worst of cases property prices increased and low-income renters were forced to move out to other neighborhoods. However, there has also been an effort by young people across different classes in gentrified neighborhoods to shape a common aesthetic around hip-hop, indie rock, street art, and skateboarding.

Chapter 5: Back to the basics?

For a long time one of the ideas that persisted across many of my posts was that in the future all cities would share a common global culture. I wasn’t predicting the future as much as I was describing what I believe to be the advanced society in which I have the honour to live. With one of the most multicultural societies in the world, Toronto does well in integrating such diversity. But often times the protocol to coexists without incurring into cultural mishaps leaves us with a very superficial relationship. I sense that many more people would want to get closer and more integrated. While it is difficult to predict how cities will continue to evolve, I’m suggesting there is plenty of interest in creating spaces where the spirit of spontaneity, chaos and lawless goodness can favour a far more amenable environment, with smaller communities of people more open to experiment with their relationships. All we need to do is figure out what factors will promote such an environment.

The protesters had been taking the streets of Toronto at least since January, in most cases in a very organized fashion. Perhaps too organized since I barely noticed them before. But only events like this one get the attention of the masses and quickly echo through the news, blogosphere and twitter-verse, generating an overwhelming voice difficult to ignore. The tools of civil disobedience seemed to have produced the results they were hoping for: attention.

As I got involved into the various streams of people commenting about the event, I realized there were two kinds of people participating in the online debate: the pervasive anonymous comment condemning the act and manifesting hatred for blocking a [...]]]> Over the past few hours members of the Tamil community in Toronto blocked one of the main highways connecting downtown with the rest of the city. While I won’t claim any knowledge whatsoever of the situation in Sri Lanka, these demonstrations have me reading as much as I can about the current situation. I thought that was the least I could do, realizing that I live in the same city as 200,000 of them, according to MSNBC.

The protesters had been taking the streets of Toronto at least since January, in most cases in a very organized fashion. Perhaps too organized since I barely noticed them before. But only events like this one get the attention of the masses and quickly echo through the news, blogosphere and twitter-verse, generating an overwhelming voice difficult to ignore. The tools of civil disobedience seemed to have produced the results they were hoping for: attention.

As I got involved into the various streams of people commenting about the event, I realized there were two kinds of people participating in the online debate: the pervasive anonymous comment condemning the act and manifesting hatred for blocking a highway and the opinionated intellectual that has taken a position (for/against) the protests. This got me thinking about the role of a multicultural city like Toronto in the world scene.

Toronto is a diverse city. Over 50% of its inhabitants come from another country. What should the role of a metropolis like this one be in the international context? Is multiculturalism only a marketing tactic to attract more people or should it be a baseline for policy making and government action? On days like today, it feels like no one is prepared to see the big picture, yet I believe that the next few months will see a myriad of causes take the stage as minority groups face the consequences of the current crisis.

In a world that is posed to see radical changes over the next few months, flexing our participatory muscles should not be taken lightly. I’ve always believed that Toronto is among a very small group of cities that model what the future will bring us: a diverse population happily integrated into one very prosper society. Figuring out what our role is in events like this one must be a priority. For now, it seems that our civil role is to amplify the voice of these movements. I say that is good thing. But I suspect this is only the beginning.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

…the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, indeed.

With the ultimate objective of documenting all the cultures of the world in a collection of documentaries, the project Cultures on Film states its mission as:

Diffuse hatred and prejudice through documentary films that expose viewers to unrealized elements of cultures from every country in order to encourage each other to expand our horizons and challenge ourselves to discover the oneness of life and the interdependence of all beings.

One of their current global projects “The Human Experience” focuses on countries that are currently in conflict or poses under-represented cultures in the mainstream media such as Iran, Cuba, Rwanda, Cyprus, Romania, Indonesia and a few others.

Anyone knows of a similar project? Leave a comment.

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:

Immigration gateway communities is a creative way to label rough neighbourhoods characterized [...]]]> 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.

Resurfaced as part of the TEDTalks series, Dr. Davis talk introduces the audience to the idea of ethnosphere: Together the myriad cultures of the world make up a web of spiritual life and culture life that envelops the planet and that is [...]]]> In a passionate defense of real multiculturalism delivered back in 2003 at TED, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis used the wealth of his experiences with some of the most fascinating indigenous cultures of the world to build a powerful argument in favor of the value of cultural diversity:

The world in which we live in does not exist in some absolute sense but is just one model of reality, the consequence of one particular set of adapted choices that our lineage made albeit successfully many generations ago. And of course we all share the same adaptive imperative, we are all born, we all bring our children to world, we go through initiation rights, we have to deal with inexplicable separation of death so it shouldn’t surprise us that we all sing, we all dance, we all have art. But what is interesting is the unique cadence of the song, the rhythm of the dance in every culture.

Resurfaced as part of the TEDTalks series, Dr. Davis talk introduces the audience to the idea of ethnosphere:

Together the myriad cultures of the world make up a web of spiritual life and culture life that envelops the planet and that is as important to the well being of the planet as indeed is the biological web of life that you know as the biosphere. And you may think of this cultural web of live as being an ethnosphere. You may define the ethnosphere as being the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas and inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness

And presents an alarming picture of its “erosion”:

Just as the biosphere is being severely eroded, so too is the ethnosphere and if anything at a far greater rate: No biologist would dare suggest 50 percent of all species or more of them are on the brink of extinction, because it’s simply not true. And that, the most apocalyptic scenario in the realm of biological diversity scarcely approaches what we know to be the most optimistic scenario in the realm of cultural diversity and the great indicator of that is language loss.

Blaming not change or technology for the damage to its integrity, but power, he cautions that the model we’ve all grown to accept as our modern society may not be sufficient down the road:

It is humbling to remember that our species is perhaps being around 600,000 years. The Neolithic revolution which gave us agriculture, at which time we succumbed to the cult of the seed, the poetry of the shaman was displaced by the prose of the priesthood, we created hierarchy, specialization, surplus, is only 10,000 years ago. The modern industrial world as we know is barely 300 years old. Now that shallow history doesn’t suggest me we have all the answers for all the challenges that will confront us in the ensuing millennia

His quest for preserving as many cultures as possible, saving their ancient wisdom for the benefit of future generations is certainly in pair with the ideals that keep me going with this project.

While I’ve attempted to provide accurate transcription for the highlights of this talk, take 20 minutes to watch the entire presentation. It is worth it.

With a larger inventory of faces it would be possible to compare how highly cosmopolitan cities differ from those with a strong hegemony of a predominant [...]]]> Although the Face of Tomorrow project seems to have come to a halt after 2004, the idea that cities assimilate their migrants and eventually their inhabitants mix giving place to new generations of cosmopolitan beings with ancestors from all over the globe is still a powerful one.

The large metropolises of the world are magnets for migrants from all parts of the planet resulting in new mixtures of peoples. What might a typical inhabitant of this new metropolis look like in one or two hundred years if they were to become more integrated?
In Turkey and particularly in Istanbul, situated as it is at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, you can see how this process has been at work over the last thousand years as waves of humanity from Central Asia, Arabia, Greece and Rome have been absorbed. The resulting population is fairly uniform suggesting that if you could combine all the faces in a city right now you would be looking at the future face of that city.

With a larger inventory of faces it would be possible to compare how highly cosmopolitan cities differ from those with a strong hegemony of a predominant culture.

Third culture kids grow up in a genuinely cross-cultural world. While expatriates watch and study cultures that they live in, third culture kids actually live in different cultural worlds. Third culture kids have incorporated different cultures on the deepest level, as to have several cultures incorporated into their thought processes. This means that third culture kids not [...]]]> The holidays are the season of family reunion. For those of us who live outside of our culture of origin, to have the opportunity to share our traditions with the loved ones is a special treat that doesn’t come often, so we must embrace fully. But deciding which traditions we honor is not necessarily an easy choice because after a while our loyalty to one or another culture tends to blur. Surprisingly, far from being a problem, this is only allowing us to accept a wider range of traditions without the usual conflict of feeling foreign to them. This seems to be the special gift of Third Culture Kids:

While Third Culture Kids usually grow up to be fiercely independent and cosmopolitan, they are more culturally sound and sensitive. They also tend to get along with people of any culture.

Third culture kids grow up in a genuinely cross-cultural world. While expatriates watch and study cultures that they live in, third culture kids actually live in different cultural worlds. Third culture kids have incorporated different cultures on the deepest level, as to have several cultures incorporated into their thought processes. This means that third culture kids not only have deep cultural access to at least two cultures, this also means that thought processes are truly multicultural. That, in turn, influences how third culture kids relate to the world around them, and makes third culture kids’ thought processes different even from members of cultures they have deep-level access to. TCKs also have certain personal characteristics in common. Growing up in the third culture rewards certain behaviors and personality traits in different ways than growing up in a single culture does, which results in common characteristics. Third culture kids are often tolerant cultural chameleons who can choose to what degree they wish to display their background.

TCK’s are on the rise as a result of the massive migrations triggered by globalization processes. The impact that this demographic group may have on culture understanding is possibly a prelude to how a global culture may be a good thing in the long run: A wonderful generation of culturally sensitive people who have been exposed to several cultures and are accepting of all things new.

Since I don’t drink coffee, it is hard for me to judge them on the quality of their product. And as hinted by my very first post I must have some sort of obsession with coffee: Global Culture should not be about MacDonalds and Starbucks in every little town around the world. It should be the opposite: being able to experience your own cultural heritage in the context of a foreign community. So if you come from Venezuela, where good coffee is a century-old tradition, you should be able to find the equivalent to your traditional coffee house wherever you go. If done well, becoming a global citizen should not require you to loose your cultural baggage.

If you read through the reviews, most people are drooling over how cool the Far Coast lounge is, but people like Paul Terefenko from NOW Magazine have dissected every element of their operation, from the apparent eco/social [...]]]> About a year ago, Coca-Cola Co. announced it would attempt to take on Starbucks by introducing new technology to deliver single servings of coffee through their own newly designed brewing machines. Last month the first Far Coast Cafe opened its doors in Toronto, Canada.

Since I don’t drink coffee, it is hard for me to judge them on the quality of their product. And as hinted by my very first post I must have some sort of obsession with coffee:

Global Culture should not be about MacDonalds and Starbucks in every little town around the world. It should be the opposite: being able to experience your own cultural heritage in the context of a foreign community. So if you come from Venezuela, where good coffee is a century-old tradition, you should be able to find the equivalent to your traditional coffee house wherever you go. If done well, becoming a global citizen should not require you to loose your cultural baggage.

If you read through the reviews, most people are drooling over how cool the Far Coast lounge is, but people like Paul Terefenko from NOW Magazine have dissected every element of their operation, from the apparent eco/social responsibility of the brand to the extensive market research that allowed them to come up with refined spaces that appeal to the knowledgeable urbanite.

However, this story is bigger for another reason: it clearly demonstrates that global corporations are doing their homework when it comes to our global culture and will stop at nothing to capitalize on it:

• From the press release announcing the brand in Toronto: “Consumers are looking for quality and variety and are increasingly curious about the world around them. Far Coast was created to provide them with a window into different cultures through our range of delicious brews and infusions.”
• Toronto is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, making it an ideal launching pad for such a brand.
• There is a growing concern among knowledgeable consumers about corporate responsibility. Claiming fair trade practices that are difficult to audit but easy to use as marketing slogans, their brand is quickly catching up with a powerful meme that has been engrained into the minds of wealthy consumers with a better understanding of how the world works.
• In the age of global warming and other eco-disasters, any hint of helping the environment will likely have a powerful effect on our acceptance of the brand.
• By creating a fully mobile product that doesn’t even require the store (the technology is what they are really marketing), they demonstrate how deeply they understand the culture of fast food in our cities. It is early to bet on this, but they may change the way people get their coffees, making the barista obsolete, but replacing him with a zillion culturally-influenced flavours.
• Most importantly, by creating a brand that detaches itself from its parent corporation, they acknowledge that the savvy consumer would rather start fresh with an unknown brand full of promises than do business with an old brand that is well known for its irresponsible behavior.

Isn’t time that people realize the incredible power of their global culture? Corporations are clearly investing big bucks on understanding it. One thing I’m certain about is that Toronto is one of the best places to create awareness on this matter, as determined by Coca-Cola powerful market research engine.

With the most aggressive immigration quota in the world at around 250,000 immigrants per year, is not surprise that many Canadians are feeling their quality of life threatened by the lack of responsiveness to the real issues derived from such an unnatural growth, even questioning whether or not is worth it. There is no reason why Canada should have far more immigration than any other country. Canada’s existing population is younger than those of most other developed countries and its ratio of working age people to retired ones is higher. If Canada reverted to [...]]]> Immigration is one of the main themes of the Canada in 2020 space, presenting opinions by leading personalities on the issues, events and trends that could transform Canada by the year 2020. With the essay Sao Paulo of the North: The Effects of Mass Immigration, Daniel Stoffman presents a looming picture of the future of major Canadian cities as immigration rates outpace their ability to create the infrastructure required:

In 2020, vast tracts of suburban slums occupy what used to be good farmland on the city’s outskirts. Traffic congestion and air pollution are unbearable. Toronto’s reputation as one of North America’s most liveable cities is a distant memory.

With the most aggressive immigration quota in the world at around 250,000 immigrants per year, is not surprise that many Canadians are feeling their quality of life threatened by the lack of responsiveness to the real issues derived from such an unnatural growth, even questioning whether or not is worth it.

There is no reason why Canada should have far more immigration than any other country. Canada’s existing population is younger than those of most other developed countries and its ratio of working age people to retired ones is higher. If Canada reverted to its traditional, more moderate, immigration program, it could continue to enjoy the benefits of immigration while sparing its cities the problems of unmanageable growth.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Toronto (my city) is sort of a social experiment that will likely give us invaluable information on the type of issues the world will continue to face over the next few decades. It gets almost half of all new immigrants making it one of the most diverse cities in the world, but already suffering the consequences:

Highway 401 across Toronto has become the busiest road in North America, the city can’t find a place to put its garbage, and its public schools can’t afford to provide the English instruction newly arrived children need.

The obsession for growth must be rooted in the fact that Canada is such a young country that adding a few million people seems like the right thing to do,

But London and Paris grew to their current size gradually over hundreds of years and their greatness is the result of the wealth of the empires of which they were the capitals. You don’t build London and Paris by adding millions of bodies over a short period of time. That’s how you build Mumbai and Mexico City.

I’ve lived in Mexico City so I can attest to the kind of chaos that results from desperate people looking for any kind of opportunities when they have none left in their original communities. In the case of Mexico City, the masses of migrants came from the country after years of neglecting farmers. Toronto is not too different: migrants find here the type of opportunities (professional, quality of life, security) that they can’t find in their original countries. It means that a solution to the Canadian immigration problem can not be found without considering the global context.

Suggesting that “closing the doors” will solve the problem is not too far from the U.S. attempting to create a fence throughout their south border. A sense of global duty should reinforce our commitment towards those foreign countries that contribute our immigrants. Nothing will stop them for as long as their original communities fail them.