You get what you pay for.

Well, it's happened again. I've gone to visit another great city and come home depressed. This time Toronto. I was there about 15 years ago when I was a clueless young man, so while my impressions were valid, my perspectives were pretty limited. The things that impressed me then: the abundance of people who were out and about at 3am, the interesting night clubs and strip clubs, Chinatown, the subway (which we rode once) and the high quality of prostitutes,who seemed to be everywhere(I'll go on record as saying "I did not have sex with those women").

Since then, I have been to NYC several times, San Francisco, Montreal, Chicago, New Orleans(pre-Katrina) Philadelphia, Mexico City and several other medium-size cities. In other words, my standards for big cities are fairly specific and refined. I know what I'm looking for and I think can quickly identify whether or not the place is happening. Here are my criteria for great large cities (not in any particular order):

1. Public Transportation. This is absolutely crucial for any city of reasonable size. A good, healthy city has different neighborhoods that pan out in all directions from the central business district, each with something particular to offer. For example, in Toronto, Queen Street West has a large portion of designer shopping closer to the downtown business district. As you move west, the vibe becomes more bohemian and this is where many of the city's art galleries are located. Other sections of the city have particular architectual qualities, for instance Cabbagetown has according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in North America". These two areas are on opposite sides of the city so while walking is possible, public transportation allows for easy and quick commuting between these areas for work, fun, or shopping.
Toronto has a phenomenal public transport system. An easy-to-understand combination of subway, streetcar and bus lines can get you just about anywhere. The subways run until 2am and the streetcars and buses run 24 hrs. My wife and I stayed on the upper east end of the city but were able to go anywhere we wanted for dinner/music/shopping without ever getting into our car or walking ourselves ragged.

Here's a pic I found on a web resource:


Notice how narrow the cars are, allowing streetcars to pass in both directions while still allowing for automobile traffic.

Quality transportation also provides better access to different parts of a city to those who cannot afford(or choose not)to own a car. By contrast, Cleveland's public transportation system is inept, limited and aesthetically unappealing. It is managed for the least common denominator-i.e. those who have no choice but to use it, creating a system with very little accountability towards making wholesale improvements.

2. Walkability. It goes without saying, that any city worth a damn living in has amenities within a few minutes walk. I read a study that stated that most people are willing to walk 5 minutes in any direction to get what they need, after that they will drive or take public transport. By contrast, how many of you in Cleveland can walk 5 minutes from your house to buy a pair of jeans, shoes, eat dinner, rent a DVD, get money at an ATM, get drunk, hear a band etc...Living in Lakewood, Little Italy, Coventry, and small slivers of Cleveland (Ohio City, Tremont, warehouse district) are about it and all of these areas have serious limitations.

3. Diversity. Toronto is considered one of the world's most ethnically diverse cities ranking ahead of L.A., Vancouver, New York, Singapore and Sydney. Along with this diversity comes the many different styles of music, art, food, clothing, etc...The interesting thing about Toronto, is that there seems to be relatively little friction between these different people and cultures.

4. Economy. This is obvious. Every city needs to have some way of generating income other than taxing the hell out of its dwindling population(I'm fine with paying taxes as long as I can see production and progress). Toronto is a major commercial, distribution, financial and industrial center. Toronto and the surrounding areas produce more than half of the country's manufactured goods. Ontario's wealth of raw material and hydroelectric power made the city a primary center of industry. We all know how that's going in Cleveland. What made the city great-and it was great- was its role as a producer and manufacturer of goods. Now most of those jobs are in other countries. Make no mistake, stuff is still being manufactured....just not here.

5. Education. Toronto has several post-secondary educational institutions, providing the city with a constant flow of young minds, many of whom stay there after attaining their degrees. Cleveland's public school system has been an embarrassment for more than 30 years. Why would anyone with a family want to live there unless they could afford to send their kids to private school? But then again, since property taxes pay for most of our public schools, it stands to reason that poor neighborhoods have bad schools. They don't have any money. So where does it end?

6. General Cleanliness. While cities will always have issues with litter and pollution, a lot can be done to keep things reasonable. Toronto is remarkably clean compared to other large cities. Sections of NYC are flat out depressing...most of the subways look every bit of their 100+ years. Now I like grafitti art, but not on every damn building, bridge, wall, car, sidewalk...Toronto also has a nice waste system on every corner with separate containers for bottles, cans etc... People actually seem to use them as I saw very little garbage on the street. Cleveland on the other hand is filthy, even in its most publicly inhabited areas. The city is just poorly organized in dealing with this.

Now, I know this seems like a Toronto love fest...give me a break, I just got back yesterday...but it really is amazing how different this town is from Cleveland- a sister Great Lakes town just a shade over 5 hours away, with the same weather system, and many of the same resources. In fact, Cleveland sold some of its abandoned streetcars to Toronto back in the 1950s...oops.

On the down-side, the TTC(Toronto Transit Commission) abruptly went on strike 1 hour after we came home from our night out on Sunday(yes folks, I said Sunday...food, music and spirits late on Sunday). Apparently, the workers want safer conditions regarding their accessibility to riders(there is no separate partition for operators from the occasional nut who freaks out on the streetcar). This sounds reasonable, but striking really hurts the average person just trying to get to work. This rarely happens however, and has already been resolved, with service back up by the day's commute home.

here's a link to the story

The perception of a city that's interesting, vibrant, diverse and livable is totally dependant on these (and other) qualities. While all cities have problems and new challenges to face, proper planning as well as a higher expectation of its inhabitants is crucial to making an urban area healthy and appealing. Accepting low quality leadership, un-progressive urban planning, disregard for historical buildings, economic segregation and general apathy towards your city is a loser mentality. Even if you don't live in the city, thinking regionally is the way of the future and that responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of a city's people.

*some facts and figures from wikipedia

Ladies and Gentlemen...

So, the Mrs. and I are currently on a little Great Lakes voyage. First a few days in Niagara Falls and then three days in Toronto. Before we got married, we had a little budding tradition of going to Canada for Memorial weekend. Since Canada's big "kick-off" to summer holiday (Victoria Day) is the week before, Memorial Day in Canada is just a not-so-special late spring weekend...i.e. no obnoxious, drunken crowds to piss me off. This is particularly important when camping. There is nothing more assaulting to the senses than some drunken cracker singing Pink Floyd songs at the campfire next to you. Thou shall not committ murder...unless someone sings loudly and ignorantly out-of-key.

Anyway, Niagara Falls has long since been regarded as a thick blanket of tourist cheese, shamelessly covering the falls and upper Niagara river region with casinos, over-priced hotels, theme restaurants, junk shops and of course...wax museums. It certainly has all of these things.

Now I'll admit: I like to gamble a bit. Not much, but just a little. I like to sit at a video poker machine and piss around with $20 or so. I can't really afford to do this but I figure a little won't hurt and the unlikely chance that I could win a few dollars and pay off some bills is just too irresistable. Just for judgement backup, I have never done this without my wife sitting next to me. I just don't trust myself to know when it's time to back away. Cleveland has been talking about legalizing gambling, arguing that the money generated would be a much-needed windfall to the city. It seems to me this is really an issue of short-term vs. long-term. In my experience, the casinos that exist in non-tourist towns(like Cleveland)are mostly full of working-class people gambling with money they don't have. Places like Niagara, Vegas and the like have resources other than gambling to attract people. You'll still see local folks that got the "feva" but you'll also see a lot of recreational players (i.e. people who either choose their destination based on gambling or are just passing through and having a little fun...like me). Let me say this: The last thing that Cleveland (an old, depressed steeltown that's been steadily losing jobs for years) needs, is a bunch of second-rate casinos to suck up money that isn't there.

So, back to the Falls. Chintzyness aside the Falls are truly stunning. I've been up here three times in my life and they seem amazing every time. The energy harnessed from the falls(more than 6 million cubic feet of water falls over the crestline every minute) is used to power much of the area. The diversion of water to hydroelectric plants also serves to slow the erosion of the falls, which up until the modern era was receding 2-10 feet per year. Now, the question certainly needs to be asked if meddling with the geologic process will cause adverse effects on other parts of the local ecosystem...I mean the real reason to slow the rate of erosion is purely economic...who would go to the casinos if the falls weren't there? Either way, the falls will eventually reach Lake Erie and drain it completely-the bottom of Lake Erie is higher than the bottom of the falls.

So in the meantime, go and check it out. The promenade following the gorge along the Canadian side is really nice. The hotel developers have been prevented from building along the edge and blocking the view from everyone except hotel guests(have you been to Clearwater, Florida?)and it's beautifully landscaped and views of the American Falls as well as the Horeshoe Falls are accessible the entire way.

Here's a picture of me at Cave of the Winds on the American side. Basically, you take an elevator down about 175 feet, then walk across some wood decking up to the base of the Bridal Falls(between the Horseshoe and American Falls). This is the smallest of the three falls-about 1% of the water passing over-and it is still so powerful that the park has to rip all the decking out and replace it every year.

(Click for closeup)

















Posing in front of the Horseshoe Falls:
















If you get a chance, pay the $14 and ride The Maid of the Mist, a boat ride that takes you about as close as possible to the falls. Totally amazing! During the ride up river towards the falls, there was a pre-recorded narration with various facts and figures. As soon as we got up to the falls and were absolutely getting blasted with mist, the narrator paused and then with heroic Charlton Heston-like melodrama announced:

Ladies and gentlemen...this......is Niagara Falls!

Ah...the pungent smell of hoke.

Next, Toronto...