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