City Building : In The News

PopMatters raves about Torontonian Stuart Henderson's newest book "Making the Scene: Yorkville and Hip Toronto in the 1960s". Yorkville in the 60s was Toronto's preeminent (counter)culture hub -- the hangout place of, among others, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot. In "Making the Scene", Hederson examines the hippies and hipsters who once made Yorkville their stomping ground and who helped redefine what it meant to be "cool" in Toronto.


"In fact, this book astutely charts the transformative effect of Yorkville as a community, revealing it be a place that was greatly changed over the course of a few scant years. In the '50s, the area was a bit of a no-man's land of cheap row houses that attracted both an artistic clientele that would go on to open high-end boutiques in the area, and a displaced immigrant working class, which brought the concept of the coffee house to the region. While Yorkville would eventually be home to literally a couple dozen of these coffee houses by the mid-'60s, when they started to crop up they became home to quiet, intimate folk performances and to a youth market looking for somewhere to hang out. (The legal drinking age in Toronto at the time was 21; it is now 19.)"

"The book serves as a preserver of heritage, considering that the Yorkville of today looks absolutely nothing like the Village of the '60s. That, perhaps, is Making the Scene's greatest strength: offering a detached, non-sentimental and objective account of one of Canada's most lively countercultures and the impact that resonates to this day, despite the fact that the only coffee house you might find near the area today would be a Starbucks. And even though Henderson's observations about what constitutes hip culture might be heady, it's an appropriate examination as one comes to realize through the reading of this book that Yorkville was, in many ways, an act: a place to perform (not only as a musician, but as an individual searching for identity and an authentic experience) and a place to see or be seen. Yorkville, then, is a metaphor for any hip community in the world today, a place that made and remade itself over a turbulent decade of radical change. That, and the take-away of the historical and cultural importance of this little strip of downtown Toronto, is the conduit for some essential reading � no matter if you were there during Yorkville's heyday or not."


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original source Pop Matters

The Chicago Tribune writes on the lessons big cities can learn from Luminato, Toronto's week-long festival of arts, culture and ideas. The festival, the largest multi-arts festival in North America, is lauded for its unique programming and its ability to promote Toronto culture on the international stage. 

"But while there is international work at Luminato, it is not an international festival but a celebration of an international city. A city whose hotel rooms it fills for a good chunk of June. That, perhaps, is a crucial distinction. Luminato doesn't just bring in work from outside; it also creates work from within and then shouts about it globally. Furthermore, as Price noted, festivals are a different beast. They help people follow the arts. "You can't just hit them with a wall of stuff," she said. "You have to provide context."

"Intriguingly, Price argued that free events are actually far more attractive to corporate sponsors like L'Oreal, one of Luminato's biggest supporters."

"If you are in a big, beautiful park getting an artist the caliber of k.d. lang for free," Price said, "you appreciate the sponsor. And you don't mind if you see a couple of banners."

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original source Chicago Tribune

The much-anticipated International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards have come and gone from Toronto. Blog TO writes of the jam-packed weekend of parties, film premieres and concerts that brought so much glitz and glamour to the GTA.

"The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) handed out trophies to its movie megastars on Saturday night, right here in Toronto. They're like a touring version of the Indian Oscars, but for the South Asian diaspora and Bollywood fans all over the world. And, they are a huge show."

"Each year, IIFA picks a new host city and puts on a weekend of "buzz" events (including film premieres, concerts, plus a lot of tie-in exhibits and screenings all over the GTA leading up to the big show). It's a pretty big deal for Toronto to host the 12th edition, after stops in hubs like Macau, London, Dubai, Bangkok and Johannesburg. It's also the first time the IIFA Awards have taken place in North America, which will no doubt raise the profile (and box office share) of Indian cinema in this market."

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original source Blog TO

The Hollywood Reporter writes on the resurgence of Toronto's film and TV production industry. While the industry slumped in 2008--due to the rise of the Canadian dollar and film tax credits in southern U.S. states--Toronto once again reigns as Hollywood's premier production destination. To celebrate Toronto's revived production industry a gathering has been scheduled for June 23 at the new Islington Ave William F. White Centre to be hosted by Hollywood director Norman Jewison and "Chicago" producer Don Carmody.

"Big stories and little stories; there's so much going on here right now," Jewison said as Toronto plays host to big-budget shoots like Columbia's remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie Total Recall and ABC/Global's Rookie Blue."

"Canada's biggest city successfully fended off challenges like the Canadian dollar's rise against the U.S. greenback, and stiff competition from film tax credits in southern U.S. states, to return as a production destination for Hollywood."

"Also attending the William F. White bash are local politicians like James Moore, the federal heritage minister, and Ontario cultural minister Michael Chan, whose generous film tax credits have been key to enticing Hollywood production back to Toronto after a 2008 slump.The new William F. White Centre on Islington Avenue is also part of a soundstage expansion westwards in Toronto away from the city's waterfront, where old studio space was shuttered during the economic recession."

"Our celebration responds directly to the renewed spirit and revitalization of Toronto's production industry," Paul Bronfman, chairman and CEO of Comweb Group and William F. White International, said ahead of the June 23 Toronto tribute."

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original source Hollywood Reporter

Toronto Star art critic Martin Knelman writes on the success of Luminato's fifth season and why the annual arts & culture festival  "enhances life in Toronto". Among other thing, Knelman attributes the festival's success to its smart programming, its numerous  free events, and its "unprecedented partnership with The New Yorker".

"Edition number five of Luminato is almost ready to slip into the past tense, with a potpourri of events on Saturday and a quiet footnote of a day on Sunday featuring what turns out to be the final North American performances, at least for now, of that startling two-part Arab epic, One Thousand and One Nights."

"Despite a few hitches and glitches, including soft ticket sales, this year's festival took several major steps forward � securing its position as a key event that enlivens the city every June while also grabbing needed attention from the world beyond the GTA."

"The festival's unprecedented partnership with The New Yorker � surely North America's most prestigious magazine � was one of this year's big success stories, including a memorable doubleheader last Sunday at the St. Lawrence Centre."

"Another plus: the presence in our town of producers, presenters, bookers and agents for the semi-annual "congress of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) � which is bound to pay off in the long term with increased awareness of Toronto's performing arts talent, its glittering culture palaces and its annual arts festival."

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original source Toronto Star

Waterfront Toronto has announced plans to install an "ultra-broadband" network in Toronto's east waterfront neighbourhood. The network, which will serve the under-construction residences and commercial properties of East Bayfront and West Donlands, will be 500 times faster than a typical North American household link.

"One of Toronto's newest neighborhoods will start life with some of the fastest Internet connections in the world as developers tempt bandwidth-hungry residents and business into the one-time industrial wasteland."

"Modeled on similar undertakings in Seoul, Tokyo, Stockholm, London and Paris, the new area on the shores of Lake Ontario will offer Internet connections that are 500 times faster than a typical North American household link, meaning it will take seconds to download or edit a movie."

"If we want to remain a leading global city, investments ... in ultra-broadband are required as part of the city's infrastructure foundation just like other central infrastructure such as electricity and water," said Evan Kelly, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers."

"Developers say the new Internet connections will offer speeds of up to 10 gigabits a second for businesses or 100 megabits for residential use, a crucial draw for the residential and commercial space planned for the mostly disused industrial land to the east of downtown Toronto."

"Having this sort of capacity available to residents will allow for a whole new world of applications we haven't even conceived of yet," said Dan Armstrong, chief executive of Beanfield Metroconnect, the telecommunications company that won the Internet tender."

"The revitalization of the Toronto waterfront is expected to cost C$35 billion ($36 billion) in mostly private funds over 25 years."

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original source Reuters

Edgewalk, the CN Tower's newest extreme attraction, hasn't even opened yet and is already selling out in Toronto and garnering attention internationally. USA Today writes on the attraction that, for $175, lets thrill-seekers walk the outside circumference of the CN Tower's main pod, 168ft above the ground.

"Starting this week, you can buy tickets for "EdgeWalk at the CN Tower" in Toronto. Billed as the first attraction of its kind in North America and the highest full circle hands-free walk, EdgeWalk takes place atop the tower, which is one of the taller ones in the world. That's 116 stories up with no guardrails, gulp."

"Participants are, of course, tethered while they walk and gawk at the city below. The experience opens Aug. 1 in celebration of the CN Tower's 35th anniversary. A reservationist told me it will stop for the year in late fall, when the weather gets dicier."

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original source USA Today

As reported by the Times of India, Toronto will soon welcome five Indian Cabinet members for a two-day business and networking conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Indian delegation will arrive in Toronto June 9th to attend the city's mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), a multi-sector networking event that fosters cooperation between India and Canada.

"Canadian Governor General David Johnston will join Vayalar Ravi, oversees Indian affairs minister, and his four cabinet colleagues in welcoming the Indian diaspora to the mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here next week."

"Preneet Kaur, minister of state for external affairs, Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for planning and science and technology, Sachin Pilot, minister of state for communications, Jitin Prasada, minister of state for road transport, Sam Pitroda, adviser to the prime minister, and Arun Maira, member of the Planning Commission, are other top Indian dignitaries attending the two-day gathering at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre here from June 9."

"The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas "offers unparalleled opportunities for networking, advancing linkages across multiple sectors - business, innovation, healthcare and culture; fostering partnerships in the small and medium-sized business sectors, providing ideas for cultural, generational and gender connections and nurturing the rapidly growing relationship between Canada and India,'' says the Indian high commission."

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original source Times of India

Blog TO writes on the first Kensington Market Pedestrian Sunday of the season. The car-free street festival--a festival that takes place on the last Sunday of every month from June 26th to October 30th--features musicians, buskers and a variety of sidewalk fare.

"So Kensington Market for another season yesterday, and unsurprisingly streets in the area were jam-packed throughout the afternoon. More than just an occasion to walk around the market without the presence of vehicular traffic, Pedestrian Sundays feature performances by artists, musicians and store owners. Oh, and there's sidewalk fare, too � but some of the food lineups seemed to rival those at the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant for Doors Open."

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original source Blog TO

The Hollywood Reporter writes on how Toronto became the North American launch pad of Indian Cinema. This June Toronto will play host to 12th annual IIFA Awards, Indian cinema's largest award show. Toronto was chosen as the site for the three-day celebration not only because it boasts a large South Asian population, but because it is a lively city that embraces multiculturalism and diversity.

"Roy Thomson Hall, already an Oscar launch-pad for Hollywood studio pics each September at the Toronto International Film Festival, had suddenly become fan central for hard core Bollywood fans."

"They wouldn't come to Toronto if they didn't expect fans to blow the lid off of the Rogers Centre," the venue of the 12th IIFA Awards, insists Veronica Chail, the Toronto-based host of OMNI Television's national entertainment magazine show Bollywood Boulevard."

"The IIFAs are produced annually by Wizcraft International Entertainment outside India and in rising markets for Bollywood product."

"And OMNI Television, as the official Canadian broadcast partner of the 2011 IIFA Awards, plans wall-to-wall coverage of the Indian film awards to reach and grow its Canadian south-Asian audience."

"When it comes to Bollywood, you're not selling anything. You're not trying to convince anyone. The audience has a core interest," Alain Strati, vp of the OMNI Station Group, explained."

"To celebrate Bollywood ahead of the green carpet style watch at the IIFA Awards in Toronto, OMNI is launching a Best of the IIFAs series, co-hosted by Veronica Chail and Mohit Rajhans.Chail explains the four-part series showcasing Bollywood's leading men and women and greatest IIFA Award dance numbers will also showcase how Toronto embraces diversity and Bollywood."

"The world lives here," she said of Toronto's varied multicultural communities, which each September soak up TIFF's international film lineup."

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original source Hollywood Reporter

Toronto is the world's second most impressive city according to new survey by international consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The report, which graded 26 global financial centres, ranked cities based on business opportunities, culture, livability, and innovation. As reported by the Atlantic, Toronto's high ranking (second only to New York), is result of its ability to retain and attract talent, its business trip index, and its entrepreneurial environment.

 "New York City, Toronto and San Francisco were named the world's most impressive metros in a new survey of the global capitals of finance, innovation and tourism. The report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Partnership for New York City graded 26 metro powerhouses from Stockholm to Santiago on business opportunities, culture, livability, and innovation."

 "Toronto is a "beta" city, the authors say, because it's not considered a part of the conversation with London, Paris, and New York for greatest city in the world. But it has all the building blocks of a superlative international city, beginning with smart ideas about sustainability and innovation."
   
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original source the Atlantic

The Nashville Business Journal writes on what its city can learn from Toronto innovation expert, Ilse Treurnicht. Treurnicht, CEO of Toronto's MaRS Discovery District, recently spoke to a delegation of Nashvillians on strategies for attracting the right kind of people, investments, and small businesses to foster an innovative urban economy.

"The product on one hand doesn't match the demand on the other side," Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of Toronto's MaRS Discovery District, told a crowd of dozens of Nashvillians Thursday."

"Her organization exists to address that problem. It's no small effort � the massive complex is a key part of the city that encourages academic research, prepares ideas for commercialization and connects investors with products."

"The group that heard Treurnicht talk is traveling around Toronto to learn about a range of economic, political and social issues, as part of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce's Music City Leadership Study Mission."

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original source Nashville Business Journal

Torontoist goes behind the scenes of Toronto's Pinewood Studios, Commissioners Street's 11-acre film and television production facility. With seven soundstages and a giant warehouse on site, Pinewood provides a combined 250,000 square feet of studio space making it "one of the most comprehensive purpose-built film facilities in the world."

"Getting behind the gates of Pinewood Toronto Studios is kind of exactly like securing a golden admission ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Except instead of chocolate waterfalls, everlasting gobstoppers, and jolly, ginger-skinned Oompa-Loompas, Pinewood has well-maintained offices, an impressive ventilation system, and a muddy old berm out back. And a whole lot of movie studio space. Like, huge expanses of it."

"Granted, Pinewood Toronto's 11-acre facility in the Port Lands (near Commissioners Street and the Don Roadway) may not appear to be suffused with "movie magic"�especially if your only frames of reference for what a movie studio is are the scene in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure when our bike-riding hero giddily baits a low-speed pursuit through the Warner Bros. lot and a bunch of Animaniacs cartoons. But though its facade may be a little plain, evoking little of the Hollywood "Dream Machine" or whatever, in the past three years alone, Pinewood has gained a reputation as a go-to destination for film and television productions in Toronto."

"Since opening in 2008, the studios have provided space for plenty of Canadian film and TV productions (CBC's Battle of the Blades, Atom Egoyan's Chloe). They've also done something even more exceptional: attract big-time Hollywood bucks. Since 2008, larger-budgeted shoots like the forthcoming prequel/remake of John Carpenter's The Thing (also called The Thing) and last summer's hometown would-be blockbuster Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) setting up shop at Pinewood. And with Pinewood currently hosting the most expensive production to ever come to Toronto (we were asked not to name the film, even though it's already been announced elsewhere), we finagled our way behind the scenes of the studio that's reinvigorating Toronto's film industry."

"Toronto has historically been a very successful film and television production centre, but it hasn't had a facility like this," notes Edith Myers, managing director of Pinewood Toronto Studios. "[Toronto] has very good facilities and a lot of people put a lot of money into the industry. But this facility is designed to attract a certain type of film that had come infrequently to Toronto. Our biggest selling tool is to show people what we've got here." And what Pinewood's got is impressive."

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original source Torontoist

The National Post writes on the Lord Provost of Glasgow's recent Toronto visit. Bob Winter, in Toronto this past Monday as part of his North American tour, reached out to Torontonians with the message that Glasgow and Toronto should leverage their similarities into stronger business partnerships.

"[Bob Winter's] trade visit comes during Scotland Week in North America; it also comes three years before Glasgow is set to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, to be followed a year later by the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto."

"Our eye from the very beginning has been on the legacy that we can get for our own city and for our own people ... showcasing our city, giving a tremendous warm welcome to everyone who visits," said Mr. Winter in a lilting Scottish accent."

"Glasgow will likely have "a lot to share" with Toronto about the experience of hosting the games, Mr. Winter said, citing an unprecedented opportunity to invest in new facilities and promote the city on a worldwide level."

"Glasgow has developed over the years from a heavily industrial and overcrowded city to one that has shed half its population in Mr. Winter's lifetime, a development attributed in part to the post-war period and the industrial collapse of the 1980s."

"The city has rebounded since then, and Mr. Winter says the River Clyde has been "transformed" by the departure of heavy industry. Today, he adds, as Glasgow struggles to recover from the most recent global economic downturn, the city has been investing in education and fostering stronger links with such cities as Toronto."

"These are key issues that we share: How do you regenerate a city and keep regenerating a city, because a city can never stand still," he said. "If you rest on your laurels at all, you can only go backward."

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original source National Post

Ryerson University recently unveiled the design for it's new Ryerson Student Learning Centre. The design, courtesy of Toronto-based architecture firm  Zeidler Partnership Architects, features a glass facade designed to create textured light qualities within the interior space. As reported by WIDN, constuction on the new building, to be located at the corner of Yonge and Gould, will begin sometime late this year.

"The eight-storey Student Learning Centre will be built at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets. It will feature a glass fa�ade, a welcoming elevated plaza, a bridge to the existing library and a host of academic, study and collaborative spaces for Ryerson's students, faculty and staff. Yonge Street frontage will feature destination retail at and below grade, creating a major commercial facade."

"The 155,463 square-foot Student Learning Centre will feature a host of creative and inspiring learning environments and spaces. Every floor will be designed differently with some spaces to be open and interpretive with flexible furniture and terraces while others to be densely filled with enclosed study rooms for groups of four to eight people. Special spaces for independent, quiet study will also be featured."

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original source WIDN (World Interior Design Network)