Jake Tobin Garrett has done some terrific writing for Torontoist over the last while. His latest looks at the demise of the Fort York Bridge, and what it means in an era where “city building” is seemingly a dirty word:
The greatest mistake of this administration, and the one that will leave the most lasting legacy of harm, is the simplistic view of the city as something to be managed and not something to be built, or fed, or nurtured. The view that aspirational projects are elitist and thus not worthy of consideration. The view that public spaces suck money and offer nothing back. The view that if we just squeeze our public services tight enough a few pennies will pop out.
via This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things – Torontoist.
A city that is not being built up — that isn’t growing — is inevitably one that is declining. It’s not possible to just hit pause for a few years while you ‘fix’ the city’s finances. We’ll be left behind.
Related: Ken Greenberg’s Requiem for a bridge at The Globe & Mail.