Toronto
This article is about the Canadian city. For other uses, see Toronto (disambiguation).Toronto is a
Canadian city located on the northwestern shore of
Lake Ontario, and is the
provincial capital of
Ontario. Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America behind Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Toronto is a
global city, exerting significant regional and international influence, and is one of the most
multicultural and ethnically diverse cities in the world. It is Canada's financial centre and economic engine, as well as one of the country's most important cultural, artistic, and health sciences centres. Toronto was named the world's most livable city in 1994 by
The Economist. It was displaced in 2005 by Vancouver, but is still ranked among the top ten.
The population of the Metropolitan Toronto
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is estimated at 5,304,100 in 2005
. This makes it the largest city in Canada and one of the fastest growing metropolitain areas in North America. The
Greater Toronto Area (GTA), slightly larger than the Toronto CMA, is defined by provincial authorities for urban planning purposes. Toronto is at the centre of the
Golden Horseshoe, a densely populated region in Ontario which is home to roughly eight million people, or one quarter of the population of Canada.
In 1998, the current City of Toronto was
amalgamated from its six prior
municipalities (
"Old" Toronto,
East York,
Etobicoke,
Scarborough,
North York, and
York) and
regional government. The current mayor of Toronto is
David Miller. In January 2005, it was designated by the federal government as one of Canada's cultural capitals.
Toronto has collected a number of nicknames and epithets over the past two hundred years, including
Muddy York (18th-19th Century),
Hogtown (Victorian),
The Big Smoke (1920s),
Toronto the Good (1950s) and
Centre of the Universe (1990s). Popular current names include
T.O. (for Toronto, Ontario) and
T dot. Residents often pronounce the name in a slurred manner: Toronna, Tronna.
'Toronto' means 'place where trees stand in the water'. It is an Iroquois name in reference to what is now Lake Simcoe (then Lake Toronto) to the north, where Hurons installed tree saplings to corral fish. The portage between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron that went this route was called the 'Toronto Portage', or 'Passage'. The first
European presence was established by
French traders at
Fort Rouillé in 1750. The first large influx of Europeans was by
United Empire Loyalists fleeing the
American Revolution in the mid-to late-1780s. Toronto grew slowly in the initial years and was used by the British primarily as a naval base. When Lieutenant-Governor
John Graves Simcoe moved the capital of
Upper Canada from
Newark to Toronto in 1793 he renamed the town
York. By 1800 the town was still very small, smaller than
Kingston, and consisted of probably not more than fifty families. York was captured, its surrender negotiated by
John Strachan, and its major buildings burned by U.S. soldiers in 1813 (during the
War of 1812). After the war, the city grew more rapidly throughout the remainder of the
nineteenth century by becoming one of the main destinations of
immigrants to Canada. On
March 6,
1834, the Township of York reverted to its original name of Toronto. A bustling steamboat entry port burgeoned in the 1840s and the city's development was aided by the addition of gaslit streetlights and sewers. The city grew even more rapidly after it was linked by rail to the upper Great Lakes in 1854. By the 1870s, industrialization reached a feverish pace and helped to ensure Toronto's place as a major centre of urban growth in the new
Canadian Confederation. In the second half of the
Twentieth Century, with an influx of post-war immigrants, and, after 1970, immigrants from the developing world, Toronto surpassed
Montreal as Canada's most populous city. At the same time, the city's banking and exchange centers also surpassed those of Montreal. This happened at a time when Canada had repatriated much of its stock and bond trade from London, requiring the establishment of a domestic trading center. Its stock market, which, until the early 1960s, primarily capitalized high-risk ventures, expanded to become one of the world's major exchanges.
Toronto is the most
multicultural city in the world as designated by the United Nations. In 2004, the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranked Toronto second, behind
Miami, in its "List of World Cities with the Largest Percentage of Foreign-born Population". Though ranking first, Miami's foreign-born population is mostly
Hispanic, whereas Toronto's is significantly more diverse. Toronto also ranked ahead of
Los Angeles,
Vancouver,
New York City,
Singapore and
Sydney. The resulting cultural diversity is reflected in the numerous
ethnic neighbourhoods of the city.
Toronto represents a multicultural mosaic. The 2001 Canadian census indicates that 42.8% of Toronto's population belong to a
visible minority group. In March 2005,
Statistics Canada projected that the visible minority proportion will comprise a
majority in both Toronto and
Vancouver by 2012.
[
1]
In 1900, the overwhelming proportion of Toronto's population originated in
Great Britain and
Ireland. During the 20th century, large scale immigration has changed the demographics of Toronto and there are now people from many different ethnic and national origins living in the city. Areas like
Koreatown,
Malta Village,
Chinatown,
Little Jamaica,
Little India,
Greektown,
Portugal Village,
Corso Italia,
Bloor West Village,
Roncesvalles Village and
Little Italy are examples of these large changes in the population's origins.
The majority of Torontonians profess to a Christian denomination. The 2001 census indicated that 65.59 percent of the city's inhabitants were
Christian[
2], the largest denominations being
Roman Catholic (33.4%),
Anglican (6.9%), and the
United Church (6.9%). Non-Christian groups also have a large presence in Toronto. One in three Canadian
Muslims live in Toronto numbering 5.5%, as well as
Hinduism (4.1%),
Judaism (3.5%), and many others. Some 16 percent of the population profess no faith.
While
English is the predominant language spoken by Torontonians, Statistics Canada reports that other language groups are significant, including
Chinese,
Portuguese,
Tamil,
Persian,
Spanish,
Punjabi and
Italian. Italian is spoken second to English in languages used at work.
The City of Toronto covers an area of 641 square kilometres (247
sq mi) and is bounded by
Lake Ontario to the south,
Etobicoke Creek and
Highway 427 to the west,
Steeles Avenue to the north, and the
Rouge River to the east. In addition to Etobicoke Creek and the Rouge River, the city is intersected by two major
rivers and their tributaries, the
Humber River in the west end and the
Don River just east of the central core. The concentration and protection of ravines allows for large tracts of densely forested valleys with recreational trails within the city. However, the ravines also interfere with the city's street grid, and many of the major thoroughfares such as
Finch Avenue,
Leslie Street,
Lawrence Avenue,
St. Clair Avenue and
Keele Street are terminated as a result, but continue on the other side of the ravines. Many others, such as
Bloor Street/
Danforth Avenue viaduct require large bridges to cross high above the ravines.
Toronto's climate is moderated by its southerly location within Canada and its proximity to Lake Ontario; its climate is among the mildest of any place in Canada east of the
Rocky Mountain range. However, the daily weather is highly variable, particularly during the winter months. Mild periods often occur throughout the winter (temperatures in the 5-10 °C range (40s°F) or even higher are not uncommon) triggering regular melting of snow on the ground, so that there are snow free periods even in mid-winter. There are usually two or three bitter cold snaps each year, where maximum temperatures only reach into the -10°C (14°F) to -20°C (-4°F) range, and minimums can drop to near -30°C (-22°F) , often accompanied by strong winds making it feel even colder. The coldest ever temperature recorded at Toronto
Pearson International Airport was -31.3°C (-24.3°F) on January 4, 1981, and the coldest ever
wind chill reading was -44.7°C (-48.5°F) also on January 4, 1981. The average January maximum temperature is -2.1 °C (28.2°F), and the average minimum is -10.5°C (13.1°F). Downtown the average minimum is -7.3°C (18.8F).
In the summer, Toronto is known for long stretches of humid weather and daytime temperatures sometimes approach, but rarely exceed 35°C (95°F). High humidity often causes uncomfortable conditions. These periods of heat are often broken by cooler weather stretches not found in places much further to the south on the continent, at least for a couple of days before the heat builds again. The highest ever temperature recorded at Toronto Pearson Airport was 38.3°C (100.9°F) on August 25, 1948, and the highest ever
Humidex reading (
humidity combined with temperature) reached was 50.3°C (122.5°F) on July 14, 1995. The average July maximum temperature is 26.8°C (80°F), and the average minimum is 14.8°C (58.6°F). Downtown the average minimum is 17.9°C (64.2°F).
For the last recorded climate period, the downtown station has a minimum temperature that is 3°C (5°F) warmer than the airport throughout the year, however this is narrowing due to greater urbanization further out from the city.
Autumn offers pleasant daytime temperatures followed by refreshingly cool nights. Spring is typically the shortest season of the year, generally with pleasant, sometimes warm days and cool nights. The average yearly precipitation is 793 millimetres (31.7 inches), with an average annual snowfall of about 115 centimetres (46 inches). Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but summer is usually the wettest (and also sunniest) season.
Severe weather phenomena include periods of intense cold in winter and extreme heat in summer (such temperature extremes are usually short-lived, however), freezing rainstorms, thunderstorms, and hail. In the late springs and summers, Toronto is sometimes affected by severe thunderstorms, producing damage. Tornadoes are uncommon in the city, but may occur. Toronto is occasionly affected by the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes, usually they just brush the area, although with
Hurricane Hazel in 1954, the city took a direct hit which produced widespread flooding and devastation.
(Source for Temperature and Precipitation Figures - Environment Canada)
Torontonians elect representatives to the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government. There are 22
Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Toronto who sit in the
House of Commons in
Ottawa, and another 22
Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) sit in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in
Queen's Park, located in Toronto. Being Ontario's capital, many provincial offices are located in the city.
Toronto's local government consists of 44 elected councillors (representing around 58,000 people each), who along with the mayor, make up the
Toronto City Council. Toronto elects a new government every three years, in November. The City of Toronto represents the fifth largest municipal government in North America, and has an operating budget of $7.1 billion
CAD. This operating budget comprises $2.5 billion dollars of funds from the
Government of Ontario for purposes they mandate such as
Toronto Public Health, $2.0 billion for special purpose bodies including the
Toronto Public Library and
Toronto Zoo, $1.7 billion of directly controlled money, and $0.9 billion for capital financing and non-programs.
The current municipal government is rooted in the creation of the Municipality of
Metropolitan Toronto (known more popularly as "Metro") in 1954. This new regional government, which encompassed the City of Toronto and twelve suburban municipalities, was created in light of the need for more coordination of city services. The postwar boom resulted in suburban development, and it was felt that a coordinated land use planning strategy, as well as shared services, would be more efficient. The Metro government began taking over management of services that crossed municipal boundaries, most notably highways, water, and public transit.
The seven smallest municipalities were amalgamated into their larger neighbours in 1967, but the federated municipal government otherwise lasted until 1998, when the two levels of government were combined and the six remaining municipalities amalgamated into a single municipality or "
megacity".
Toronto is a commercial, distribution, financial and industrial centre. It is the banking and stock exchange centre of the country, and is Canada's primary wholesale and distribution point. Its importance as a seaport increased after the opening of the
St. Lawrence Seaway, but has since diminished and the port is disused (see:
Waterfront). Ontario's wealth of raw materials and hydroelectric power have made Toronto a primary centre of industry. The city and its surrounding area produces more than half of Canada's manufactured goods. Compared to other global metropolises, the size of Metropolitan Toronto's economy is 8th in the world with a GDP of approximately US$305 billion (after
New York City,
London,
Tokyo,
Osaka,
Paris,
Los Angeles, and
Chicago).
Until the 1970s, Toronto was the second largest city in Canada, after
Montreal. The economic growth of Toronto was greatly stimulated by the relative political instability in
Quebec compounded with the development of the auto industry, the exploitation of large mineral resources in its hinterland, and by the completion in 1959 of the St. Lawrence Seaway which allowed ships access to the
Great Lakes from the
Atlantic Ocean bypassing
Montreal.
As the business and financial capital of the country, Toronto is one of the world's largest financial centres and hosts the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), the third largest stock exchange in North America by market capitalisation and sixth in the world (see
List of stock exchanges for complete rankings). The TSX has led North American exchanges by being the second to trade electronically and the first to become listed publicly; in the last decade, it has also generally outperformed various major stock exchanges worldwide. The Toronto financial industry is based on
Bay Street, the city's equivalent to
Wall Street in
New York.
Toronto is home to a diverse range of universities, colleges and schools, and is a centre of research and development. The
University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, with over 9,000 faculty and staff members, and over 60,000 graduate and undergraduate students. It offers teaching programs in 17 academic divisions across three campuses: the St. George campus, University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) and the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTS). The university is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading universities. The city is also home to
York University,
Ryerson University, the
Ontario College of Art & Design, the
Royal Conservatory of Music which includes the
Glenn Gould School,
Seneca College,
Humber College,
Centennial College,
Sheridan College,
George Brown College and the
Toronto Film School. The
Canadian Film Centreis an advanced film, television and new media training institute established by filmmaker
Norman Jewison. Toronto's elementary and high schools are operated by the
Toronto District School Board and the separate
Toronto Catholic District School Board. The
Toronto Public Library is the largest public library system in Canada and the second busiest (by number of visits) in the world after the Hong Kong Public Library.
Health and medicine
Toronto is home to the world-renowned
Hospital for Sick Children,
Mount Sinai Hospital,
St. Michael's Hospital,
Toronto General Hospital,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,
Princess Margaret Hospital among others (see also:
List of hospitals in Toronto) and the
University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, regarded as one of the best medical faculties in the world.
Toronto's
"Discovery District" is global centre of groundbreaking research in
bioinformatics. It is located on a 2.5 square kilometre research park that is fully integrated into Toronto's downtown core. It contains the
University of Toronto, and one of the greatest concentrations of
research institutions and
teaching hospitals anywhere in the world. It is also home to the
MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) Centre, which was created in 2000 to capitalize on the research and innovation strength of the Province of Ontario, and to position Canada for leadership in the highly competitive global innovation economy.
See also:
*
XVI International AIDS Conference, 2006, Toronto
*
McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine (MARS)Transportation
Toronto has North America's second largest
public transit system after
New York City. Canada's busiest airport,
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), is located along the city's western boundary with
Mississauga. The city also has a smaller commercial airport, the politically contentious
Toronto City Centre Airport (usually called the "Island Airport"), located on the
Toronto Islands.
The Government of Ontario operates an extensive rail and bus transit system called
GO Transit that links Toronto with neighbouring cities and suburbs. 38 trains on 7 train lines run 179 trips, and carry over 160,000 passengers a day. An additional 288 buses feed the main rail lines. The
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) provides public transit within the City of Toronto. Its backbone is the city's
subway system, which includes the "U"-shaped north-south
Yonge-University-Spadina line, the east-west
Bloor-Danforth line, the east-west
Sheppard line through the northern part of the city, and the
Scarborough RT line running through the eastern part of the city (Scarborough). The TTC also operates an extensive network of
buses and
streetcars.
Toronto's most well-known landmark is the 553 metre (1,815 feet) tall
CN Tower. The CN Tower currently stands as the tallest free-standing land structure in the world. Other attractions include the
Royal Ontario Museum; the
Art Gallery of Ontario, the
University of Toronto campus, the
Distillery District; Bloor-
Yorkville, one of Toronto's most
elegant shopping and dining areas;
Casa Loma;
the Beaches, the
Toronto Islands; the
Toronto Eaton Centre; the
Hockey Hall of Fame and sports complexes the
Air Canada Centre and the
Rogers Centre.
*See also:
Buildings and Structures in Toronto Toronto is a city of many
museums,
theatres, galleries, festivals, comedy clubs,
events and
sports.
The city is home to the
Canadian Opera Company, the largest producer of opera in Canada and the sixth largest in North America; and the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra which plays at
Roy Thomson Hall. It is also home to the
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto's opera house; the
Hummingbird Centre;
Massey Hall, the
Canadian National Exhibition, the
Ontario Science Centre; the
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art;
Cinematheque Ontario,
Toronto Centre for the Arts and the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre.
Canada's Walk of Fame acknowledges the achievements of successful Canadians and consists of a series of stars in front of
Roy Thomson Hall, the
Princess of Wales Theatre, and the
Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Ontario Place is located on three beautifully landscaped islands on the shores of Lake Ontario. It has rides and attractions, and includes the world's first permanent
IMAX movie theatre, the
Cinesphere, a
geodesic dome-shaped structure; as well as the
Molson Amphitheatre, a large open-air venue for large-scale music concerts.
Set on 13 acres in downtown Toronto, the
Distillery District is a national historic site. The forty plus buildings constitute the largest and best preserved collection of
Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America. The Distillery District is a pedestrian village containing unique
boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, artist studios and micro breweries, including the well-known
Mill Street Brewery.
Toronto is recognized as the third-largest theatre centre in the English-speaking world, after
New York and
London with over 90 venues in the greater Toronto area. The
Canadian Stage Company (CanStage) is the largest contemporary theatre company in Canada. Each summer it presents an outdoor
Shakespeare production in Toronto's
High Park called "Dream in High Park". A new theatre, the
Young Centre for the Performing Arts, opened in the
Distillery District and serves as the home of the
Soulpepper Theatre Company, a classical repertory theatre company, and the drama productions of nearby
George Brown College.
Toronto has over 50 ballet and dance companies, six opera companies and two symphony orchestras.
A major film production centre, Toronto is considered "
Hollywood North" by the film industry. In 1998
Variety magazine acknowledged that the
Toronto International Film Festival "is second only to
Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars and market activity."
Toronto abounds with intellectual
salons including the
Grano Speakers Series, a gathering where leaders in business, government, academia and the media meet to discuss world events, the new
Salon Voltaire, which aims to recreate the splendour of the
Age of Enlightenment, and
Cafe Scientifique, a salon focusing on the latest ideas and issues in science and technology.
For a list of Toronto's many festivals, see
Culture in Toronto — Festivals.
Food
As a multicultural city, Toronto offers a variety of food options. The city celebrates this diversity via numerous food festivals:
*
Winterlicious and
Summerlicious - city-wide festivals celebrating the restaurants and culinary diversity of Toronto
*
Taste of Danforth - Greek
*
Corso Italia - Italian
* Chinatown Street Festival - Chinese
* Rib Fest -
Etobicoke, Scarborough
* Taste of Lawrence -
Caribbean,
LebaneseNeighbourhoods
Toronto is a city of vibrant neighbourhoods. See also:
List of neighbourhoods in Toronto.
Art
Toronto is home to the renowned
Royal Ontario Museum,
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art,
Bata Shoe Museum,
Harbourfront Centre,
Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, the
Design Exchange,
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, the
University of Toronto Art Centre, the
Ontario College of Art & Design, the
Art Gallery of York University, and many private galleries in
Yorkville, the
Distillery District,
Queen Street West as well as other areas in the downtown core. Nuit Blanche Toronto is an all-night free celebration of contemporary art which features public art commissions, all-night exhibitions, live performances and programs throughout the city. During
Doors Open Toronto, which takes place annually in May, over 140 buildings of architectural, historic or cultural significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration. The annual
Toronto International Art Fair showcases modern, multi-disciplined art with a focus on the latest developments in the international art scene. The
Queen West Art Crawl, produced by
Artscape is an annual weekend-long festival celebrating the arts on
Queen Street West.
Parks and gardens
One of the greatest strengths of the city is its beautiful parks and gardens.[
3]
*
Edwards Gardens *
Riverdale Farm*Guildwood Park
*
High Park*
Allan Gardens*James Gardens
*
Toronto Music Garden*Toronto Island Gardens
*
Toronto ZooNightlife
|
Inside Guvernment Nightclub |
The city's art community attracts and has top theatre groups, galleries, and other high culture attractions.
The bar scene is housed in many different sections of the city, each with its own flavour and type of patrons.
The city's many dance and live music venues host many international and Canadian performers.
Toronto's comedy clubs are legendary. They have served as training grounds for stars such as
Jim Carrey,
The Kids in the Hall and
SCTV.
Points of interest
See also:
*
List of people from Toronto *
Canada's Walk of Fame*
List of Torontonians*
"Great Minds" from the University of TorontoToronto is Canada's media capital. It is the home of the two national newspapers (
The Globe and Mail and the
National Post), as well as the
Toronto Star, which has the highest circulation of any Canadian paper. It is also home to the major television networks and publishing industry.
*See:
List of media outlets in TorontoThe following clubs are part of the rich sports history of Toronto:
*
Granite Club - established in 1836
*
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club - established in 1852
*
Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club - history dates back to 1827
*
Argonaut Rowing Club - founded in 1872
*
Toronto Lawn Tennis Club - established in 1881
*
Badminton and Racquet Club - established in 1924
, which includes minor league and defunct teams.
With the exception of NFL football, Toronto is the only Canadian city with all the major sports teams in NHL, NBA, and MLB.
Toronto's violent crime rates are low compared to US cities of the same size, but in a January 2006 Globe and Mail editorial, it was stated that the rate of violent crime is on the rise . Toronto's crime patterns are more similar to those of European cities than nearby U.S. communities. Because of a spike in gun-related crimes, especially shootings, in 2005, largely attributed to the rise of gangs, concern over gun- and gang-related crimes has received increased local media attention. There have been calls for increased policing,
gun control, and stiffer sentences to help deal with the problem. Gang violence has been the main reason for the outburst of violence in Toronto; between 1997-2005 over three hundred gang-related deaths have occurred. Toronto was also shaken in June, 2006, when police arrested seventeen men in Toronto suburbs and charged them with planning terrorism attacks in Southern Ontario.(see below)
Toronto is a city also struggling to come to grips with a nagging homeless problem which has ebbed and flowed throughout the years. Toronto has a considerably larger homelessness problem than many cities of similar size. In 2003, 31,985 individuals stayed at least once in a Toronto homeless shelter.
. Many programs and responsibilities have recently shifted to the city from the provincial and federal governments, with many arguing that the city must come up with new ways to raise revenue to fund these new responsibilities.
For decades, the disuse of the Toronto port lands and lack of development of the Toronto waterfront (also known as the harbourfront, though not to be confused with
Harbourfront Centre), has been a major issue. Toronto's
central business district is separated from the waterfront by an expanse of open railway and by an elevated highway, the
Gardiner Expressway. Many contend that a series of condominium towers built along the waterfront in the 1990s and 2000s contribute to this separation. Parts of the formerly industrial area are now vacant and awaiting redevelopment. In 2004, investments from the Ontario government were made to encourage further development. On May 31, 2006 a design competition awarded a proposal brought forward by Rotterdam based West 8 architects to revitalize the central waterfront as a place to be and to visit. Among the key elements of the proposal, the slips from Bathurst Quay east to York Quay (central waterfront portion) will be extended into the harbour with a natural buffer of trees set back from the slips and it calls for the reduction of Queens Quay from 4 to 2 traffic lanes while maintaining the current Harbourfront LRT route. The proposal also emphasizes the need for stronger north-south connections between the harbour and the downtown core.
Now that the design work has been finalized, implementation of the proposal is set to begin in the fall of 2006.
Further east, south of the Keating Channel (the outflow for the
Don River), the land-reclaimed area known as the "Portlands", there have been many controversial approvals and proposals in the last few years. Because this area was entirely industrial (some remains so but most is vacant land
brownfields), soil remediation is necessary before much of the land there can be put to other non-industrial uses. Currently, the Portlands has a mishmash of uses including movie production, scrap metal operations, wastewater and refuse management facilities, and aquatic clubs. There is a proposal for a gas-fired power generation facility at the inactive Richard L. Hearn Generating Station.
Another important issue is the city's garbage. As the city's last remaining landfill site located in
Vaughan just north of the city, Keele Valley, neared capacity during the 1990s, no other municipality in Ontario was willing to accept the garbage, but there was also little political support for garbage
incineration. A deal was eventually made to ship Toronto's garbage to the
Adams Mine, an abandoned
open pit mine in
Northern Ontario, once the Keele Valley site closed. But objections grew into vociferous controversy as the time neared, and eventually the agreement was cancelled. Later an agreement was made with a Michigan landfill to accept Toronto's garbage which remains in effect today.
|
Colour-coded tripartite garbage bins are a common sight on Toronto streets. |
In 2005, Toronto switched from a "blue box" (
plastic and
metal) and
"grey box" (paper) program to a unified recycling system. The city also introduced in 2005 a
green bin program to recover
compostable materials. However, the green bin program has come under criticism by watch groups due to its cost, which is three times more to operate than currently shipping to Michigan.
Over the last couple of decades, vehicle and (in particular) highway
traffic has been increasing steadily in the Greater Toronto Area. However, road and transit investments have been limited to small projects such as on the 404, the 407, Sheppard subway, and York Region's
VIVA bus service.
Urban sprawl is a major factor: some commuters travel significant distances within the city and GTA for employment. Another major issue is the discontinuity between transit authorities across various municipalities (although there are plans to integrate these by offering a one-ticket fare across all municipalities by next year) or perceived inefficiency of transit as a viable alternative for commuting. This contributes to
gridlock: many single-occupant vehicles idle en route, adding to travel times and
smog. A recent study showed that gridlock costs the GTA's economy approximately $6 billion annually in lost revenue. Agencies such as the CAA (Canadian Automobile Association), OTA (Ontario Trucking Association), other commercial transportation interests and some citizens believe that much of the current congestion can be traced to the fact that Toronto's ultimate freeway system as proposed originally was never completed. This camp believes today's network includes huge gaps, and after cancellation of the north-south Spadina Expressway in 1971, successive "anti-car" city councils have not addressed the issue, electing instead to direct funding to transit initiatives and encourage greater pedestrian/cycling/transit usage.
As of June 2006, threats of
terrorism have also been increased. On June 3, RCMP and CSIS investigators arrested twelve men and five youths in connection with plotting terrorist attacks in Canada. Officials have declared that these individuals had purchased three tonnes of
ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient found in homemade explosive devices, with the intent to target the TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) and several other unnamed areas in Southern Ontario.
While public security is concerned, especially with public transit, investigators have assured that danger is at a minimum. The suspected attacks are thought to be in connection with the
Taliban's opposition to Canadian presence in
Afghanistan, as Canadian troops have recently come under more frequent attacks, and Taliban officials issuing warnings directly to Canada for the first time since the beginning of the
War on Terror (Friday June 2, 2006 -
The Globe and Mail).
City suburbs and neighbourhoods
From 1954 to 1998, the City of Toronto was one city within a larger federation of cities and municipalities called
Metropolitan Toronto. When Metropolitan Toronto was amalgamated by the Ontario provincial government under
Mike Harris to become one government, the City of Toronto was enlarged to include the former cities and municipalities of
York,
East York,
North York,
Etobicoke, and
Scarborough. All of these former cities or municipalities still maintain, in some ways, their own distinct identities; their names are still used by their residents. The areas within the former City of Toronto prior to the merger are still referred to as the old City of Toronto, the Inner City, Toronto Proper, or Downtown Toronto.
The former "City of Toronto" is still the most densely populated area of the current City of Toronto. As the largest metropolitan area in Canada, its downtown core is also one of the commercial, financial and entertainment centres of the country. Immediately surrounding the core, much of "Uptown" consists of wealthy enclaves such as
Yorkville,
Rosedale,
The Annex and
Forest Hill, which feature large, upscale residences, luxury condominiums, and high-end retail and services.
The former inner ring suburbs of
York and
East York are older, traditionally middle-class areas that are also ethnically diverse. Due to an increasing municipal population and a housing boom that ran through the late 1990s and early 2000s, many of the neighborhoods in the inner suburbs experienced accelerated
gentrification, with rapidly rising home prices, an influx of wealthier residents, and a boom in upscale businesses to service them. Areas affected the earliest include
Leaside and
North Toronto, with the western neighborhoods in York just beginning during this time. Much of the housing stock in these areas consists of post-WWI single-family houses and high-rises, but in many areas, these structures are either in the process of being replaced or remodelled.
The outer ring suburbs of the former cities of Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York are much more
suburban, although they largely retain the grid patterns of the streets laid down before post-war suburban development, many from towns that existed prior to their creation as cities.
Toronto has over 200 neighbourhoods within the current city borders. This is why Toronto is often locally described as "a city of neighbourhoods."
Parks
Toronto has numerous parks, parkettes and conservation areas throughout the city:
*
Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division is responsible for most parks in the city
*
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is responsible for conservation areas in and beyond the city proper
For more see the
List of Toronto parks.
Toronto's "905" exurbs
|
A simulated colour image of Toronto c. 1985, taken by Landsat 5 NOTE: The urbanized land area today extends much further out from the city than shown in this image. |
Before 1993, the telephone
area code 416 included the entire
Golden Horseshoe region from
Clarington to
Niagara Falls, Ontario. The area code was then split, with Metropolitan Toronto (now Toronto) alone remaining in 416, while the rest of the area became 905. In informal usage in Toronto, "the 905 region" or "the 905s" quickly began to be used as shorthand for the belt of suburbs and
exurbs surrounding the city, but not for places like Niagara Falls or
Hamilton. Subsequently both area codes 416 and 905 were
overlaid with new codes,
647 and
289 respectively, but popular usage has not been affected by this.
Toronto's
exurbs, the major "905" municipalities surrounding the city (roughly from west to east), are:
*
Downtown Toronto*
Greater Toronto Area*
Metropolitan Toronto*
Toronto City Council*
Province of Toronto*
Twin cities of Toronto*
Attractions in Toronto*
List of Toronto mayors*
List of Torontonians*
List of hospitals in Toronto*
List of sports teams in Toronto*
List of malls in Toronto*
List of media outlets in Toronto*
List of neighbourhoods in Toronto*
List of parks in Toronto*
List of annual events in Toronto*
List of educational institutions in Toronto*
List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto*
List of Toronto's 10 tallest skyscrapers*
List of films set in Toronto*
List of films filmed in Toronto*
Large Cities Climate Leadership GroupFootnotes
Other references
*
*
City of Toronto - Official website for the City of Toronto.
*
Toronto Maps Online Online maps from the City of Toronto.
*
Toronto Transit Commission - Official website for the city's transit system.
*
Tourism Toronto - Official tourism website for the City of Toronto.
*
The Good Ol' Toronto - Travel and visitor's guide to the City of Toronto.
*
Toronto4Kids - Links to family-friendly activities in Toronto.
*
Live with Culture - Official website from the City outlining the various arts and cultural activities in town.
*
Wikitravel Toronto - Toronto travel guide at Wikitravel.
*
Wikia Toronto - Toronto wiki at Wikia.com.
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