Quote:
Originally Posted by HAMRetrofit
I think the problem is the opposite. Hamilton can't accept complexity and contradiction. The mix of a weird church, seniors homes, and arts community will create a strange eclectic vibe. Don't worry about this perfect image so much. Just accept these contradictions, this is what builds great urban neighborhoods. Stop trying to separate everything and avoid discrimination.
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Hamilton may lack in complexity but it certainly has more than its fair share of contradiction. I fail to see what sort of great synthesis is going to come of artists, seniors home, and quasi-religion all being in the same vicinty. In fact, the lack of any logical or functional connection between the various entities is in my mind more likely to result in silent discord than any sort of meaningful harmony. Contradiction, unlike juxtaposition, is a negative term. Where different components of a given formula contradict rather than compliment each other, the equation falls apart. Nothing positive or productive comes of it. This is what I expect will happen on King William/James.
I'm all for diversity, but not the sort of diversity which is merely politically correct spin for segregation without meaningful correspondence between the disparate elements.
A laissez-faire approach to city building is fine where neighbourhood integrity is self-sustaining. A healthy city can swallow a lot of stuff which might at first seem objectionable without that stuff fatally unsettling its integral balance. One doesn't want to be heavy-handed, but where a city, like Hamilton, has lost most of that integral balance, a more thoughtful approach is called for.
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And of course, the newly renovated City Hall across the street...
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