The Great Canadian Skyline Thread!

[esquire]

^ That would actually make a good thread, best cities in the history of man. London, Rome and New York would all have solid arguments to make. Some might add Tokyo and Paris to the list, but we all know they're not serious contenders.

[osmo]

Toronto has a major glass ceiling with culture and the scene that is here isn't that extraordinary a d is very small. It gets get benefit of being the "defacto" national scene and thus locals here can be projected on a national scale for really not doing all that much aside from knowing the right people.

For serious talent they notice how small Toronto is quickly and often times jump at the chance to sink or swim in larger waters like NYC, LA, London, and some do but some don't and return back to the cozy confines of Toronto.

Montreal is the only city with a scene of actual size and scope. Vancouver has great talent that gets exported out to quickly, to many come to Toronto, but also many end up on a bigger platform abroad.

Toronto does not deserve the attention it gets. it rarely is pushing any new and interesting things. When I tell people that places like Detroit for example have much more intense and unique culture scenes people in Toronto arrogantly laugh but it's the truth. You can send 3 days in Detroit and be exposed to more then what a month would give you here in Toronto.

[caltrane74]

No one would laugh at you if you said Detroit has a greater cultural linage than Toronto, it is the home of Motown and is the sound of all popular music for the United States and around the world.

[mistercorporate]

Originally Posted by osmo

Toronto has a major glass ceiling with culture and the scene that is here isn't that extraordinary a d is very small. It gets get benefit of being the "defacto" national scene and thus locals here can be projected on a national scale for really not doing all that much aside from knowing the right people.

For serious talent they notice how small Toronto is quickly and often times jump at the chance to sink or swim in larger waters like NYC, LA, London, and some do but some don't and return back to the cozy confines of Toronto.

Montreal is the only city with a scene of actual size and scope. Vancouver has great talent that gets exported out to quickly, to many come to Toronto, but also many end up on a bigger platform abroad.

Toronto does not deserve the attention it gets. it rarely is pushing any new and interesting things. When I tell people that places like Detroit for example have much more intense and unique culture scenes people in Toronto arrogantly laugh but it's the truth. You can send 3 days in Detroit and be exposed to more then what a month would give you here in Toronto.

Which Toronto cultural scene are you talking about? There's probably 30 or so major subcultures and scenes at the very least. Toronto produces world leading musical talent unlike any other Canadian city, is the media hub bar none for a G7 country and it sure as hell is financially healthy, in what parallel reality is their cultural scene inferior to some of the cities you've listed? Time to climb out of that little bubble you live in...

[esquire]

Man, mistercorporate gives the Edmonton crew a run for their money in sheer over-the-top homer boosterism.

[hipster duck]

While it's fashionable to say that taste in cities is all subjective and relative, I think there are some things out there that are factual and can be called out.

I try to approach all cities with the most open mind I possibly can, but I can't see how Detroit offers a broader sampling of cultural offerings than Toronto. Look, Detroit gave birth to something like 4 musical genres and it was the birthplace of the modern middle class. Those are things that Toronto will never be able to claim, and in 900 years it's likely historians will know more about Detroit than they ever would about Toronto.

But there's no denying that Detroit is a horribly flawed city that has lost 2/3 of its population and where more people leave than enter (even at the Metro level). Under those conditions, it's hard to sustain much culture of any kind. And I don't just think of "culture" as upper middle class white hipster culture. Most black people want to get the hell out of Detroit, too.

Over in the "City Discussions" section, there's always an American poster from the rust belt who's going on about how their city will be the next Brooklyn because the city is so depopulated that "why wouldn't artists want to live in a burned out Victorian mansion that costs $10?" Sorry, but that's not going to happen and it never has.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That would actually make a good thread, best cities in the history of man. London, Rome and New York would all have solid arguments to make. Some might add Tokyo and Paris to the list, but we all know they're not serious contenders.

Counting all of history London and New York aren't serious contenders. Paris was the cultural heart of Europe for centuries and still remains top for fashion and many other things. New York and London are commerce, but for most of their history they weren't known for much else. Doing all of history Baghdad would probably rank better than New York due to the centuries of being a global centre of culture and learning vs. New York's one century of being a cultural centre.

[Harrij]

Originally Posted by esquire

Man, mistercorporate gives the Edmonton crew a run for their money in sheer over-the-top homer boosterism.

Edmonton posters are bad with that? I can think of one or two but I've seen more from other cities' posters. Admittedly, I haven't been here anywhere near as long or as frequently as most regulars here.

[caltrane74]

London and Paris should be ranked the same, far flung administrative outposts during the Roman Empire.

[hipster duck]

Also: Toronto is more polished than New York?

Toronto is many things, but of all the adjectives I would use to describe the city "polished" isn't one of them. I mean, you can't even walk 2 blocks without encountering a sidewalk that's not cut up and paved with "temporary" asphalt. There are telephone poles from the early 1900s lining the city's main shopping streets. There are parks where they barely even cut the grass.

Toronto's subway is less grungy than New York - I'll grant you that - but that's only because it's half the age. Some of the original Yonge stations are looking pretty shabby these days.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by esquire

Man, mistercorporate gives the Edmonton crew a run for their money in sheer over-the-top homer boosterism.

I tend to lean towards mistercorporate views than osmo. Find his to be dated and cliched. Guess I'm an over the top homer too.

[franktko]

Originally Posted by Harrij

Edmonton posters are bad with that? I can think of one or two but I've seen more from other cities' posters. Admittedly, I haven't been here anywhere near as long or as frequently as most regulars here.

lol, yeah. I'd say the top homers have traditionally been from Calgary and Montreal, with Edmonton closing in, in the past year. But mistercorporate is clearly aiming for a title shot!

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Also: Toronto is more polished than New York?

Toronto is many things, but of all the adjectives I would use to describe the city "polished" isn't one of them. I mean, you can't even walk 2 blocks without encountering a sidewalk that's not cut up and paved with "temporary" asphalt. There are telephone poles from the early 1900s lining the city's main shopping streets. There are parks where they barely even cut the grass.

Toronto's subway is less grungy than New York - I'll grant you that - but that's only because it's half the age. Some of the original Yonge stations are looking pretty shabby these days.

Anorher dated stereotype.

[Spring2008]

I tend to agree. Wasn't majorly impressed with Toronto's architecture either aside from a few historic buildings and some of the new towers going up. Lacking a bit of that grandeur you'd expect from a large city relative to even a city like Mtl. In this respect you cannot compare it to NY at all. Also found the city pretty far behind in natural beauty/park-spaces and public realm compared to say Vancouver. Having said that the city's buzzing with lots of variety/things to do and well on it's way to becoming a global city.

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Also: Toronto is more polished than New York?

Toronto is many things, but of all the adjectives I would use to describe the city "polished" isn't one of them. I mean, you can't even walk 2 blocks without encountering a sidewalk that's not cut up and paved with "temporary" asphalt. There are telephone poles from the early 1900s lining the city's main shopping streets. There are parks where they barely even cut the grass.

Toronto's subway is less grungy than New York - I'll grant you that - but that's only because it's half the age. Some of the original Yonge stations are looking pretty shabby these days.

[Daveography]

Originally Posted by esquire

Man, mistercorporate gives the Edmonton crew a run for their money in sheer over-the-top homer boosterism.

W...world class?

[lio45]

What exactly do you guys mean by "polished"? I would tend to take that to mean the exact opposite of "gritty". Is that interpretation correct?

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Counting all of history London and New York aren't serious contenders. Paris was the cultural heart of Europe for centuries and still remains top for fashion and many other things. New York and London are commerce, but for most of their history they weren't known for much else. Doing all of history Baghdad would probably rank better than New York due to the centuries of being a global centre of culture and learning vs. New York's one century of being a cultural centre.

Well if you consider the 20th century the apex of man's achievements, and I do, then New York is the greatest city that ever was. If you're coming from a point of view that counts firsts (the first time English was ever spoken! the first baguette!) then you're entitled to your view which is frankly wrong. But historical importance isn't really what I was getting at.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Gerrard

Well if you consider the 20th century the apex of man's achievements, and I do, then New York is the greatest city that ever was. If you're coming from a point of view that counts firsts (the first time English was ever spoken! the first baguette!) then you're entitled to your view which is frankly wrong. But historical importance isn't really what I was getting at.

Well if we use the 21st century (or most of the 20th) Tokyo wins as the apex due to simple scale. Also style, Japanese cities are so pretty.

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I tend to lean towards mistercorporate views than osmo. Find his to be dated and cliched. Guess I'm an over the top homer too.

Osmo's views are ridiculous. But honestly while Toronto does have a great street vibe it has a great street vibe for a city of 2.5. New York is 3x as large and it's apparent. It's great to say, yeah New York is a city one should strive to be more like but to suggest Toronto is even close isn't really accurate.

But it's dynamic, in a constant state of flux blah blah blah, and that's great. It's that dynamism that puts it in a league ahead of other Canadian metropolises but not in New York's.

It's ok to be number one in a B-list country.

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Well if we use the 21st century (or most of the 20th) Tokyo wins as the apex due to simple scale. Also style, Japanese cities are so pretty.

Not really but you're entitled to your opinion! (To be honest I don't have much faith in millennials ever achieving anything worthwhile). I'd say the "selfie" is probably as good as it's gonna get this century.