Toronto seizes 2nd spot in annual ranking of cities.. - Page 2

MonkeyRonin · #21 Posted **May 10, 2011, 4:06 AM**

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Berlin, Hamburg and Amsterdam make Toronto look like a steaming heap of developing world shite.

I don't really resent the developing world comparison. In a lot of ways, Toronto does have more in common with the likes of Mexico City or Shanghai than it does Amsterdam or Berlin - its an emerging city as opposed to one thats come onto the world stage centuries ago - and suitably, its built form shows. Rather messy and unkempt and full of contrasts. Not a bad thing.

Kind of sad that our infrastructure resembles that found in a developing country though...as is the case across Canada, and will continue to be the case for at least the next 4 years.

Bdog · #22 Posted **May 10, 2011, 4:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Kind of sad that our infrastructure resembles that found in a developing country though...as is the case across Canada, and will continue to be the case for at least the next 4 years.

I guess you haven't been to many developing countries...

Waterlooson · #23 Posted **May 10, 2011, 4:51 AM**

^^ That's what I was going to say... to compare T.O. with a city in the 3rd world is absurd... and I spend a lot of time in Mexico... lots of dirt roads and slums in this resort city.

Gresto · #24 Posted **May 10, 2011, 7:02 AM**

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Originally Posted by caltrane74

And to think Toronto wouldn't be what it is today if Montreal hadn't self distructed 40 years ago.

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Originally Posted by Ramako

Speaking of which I notice that Montreal isn't even listed in the report. Not even worth consideration. Interesting that...

Now come on guys, don't sink to the tit-for-tat, schoolyard-insults level of this habfan person. Haven't been there myself, but from everything I've seen Montreal's a lovely city.

giallo · #25 Posted **May 10, 2011, 7:51 AM**

^ Not only that, Habmanfan is originally from Ontario, is he not?

Just ignore him. He's currently the biggest troll/instigator on SSP and has been for awhile now. I'm not sure why he hasn't been booted off this site permanently.

agrant · #26 Posted **May 10, 2011, 8:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gresto

Now come on guys, don't sink to the tit-for-tat, schoolyard-insults level of this habfan person. Haven't been there myself, but from everything I've seen Montreal's a lovely city.

Of course Montreal is awesome. This is a ranking of "26 global centers of finance, business and culture". I guess Montreal is one of the many many cities that didn't qualify.

trofirhen · #27 Posted **May 10, 2011, 8:26 AM**

Toronto. Love that city; dynamic, pulsing, interesting ..... I just wish some people in Toronto could get over their intoxication with their recently-found importance, and stop bashing other Canadian cities.

Toronto, you have made it. You're not an adolecent any more, so please stop scorning out Vancouver, and Montreal. We all bow to you.

(This applies generally, not specifically to SSP members)!

eemy · #28 Posted **May 10, 2011, 10:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Toronto. Love that city; dynamic, pulsing, interesting ..... I just wish some people in Toronto could get over their intoxication with their recently-found importance, and stop bashing other Canadian cities.

Toronto, you have made it. You're not an adolecent any more, so please stop scorning out Vancouver, and Montreal. We all bow to you.

(This applies generally, not specifically to SSP members)!

Aside from the occasional forum trolls, is this really a problem? I really don't believe that Torontonians are any more likely to bash another city than Vancouverites or Montrealers save for hockey games or some other inconsequential scenario.

For the record, most people out east actually really like Vancouver and BC. The continuous playing of the victimization card is becoming a bit tired.

caltrane74 · #29 Posted **May 10, 2011, 12:06 PM**

habsfanman's wit and sarcasm are quite entertaining, and I must admit that his anti-Toronto Trolling is often the best thing about the Canada Forum.

Nothing more statisfying than seeing your own cities rise in global status and wealth bring out all this insecurity in a 50 year old man, who's only childhood memories of Toronto were when it was nothing more than a small Farming Village, only to see that same puritanical town rise up and pass the once largest city in Canada by more than 3 million people, and unmeasurable wealth within his already over extended lifetime.

PoscStudent · #30 Posted **May 10, 2011, 1:04 PM**

Why doesn't Toronto have their own thread?

MolsonExport · #31 Posted **May 10, 2011, 1:34 PM**

Get out your Leafs' window scrapers and start mast.......!

Gerrard · #32 Posted **May 10, 2011, 2:06 PM**

Montreal and Vancouver in all probability were not included because they aren't financial capitals.

Melbourne isn't known as a finance capital either, hence why Sydney often beats it out (even though some people might prefer Melbourne overall).

I was surprised how close they are in terms of population and wealth making them a true city v. city rivalry (more so than any Canadian cities can claim).

We have our regionalism but in the end it seems way more false and manufactured and only helped by a complete lack of cross regional mixing (due to our size perhaps or lack of curiosity about each other).

kool maudit · #33 Posted **May 10, 2011, 2:12 PM**

habfanman... you have to drop this toronto thing. everything else you post is judged by the standard you set with your toronto posts, and it's not a great one. i mean, you seem like a guy who does stuff, you travel, you had some interesting thoughts in the quebec thread... but this toronto hate is bizarre and will lead to your expulsion from the forum (i'm not a mod, but i know how these things go)

seriously, man...

Acajack · #34 Posted **May 10, 2011, 2:23 PM**

As world cities go, Toronto is not particularly flashy. One of the least flashy of the bunch in fact. But it discreetly does almost all of the little things right. That is the secret of its success.

rousseau · #35 Posted **May 10, 2011, 5:45 PM**

I think habfanman is funny. And what better tribute is there to a city than people who are obsessed with putting it down at every turn? I don't actually live in Toronto (I'm an hour and a half away), but I still think of it as "my" city, and I think habfanman's attentions are really rather flattering.

It shouldn't need be said, but a critical open season on Toronto by all and sundry is an ipso facto acknowledgment that it is this country's representative metropolis. Hogtowners on this forum should grow a thicker skin. Don't be so Canadian.

isaidso · #36 Posted **May 10, 2011, 5:58 PM**

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Originally Posted by Bdog

I guess you haven't been to many developing countries...

You'd be surprised. Lots of developing countries are investing heavily in their infrastructure while Canada is patching up a crumbling, yet large system that's reached its best past due date.

Thailand, Malaysia, China, Turkey, etc. Canada still has a more extensive system than most places outside the West, but we're being passed by country after country after country. Burying out heads in the sand and convincing ourselves that we're still light years ahead of these other countries isn't just incorrect, it's foolhardy.

isaidso · #37 Posted **May 10, 2011, 6:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterlooson

^^ That's what I was going to say... to compare T.O. with a city in the 3rd world is absurd... and I spend a lot of time in Mexico... lots of dirt roads and slums in this resort city.

Mexico City is just one city so I wouldn't base your conclusion on that.

Btw, Mexico isn't considered the 3rd world and the developing world and 3rd world aren't the same thing. The developing world usually refers to countries like China, Turkey, Malaysia, Brazil, even South Korea. '3rd world' is an obsolete term these days and largely falling out of use. It's a condescending arrogant term used by rich nations in reference to desperately poor nations they consider below them.

Ramako · #38 Posted **May 10, 2011, 6:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I think habfanman is funny. And what better tribute is there to a city than people who are obsessed with putting it down at every turn? I don't actually live in Toronto (I'm an hour and a half away), but I still think of it as "my" city, and I think habfanman's attentions are really rather flattering.

It shouldn't need be said, but a critical open season on Toronto by all and sundry is an ipso facto acknowledgment that it is this country's representative metropolis. Hogtowners on this forum should grow a thicker skin. Don't be so Canadian.

You're right. At first he used to irritate me, but now I actively look forward to his posts. His blind, seething and frankly inexplicable bitterness is amusing. It's like watching a cat trying to attack fish in a tank.

brentwood · #39 Posted **May 10, 2011, 6:28 PM**

Although infrastructure is not Toronto's or for that matter Canada's strong point currently, making comparisons to developing countries has to be tempered somewhat to recognize the sheer size and depth that is Canada. Sure Bangkok, to use one example, has a shiny new subway, Skytrain and even Airport Express but as is often the case in developing countries, investment is heavily concentrated in the megacities. The second largest city in Thailand doesn't even have a bus system.

Canada, in contrast, has decent public transport infrastructure in second and third tier cities. Also, due to Canada's sheer size think of the amount of airport infrastructure that is required and the amount of money needed to build and maintain it all. Of course Hong Kong has a kick ass airport, they only need one of them!

Bdog · #40 Posted **May 10, 2011, 7:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

You'd be surprised. Lots of developing countries are investing heavily in their infrastructure while Canada is patching up a crumbling, yet large system that's reached its best past due date.

Thailand, Malaysia, China, Turkey, etc. Canada still has a more extensive system than most places outside the West, but we're being passed by country after country after country. Burying out heads in the sand and convincing ourselves that we're still light years ahead of these other countries isn't just incorrect, it's foolhardy.

While I don't deny that the infrastructure deficit in Canada is extensive and mounting, it is absolutely ludricrous to suggest that our infrastructure is on par with that of developing countries (except maybe in certain remote areas and reserves).

Sure Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai & Istanbul have fancy new transit systems, multi-lane freeways, and brand new waterworks projects. But, step out of the main cores of any developing country's mega-city, and what you'll find is something most Canadian's could never even imagine (the small cities and rural areas are even worse):

Scarce running water facilities. No sewage (just streetside gutters). Informal garbage disposal (in the gutters, or burnt in informal dumps). Dirt roads with pot-holes that would even seem foreign in early-April Winnipeg. Intermittant electricity (for those areas lucky enough to be served). I could go on and on.

Don't equate downtown Mexico City, Kuala Lampur, or Capetown as proxies for the developing world experience in terms of infrastructure...