Series: Mnemotechny in Toronto «

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Mnemotechny in Toronto

A six-part review on ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 0. The temporary sales office of “LOFT”, a condo development on West Queen Street West, 23 January 2012. [Idlewild]

An introduction to “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 4. “B.streets” proposed site, 2011, will occupy the former Loretto College building at Central Tech School at Bathurst, near Bloor. Project launched with unusually high fanfare, including a prominent piece in the Toronto Star in September 2011. While conceptual mural art depicts a lively street life reminiscent more of New Orleans or Portland than of Toronto, the inset illustration of the edifice shows no trace that the “B.streets” name will survive once the building is completed. [Idlewild]

Eradicating names, eroding memory, erasing imageability: “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 7. BIA streetscape treatments to public sidewalks within the Bloor-Yorkville BIA zone. Street furniture “props” are funded by compulsory annual fees received from BIA members — a private levy tool legalized by the province in 1970, giving birth to the BIA model. Props for public spaces in Bloor-Yorkville BIA feature granite-slabbed sidewalks, sunken pot lights for new trees, and stone “benches” engineered to minimize lounging or resting time (or accommodation for denizens with disabilities). This bench design (not shown) deprives the public realm of the means to accommodate denizens with reasonably comfortable seating; rather, the design coaxes denizens to minimize their sitting presence and seek out private sites of consumption which promise not only the illusion of public spacing (e.g., a sidewalk café), but also have cosier seating configurations. Within the Bloor-Yorkville BIA, City of Toronto street furniture is missing — including the absence of ubiquitous city bike ring posts designed to secure two bikes, replaced by a BIA-approved bike lock "columns" (which have difficulty accommodating more than one bike and are incompatible with several popular bike-locking solutions). [Idlewild]

The gendering of condo geographies: “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 8. Beyond the glass towers of One Bedford at Bloor and Museumhouse, a third condo tower called “Exhibit” is, as of March 2012, slated for construction. It would be sited next to Museumhouse. There is no indication that this condo tower, whose features negligibly vary from its neighbours, will display its name to the streetscape once construction is complete. If so, it would render this stretch of the Bloor streetscape even more illegible, alien, and hostile to denizens and visitors. [Idlewild]

A city lost to her — gendered urbanity and wayfinding: “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 9. One St. Thomas Street, built 2007–08, is an exceptional case where a new-build condo tower not only preserved a visible toponym as a permanent fixture, but also utilized a cut stone façade reminiscent of early 20th century American architectures, setting its presence apart from its glass box contemporaries. Its only drawback is that St. Thomas Street is not an arterial, and the condo’s permanent awning is only visible by those who find themselves wilfully on the hidden side-street. [Idlewild]

Discussion on “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

Figure 10. Pending condo development at 50 Wellesley Street East, August 2008, with visible remnants of a just-demolished, four-storey brick office building. As of 2012 2015, this development is not yet built. Branded both as “Plaza” and “50 Wellesley East”, its developers still have a positive opportunity to inscribe the “Plaza” (or “Plaza at 50 Wellesley”) name permanently to the tower and to enhance legibility of the streetscape along Wellesley. Owing to its extended presence for at least four seven years, the “Plaza” name serves already as an effective, if ephemeral, toponym. [Idlewild]

Conclusion of “Mnemotechny in Toronto”

Ephemeral toponyms, streetscape illegibility, and gendering the territories of condo development

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