uTOpia: Towards a New Toronto

uTOpia

by Alana Wilcox (Editor), Alana Wilcox (Editor)

Since the election of Mayor David Miller in November 2003, Toronto has experienced a wave of civic pride and enthusiasm not felt in decades. At long last, Torontonians see their city as a place of possibility and potential. Visions of a truly workable, liveable and world-class city are once again dancing in citizens’ heads. In the past two years, this spirit has, directly or indirectly, manifested itself in multifarious forms: in writer Sheila Heti’s sui generis lecture series, Trampoline Hall; in the transformation of derelict hotels such as the Drake and the Gladstone into cultural hotspots; in renewed interest in waterfront revitalization and public transportation; in exciting, controversial architectural developments such as the OCAD building, the expansion of the ROM and the AGO; in the [murmur] project, which catalogues stories about Toronto neighbourhoods and broadcasts them to people’s cell phones; in the explosion of the local independent music scene.

uTOpia aims to capture and chronicle that spirit, collecting writing by many of the people inspired by and involved in these projects. Featuring passionate, visionary essays by thirty-four different journalists, artists, thinkers, architects and activists, uTOpia is a compendium of ideas, opinions and strategies. The anthology explores plans to redevelop the Island airport into a Ward’s Island-style community; how the Zeidler family is energizing artist-run centres; what a car-free Kensington Market might mean; the necessity and beauty of laneway housing; the way past efforts to combat devastating developments like the Spadina Expressway have shaped current activism; what a utopian Toronto might look like mapped out; and much, much more. Playful, erudite and accessible, uTOpia writes Toronto as it is shared and created by the people who live here. Though it is by no means a complete picture of what is happening in the city right now, it will hopefully show that what was once just a T-shirt slogan – I Heart T.O. – is now genuine, heartfelt sentiment.

Contributors include Howard Akler, Andrew Alfred-Duggan, Jacob Allderdice, Bert Archer, James Bow, Nicole Cohen, Jonny Dovercourt, Dale Duncan, Philip Evans, Mark Fram, Misha Glouberman, Chris Hardwicke, Sheila Heti, Alfred Holden, Luis Jacob, Lorraine Johnson, Edward Keenan, Mark Kingwell, John Lorinc, Sally McKay, Heather McLean, Dave Meslin, Shawn Micallef, Derek Murr, Ninjalicious, Darren O’Donnell, Planning Action, Barbara Rahder, Dylan Reid, Erik Rutherford, Jeffrey Stinson, Deanne Taylor, Conan Tobias, Stéphanie Verge, Adam Vaughan and Marlena Zuber.

Genres: Nonfiction, Urban, Essays

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2001

About the author

Alana Wilcox is the senior editor of Coach House Books, where she co-founded the uTOpia series. She also serves as the past chair of the Literary Press Group.

Reviews

[Buck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, God. It’s as if all the coolest people in Toronto—all the scenesters who pointedly ‘forget’ to invite me to their parties and who spurn my awkward sexual advances—as if they got together and wrote a book about my city. Without me. Nice. Sometimes life really is an extension of high school.

Needless to say, I can’t be objective about uTOpia: I’m too close to the subject matter and not close enough—for my liking—to the contributors. I will say this much: the psychogeographic teabagging on display here is both thrilling and revolting. I defer to no one in my love of Toronto, but unlike some of the writers here, I don’t get down on all fours to ogle manhole covers and sidewalk panels (I’m not kidding; they’ve got pictures.)

How seriously are we supposed to take an anthology that includes a manifesto promoting public washrooms as ‘a basis for rethinking and rebuilding a radically democratic and socially just urban citizenry and urban politics’(italics emphatically not mine)? (Even before flipping to the author bios at the back, I guessed—correctly—that the three people responsible for this piece were affiliated with my old alma mater: that strident tone is not one you ever forget).

I could go on making fun of uTOpia all day—and in the company of my similarly embittered Toronto friends, I probably will. Yet part of me is secretly glad this book exists; it may be earnest and self-congratulatory in a very Torontonian way, but at least it shows that people are getting excited about the city—visibly, tumescently excited. And if that excitement leads to the occasional bout of manhole love or sidewalk dry humping, who am I to judge?

[Michael Bedford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book years ago as a present from my sister Erin shortly after it was published. uTOpia's a collection of articles and photography about different historical facts, and ideas for the future of Toronto published by Coach House Books in 2005.

Probably my favourite thing about reading the book recently was comparing the current state of municipal politics in our fair city (oy!) with the state of municipal politics at the time of uTOpia's publication. uTOpia was published shortly after David Miller was elected Mayor, and the optimistic edge of most of the articles demonstrates that. The book is contains some awesome public work project ideas (my favourite: a city-spanning bike tube) and relatively sensible suggested bans on other specific developments (like the island airport). On one hand, the difference between then and now was sad for me (we had come so far and now we're in this mess), but on the other, it reminded me of how the city used to be on the road to cutting-edge sustainable development and rational municipal governance and could be again.

The columnists were well-picked. Some highlights were an introduction by David Miller, an article by Adam Vaughan, a guide to urban exploration by NinjaLicious, and a discussion of the history of the wavelength concert series by some of its earliest proponents. It also comes with a couple of cool maps of the city; one map shows various hypothetical public works and private investment projects (such as an integrated transit system and a wind farm), the other is artist Marlena Zuber's rendering of her optimistic vision for Toronto, which I also saw on my friends' wall the other day.

I suppose people might say that the book is outdated now because David Miller isn't the Mayor any more, others might say that the ideas in uTOpia are too optimistic to be realistic with our new austere economy. If this is how you feel (it's not how I feel) the book still has plenty of interesting historical facts about Toronto's unique urban landscape.

I'd say it's a good pick for anybody interested in learning more about Toronto whether one's a local, a 'burbanite, or a tourist.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books for any urban enthusiast from Toronto or elsewhere.

[Claire S]

Mmmm..

[Jlau87]

i've actually read this before, a number of years ago.