Introduction
This research is aimed at interpreting the landscape of downtown Toronto in relation to how it has evolved over the years and where it is headed in the future. This is a landscape that has attracted a lot of research as a result of its rate of growth and development and the special features that have been coming up over the years.
From this observation, it has aroused curiosity in many people who would like to know how it will be in future hence attempting to do a research in this. This area also has a high level of historical significance owing to the fact that it was a land that was reclaimed before being developed, a process that proved very successful.
In order to develop this case study, we will consider a number of factors and methodologies by considering the opinions of historians, traditional culturalists, urban developers, anthropologists, landscape engineers and archeologists. This will give us an overview of how this landscape was in the past, the changes it has undergone to what it is in the present as well as what is expected of it in future.
Study methodology
This study will mostly depend on secondary evidence owing to its nature in the sense that it relies on the information that has already been dug out by the respective professionals. The study of a landscape is mostly based on perception and different people perceive things differently depending on their objective. There is therefore no specific methodology that can be followed in this study hence the need to adopt the different ones available.
The most viable sources of information in this case includes but is not limited to cultural study materials, geographers’ reports, theories developed by political analysts and information obtained from archeologists, historians and anthropologists (Delafons 1997, 25). From this, we will be in a position to develop a concept on landscape examination as per the requirements of this paper.
Landscape analysis is mostly based on conceptual examination but there are some physical objects which can be used in this description. These include infrastructure such as roads, railways, golf courses, buildings and so on. These are the objects which are used to describe development in the urban centers and hence cannot be left out in the interpretation of the landscape.
Others include the natural features such as mountains and hills, rivers and lakes among others. Besides the examination of the natural and manmade features, this study also involves an analysis of the weather patterns and the factors that have contributed to any changes experienced in this.
This is important since it has a direct impact on the existence of natural resources and the movement from natural to man made. A good illustration of this is where owing to the climatic, natural lakes dry up and geographers in the bid to preserve the environment resort to the development of manmade lakes.
The other method of study that will be applied in this analysis is that of mapping the area to determine the intensity of buildings in relation to the land surface area and the activity that has the highest percentage of land use. This will be associated with the political and social activities going on in the area.
From this therefore, it is will easy to tell where the landscape development activity is headed, hence coming up with an interpretation of how the landscape will look like in the long run (Lewis 1999, 5). This will be made possible by considering the factors that have led to the current development from what existed in the past since these are the same factors that will determine what the landscape will comprise of in future.
By the use of maps, we will also be able to tell how the topography of the area is running and how it has changed over the years. This means that we will need map drawn years back and a current one as well, to enable comparison.
This will also enable the identification of the roads network, how the man made features are related to the natural features, the type of buildings being constructed, the new architectural designs being developed and their relationship to the old ones and finally the activities that have an effect on the developments going on with the landscape (Rodeik 2002, 2).
From the mapping methodology, we will also be able to determine different factors that have an impact on the kind of buildings and infrastructure coming up hence being able to develop a trend that will enable us to look into what might be going on in future.
Description of the landscape
Downtown Toronto is an area located at the heart of the city of Toronto. The streets surrounding this area include Simcoe Street and Stratchen Street on opposite ends, and front and wellington streets on the other ends. The area is approximately 1.6 square kilometers with 1 kilometer in width and 1.6 kilometers in length.
When describing the landscape of this area, the most important part is the piece of land surrounding Fort York, though even the other sections of the town cannot be neglected in this analysis since it is not possible to draw out a clear boundary. Before being developed into a town, downtown Toronto was a forested area and that was prior to 1793.
With time, the area was identified as a potential region for having a fort hence the construction of fort York and subsequently a railway line in the year 1850 which eventually attracted a lot of industrial activities.
The landscape has however changed and is still changing through the construction of residential houses, rehabilitation of the lake to create land for development of infrastructure which in this case includes an expressway, billboards, railways and roads.
When describing the landscape of downtown Toronto, the following features come to mind in the sense that they are the core of this landscape. First is Fort York which as explained earlier on was developed in 1793. This was the first infrastructure to be constructed in this area with the main purpose of service the natural lake that existed at that time. This has however changed since the area has been encroached by residential and industrial buildings.
These and the other infrastructural developments have turned the area into something else as opposed to the initial intended purpose of being a Fort town.
The second feature in this landscape is the Gardner Expressway located at the southern part of Fort York, constructed in the 1950’s and the reason why it has a great effect on the landscape is because of the fact that it is higher than the topographical level hence forming an obstruction in the landscape (Corner 1999, 55). In fact, plans are underway to demolish this carriage way to pave way for scenic development.
Next is the golf course that was developed in the year 2000, with the double storey driving range on the western side and a golf course with nine holes on the eastern side. This place is surrounded by a screen that prevents the golf balls from going out of the range. This has been constructed in a way that a golf player seems to be aiming at Fort York when hitting the ball and this effect adds more beauty to the landscape.
There is however more construction going on in the area meaning that the landscape is still being developed. Molson brewery is one of the light industries that has been established in downtown Toronto at the southern part of Fort York, with a huge bill board adjacent to it as its advert.
The other industry is the meat processing plant which has been in existence since the 1900’s located on the northern part of the Fort. These industries are however at risk of going extinct owing to the fact that the economic and social activities in the area are changing at a rampant rate.
The store clearer storage area is an area that was set aside to since 20 years as a storage space for those equipments used in clearing snow off the streets during the winter season. This was developed after the light industry was closed down and it has proved to be the best substitute for land use.
Snow clearing machines and chemicals are useful to the area since they ensure that even during winter people can be able to move around in their vehicles despite the snow menace. Besides this, there are other infrastructures such as the railway line which completely surrounds the area and has its terminal at the fort.
Then the major roads which divide the landscape into sections with the most spectacular of them all being Bathrust Street which runs through the bridge and cuts across Bremner Street (Barbar 2000, 22). There are also bill boards both the painted version and the television ones used to advertise different products and companies in the town. The expressway for example has these billboards after every short distance each with a different message to the drivers.
There is another beautiful sight that adds up to the downtown Toronto’s landscape beauty and that is the creek which is located near the shores of the lake. This feature is small and almost drying up but from the environment it can be concluded that some time back it covered a huge and it was such a sight to behold. It is however not clear as to whether this creek was a natural feature or it was manmade as a result of the activities of filing up the lake.
Finally is the skyscraper/dome which also makes a big contribution to this landscape. The main attraction here is the size of these structures and their magnificent architectural designs developed by renowned architects in Canada. All these features together make the landscape of downtown Toronto what it is, and since more development plans are underway, the landscape is expected to look different in future from what it is at the moment.
Theory on the landscape interpretation
Landscape in this case refers to both the physical features that are visible, and the conceptual features that can only be perceived such as relationships and the social position of the area. According to Bourdieu (1997) “landscape is a social construction, a resultant of attitudes and actions where it exhibits layers of life and where the construction and the distribution of the built environment allow the transmission of meaning from one generation to the next” (50).
Landscape interpretation in this case is based on hearsay and assumptions, but despite this the features in such environments have a social-cultural implication that is irrespective of how common they may appear to be. Brown (1993) indicates that “it is vital for all landscape or any material culture to be situated in context if it to be properly understood”. (143)
He goes ahead to explain the meaning of the term context as “the association with other objects, architecture, features, individuals, groups, time and space, all of which provide information necessary for understanding meaning and function” (145). This means that objects which exist in separation from the larger environment are considered ambiguous and have to be placed in a specific context for them to be included in the description of the landscape.
The past of downtown Toronto landscape
Downtown Toronto is considered to be very significant in the development of Toronto as a whole since it is the parent to the entire urban center. This means that the development of Toronto began here many years back when the area was home to the first population in the region, this dating back to approximately two hundred years ago.
It also has a lot of historical significance as far as military activities are concerned since the area acted as a military training zone. Over the years, many industries have been coming up and going down as more construction and land reclamation activities are taking place. With the passing on of generations, different features have been established depending on what was highly esteemed in the respective generations.
Fort York was founded in 1793 by Simcoe who was a high ranking official in the Canadian government. He positioned a maritime base at the edge of the Garrison creek on Lake Ontario when it was perceptible that Canada would get into war with the United States.
In this case, Fort York played a very significant role since it was the haven of defense during the war in 1814 and eventually this is the point through which the US maritime army was drove off. Most of the buildings constructed in those days therefore were used as hideouts hence they had to be very strong and with many outlets and rooms.
In 1926, industrialization processes were beginning to come up in the area as a result of the existence of the port. This also attracted a railway network that would surround the whole area and also serve the neighboring communities with transport network.
The eastern part of Fort York was encroached by industrial activities and these were directly linked to the Fort for ease of transporting raw materials into the industries and finished goods to the market. This is however a speculation made out of the fact that there is a railways network plus a few traces that these industries ones existed.
It is common knowledge that industries usually cluster around railways and this is what the assumption is based on since these industries no longer exist. At around 1934, environmental conservation efforts began to affect the industries adversely and this was triggered by the economic depression that came about at around this period.
The authorities realized that the industries were working against the future generations and plans to sabotage them were put in place and this was successful. The Fort was restored since the industrialization process had occupied almost the entire landscape in the area.
The present landscape of Downtown Toronto
The landscape in downtown Toronto has changed shape over the years as a result of the changes taking place in the society. There have been a number of alterations which include demolition of old buildings and replacing them with new ones, filling part of the lake to create land among other transformations such as construction of mega structures.
The society in the present world is however more inclined to preserving historic sites and developing recreational sites. Fort York has been transformed into a historic museum and besides this, there are other historic sites that have been conserved such as the battlefield and the military cemetery.
According to Sassen (2001), “these sites are considered to Toronto’s most significant heritage resource that is of international importance, central to the story of Toronto” (77).
The golf course is another feature in this landscape that has been maintained to date and it has played a major role in transforming the town from “urban waste land to an area of recreation and enjoyment” (Fairclough 1999, 27). This piece of land was purchased by a private developer alongside other tracts of land in the region.
The present state of the land at Toronto therefore is triggered by the need for recreation and a well maintained green land. The community is also adopting sporting activities at a rate that accelerates the development of these facilities replacing the industrial activities which were prevalent years back.
The future of Downtown Toronto’s landscape
From the present developments, it is clear that Downtown Toronto is yet to face more changes in terms of development. Some of the development plans which are underway include the water front re-vitalization plan, concord Alex development and Fort York development. These developments are triggered by the foreseen need for closely knit neighborhood and the increasing need for residential houses.
The main aim of the Waterfront re-vitalization project is to “develop a high profile cultural zone that will enrich the cultural lives of people living in Toronto and become a major tourism destination” (Kipfer and Rodger 2000, 23).
The Concord Alex development plan on the other hand is aimed at developing world class architectural features which will put Toronto in the map as one of the Cities with the most magnificent structures. There are also plans to develop Fort York region by putting up buildings and more streets and providing subsidized residential houses to the residents.
Conclusion
From this analysis, it is evident that the landscape in downtown Toronto has been developing over the years and this is far from over. Different changes are triggered by different factors and these factors change from one generation to the other. This means that the process of constructing, demolishing and reconstructing is far from over, considering it has been there since the town came into existence.
At some point for example the expressway was valued owing to the fact that it eased transportation of goods to and from the industries.
This need however became obsolete with the growing need for recreation and this was demolished to pave way for recreation sites such as the golf course. In the near future however as the need for residential houses increase, this might have to be demolished as well in order to create space for the construction of residential houses.
Works Cited
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Sassen, Saskia. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print.