
The Heart of Toronto
Corporate Power, Civic Activism, and the Remaking of Downtown Yonge Street
Daniel Ross(Author)
University of British Columbia Press
Published on 1. April 2022
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-7748-6700-9 (ISBN)
Description
From the 1950s to the 1970s, downtown North America was reconfigured for the suburban age. Municipal officials planned renewal schemes, merchant groups lobbied for street improvements, developers built bigger and taller. Everywhere, attention turned to the problems and possibilities at the commercial and civic heart of cities.
The Heart of Toronto follows one such example of reinvention: downtown Yonge Street. Efforts to keep pace with, or even lead, urban change included the street's conversion into a car-free public space, a clean-up campaign targeting the sex industry, and the construction of North America's largest urban shopping mall. These revitalization projects were all connected to wider trends of postwar decentralization, economic restructuring, and cultural transformation.
Interweaving histories of development, civic activism, and corporate clout, The Heart of Toronto widens our understanding of the actors and power dynamics involved in remaking downtown in Canada's largest city - a process that is far from over.
The Heart of Toronto follows one such example of reinvention: downtown Yonge Street. Efforts to keep pace with, or even lead, urban change included the street's conversion into a car-free public space, a clean-up campaign targeting the sex industry, and the construction of North America's largest urban shopping mall. These revitalization projects were all connected to wider trends of postwar decentralization, economic restructuring, and cultural transformation.
Interweaving histories of development, civic activism, and corporate clout, The Heart of Toronto widens our understanding of the actors and power dynamics involved in remaking downtown in Canada's largest city - a process that is far from over.
Reviews / Votes
"Daniel Ross' Heart of Toronto is a much needed analysis of a critical aspect of downtown Toronto's postwar development."- Ross Fair, Toronto Metropolitan University (Ontario Historical Society Review) "In The Heart of Toronto: Corporate Power, Civic Activism, and the Remaking of Downtown Yonge Street, historian Daniel Ross reminds us how streets provide a unique and critical lens into urban growth and development." - Karen Chapple, University of Toronto (Journal of the American Planning Association)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Illustrations
23 b&w photographs, 3 maps
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
480 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-6700-9 (9780774867009)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Daniel Ross is an associate professor in the Department of History at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. His research on cities, urban culture, and local politics in Canada has been published in the Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine, BC Studies, the Bulletin d'histoire politique, and Spacing magazine.
Content
The Street and the City
1 Making Downtown Yonge Street
2 The City of Tomorrow
3 A People Place
4 Fighting Sin Strip
5 Malling Main Street
Remaking Downtown Yonge Street
Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index
1 Making Downtown Yonge Street
2 The City of Tomorrow
3 A People Place
4 Fighting Sin Strip
5 Malling Main Street
Remaking Downtown Yonge Street
Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index