King of Kensington
Senior Member
Not feeling particularly articulate at the moment, but want to get the ball rolling. There are the obvious political definitions, i.e. 416 = City, 905= Suburbs or inner suburbs = Rest of Metro and outer suburbs = 905, but I'm talking more about urban form.
The Old City of Toronto is denser than every major N. American city besides New York and is somewhat similar to Boston and San Francisco in its dense compact city (with large highly educated/yuppie populations in the core) surrounded by huge metro area. New York is unique in terms of its density even "semi-suburban" Queens is denser than any other American city. Both New York and Chicago have very dense cores, with their poor neighborhoods tending to be quite far out, but these cities are so big that there is a fair number of "suburban" areas within their boundaries (i.e. Eastern Queens, Staten Island, and certain far-out neighborhoods like Sauganash and Edgebrook in Chicago).
With no disrespect to those living in these areas, I would say there are even a few "semisuburban" sections of the Old City - like Bloor West Village, North Toronto north of Eglinton, and the Beaches and Woodbine Corridor. I'm not implying those areas are cookie-cutter suburbia - suburbs have existed long before the 50s - but they feel removed enough to use that label (Of course, the Annex and Yorkville were "suburbs" at one point but they're too much a part of the heart of the city to use that definition now).
The old municipalities of York and East York are also a bit of a borderline case since they are pre-war suburbs (as are Forest Hill, Leaside and Kingsway Park - but these were developed as suburbs for the affluent) , and they have more "outer-city" than "suburban" levels of density.
I just hope nobody will insist that Yonge and Lawrence is "downtown."
The Old City of Toronto is denser than every major N. American city besides New York and is somewhat similar to Boston and San Francisco in its dense compact city (with large highly educated/yuppie populations in the core) surrounded by huge metro area. New York is unique in terms of its density even "semi-suburban" Queens is denser than any other American city. Both New York and Chicago have very dense cores, with their poor neighborhoods tending to be quite far out, but these cities are so big that there is a fair number of "suburban" areas within their boundaries (i.e. Eastern Queens, Staten Island, and certain far-out neighborhoods like Sauganash and Edgebrook in Chicago).
With no disrespect to those living in these areas, I would say there are even a few "semisuburban" sections of the Old City - like Bloor West Village, North Toronto north of Eglinton, and the Beaches and Woodbine Corridor. I'm not implying those areas are cookie-cutter suburbia - suburbs have existed long before the 50s - but they feel removed enough to use that label (Of course, the Annex and Yorkville were "suburbs" at one point but they're too much a part of the heart of the city to use that definition now).
The old municipalities of York and East York are also a bit of a borderline case since they are pre-war suburbs (as are Forest Hill, Leaside and Kingsway Park - but these were developed as suburbs for the affluent) , and they have more "outer-city" than "suburban" levels of density.
I just hope nobody will insist that Yonge and Lawrence is "downtown."