York University
Introduction to Human Geography 1410
Urban Trail 2007
Student Name:
_________________________________________
TA Name and Group:
________________________________________
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
Urban Trail Page 2
Introduction
We would like you to undertake a directed exploration of some of Toronto's urban landscape. It will help you develop your
understanding of human geography. The trail forms the basis for some of the teaching and workshop discussion, and it prepares you
to write an in-class essay.
The trail introduces you to some of the ways in which we can "read" a place or a landscape. It takes you through some of the various
layers of meaning and working relationships that are built into a place. Places are very complex things, meaning different things to
different people, at different times. We need to recognise the complexity yet still somehow make sense of it.
You will be walking a trail roughly 4 km in length, so keep an eye on the weather. Dress appropriately. The trail takes you through
some of Toronto's inner city neighbourhoods. These are not particularly dangerous places, but you should always exercise caution,
particularly in relation to traffic. We advise you to walk the trail with a buddy.
The trail starts at King & Bay, the symbolic heart of the downtown economy, and then takes you westwards through the Entertainment
District, the Dotcom/New Media district and then back east along bohemian Queen St W. The inner city has a fine spatial texture, and
place varies significantly along the trail, even over short distances.
The trail really needs to be seen on foot. Please don't drive it. If you are coming in from the suburbs, you should park at a subway
station, and take the TTC downtown. The trail starts at King & Bay, which is easily reached on the TTC, and ends at Osgoode
subway station.
When to walk the trail
What you will see depends upon when you do the looking. The trail was laid out assuming that you would walk it during the day,
during the week.
Comments on Format
In this trail booklet you have to follow movement instructions (written in italics) and answer questions in the booklet (written in
bold). Spaces for these are provided. Some questions you may find difficult to answer in the field, but you may be able to get the
answer with a bit of Googling. Please do not ask people you meet along the trail to answer your questions. You don't have to go into
any buildings, or ask anyone in order to do the trail. You don't even have to answer all of the questions accurately. We just need you
to show that you made an honest effort. At one of the workshops we will need to examine your completed booklet.
Creating a sense of place through food: Restaurant Row
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Themes
The trail has been established with a number of themes in mind. These are likely to be at issue in class discussions and in the in-class
essay:
Bodies & Place: The body is one of the attributes of place and you should be able to see variations in clothing, bodily
deportment, behaviour and adornment over the trail. Haircuts are, at some level, geographic. There are stores selling
clothing, haircuts, and tattoos. There are posters and billboards featuring body parts. There are issues of age, gender, race,
sexual orientation, and social class. There are clean bodies and unwashed bodies, able and disabled bodies. Do people at
King & Bay characteristically wear the same things as those at Queen & Bathurst?
Culture & Economy Landscapes bring together ways of living (culture) with ways of making a living (the economy), and
blend them into a whole. If you look carefully you will notice how culture and the economy vary over space, and how they
intertwine. Much of the economic activity is culturally linked, and much of the culture is shaped around the making of
money. One reason why the cultural landscape at King & Bay is different from Queen & Bathurst because the economic
factors are different.
Place as Commodity Place is used to package, label, market and identify things. Restaurants use it to create ambience,
pretending to be in Italy, Thailand or whatever. The trail is full of examples of place references, of places being made out of
other places.
History as Commodity History, age and time is also used to package, label, market and identify places. In many respects
"old" buildings can be made fashionable, and the sense of nostalgia built into a sense of place. Not only can places be made
out of other places; they can be made out of other times.
Did you notice that "Place as Commodity" and "History as Commodity" were both examples of the Culture & Economy
theme?
Social Space The city is, of course, a social space. There are places where people are encouraged to congregate, to linger
playfully, and other places from which the public is excluded. There are private places, and public places, there are places
where certain kinds of behaviour are encouraged, and places where the same behaviour is prohibited. There are boundaries,
signs, fences, surveillance systems, and other paraphernalia designed to regulate the social use of space.
Political Space: The city is a place where power is exercised. Some are powerful, others less so. Power is critiqued,
protested, resisted and disputed. There are zones of conflict, places of protest and modes of political expression. Much of
the bohemian culture of Queen & Bathurst is really quite antithetical to the values so entrenched at King & Bay. Watch out
for signs of the street as a political space.
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Financial District: King & Bay
The trail begins at the north west corner of King St W and Bay St. Here you are in the symbolic heart of Toronto's economy and
certainly a key part of the city's downtown core. We are in the Central Business District (CBD) of the city. Here office towers
surround you. The land around you is the most valuable real estate in Canada. Make a quick sketch map of the intersection and
mark on the buildings found at each corner.
Who appears to hold the economic power in this place? Give reasons for your answer.
Why are there so many tall buildings in the downtown core?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Record your observations on the following:
The people (clothing, visible tattoos, haircuts, race, gender, age etc.,)
Street art, posters, graffiti. Any signs of political protest?
Are there any signs of conflict or competition over this space? Who or what is prohibited or excluded?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Reuters
On the north side of King St W, walk westwards from Bay St. On the south side at 121 King St W, in the Standard Life Centre, you
will see the Reuters offices. Who is Reuters? What do they do? Why do they have offices here?
King & York
Pause for a moment at the intersection of King and York streets. The surrounding office towers contain many of the city's top law
firms. Why would they be at this intersection?
Entering the Entertainment District
Continue to walk westwards on the north side of King St W, cross University Ave. Notice how you are passing towards the edge of the
Downtown core. You are about to enter the Entertainment District. What clues are there that you are leaving the downtown core,
with its office functions, and entering the entertainment district?
As you enter the entertainment district, what is the status of posters, graffiti and street art?
What sorts of entertainment activities are found here?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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King & Simcoe
Keeping to the north side of King St W, walk west to Simcoe St. Notice Roy Thompson Hall and the theatres ahead of you. What
types of cultural activities take place at Roy Thompson Hall?
212 King St W
Examine 212 King St W. This was once the headquarters for Toronto Hydro, and before that, was the site of Upper Canada College.
What is it now and how does references to other times and other places to sell things?
Comment on the status of posters, graffiti and people you find in this area.
Who holds the economic power in this place? Who or what is excluded?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Canada's Walk of Fame
Study the sidewalk along this section of King (north side from Simcoe, westwards). You are entering Canada's Walk of Fame. This is
an interesting example of the authorship of place. Somebody is attempting to make place out of people. Is there anyone in
particular who seems to have shaped this place?
Why is Canada's walk of fame here? What makes this an appropriate place for the walk of fame?
Find out whose star is next to Jim Carrey's.
King & John
Walk west along the north side of King St W to the NE corner of King & John. Why have a sports collectible store here?
Cross King southwards to reach the SE corner of King & John. Look around. Notice Skydome to the south, a row of restaurants to
the west of you (along the south side of King St W) and construction site to the NW. Billboards advertising "good times" are visible.
What is being built here?
How have the promoters of this structure attempted to connect it to the landscape around it?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Restaurant Row
Cross John St and continue westwards along the south side of King St W. Pay attention to the restaurants on the south side of King.
What place references do you notice in the restaurants (which countries, places or kinds of places do they pretend to be?)
How do these restaurants achieve the illusion of being someplace else? (What signs, symbols, names, objects etc are used).
Comment on the people using this place, What is the status of posters and graffiti?
How do the restaurants demarcate the boundary between their own premises and the street?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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325 King St W
Continue westwards on the south side of King St W. What sorts of businesses are located in 325 King St W?
355 King St W
Proceed west on the south side of King St W to 355 King St W. What is this building called?
Dating from the early 20th Century 355 King St W was renovated and until recently it accommodated the headquarters of Playdium
Corp. What does it accommodate now? Does it appear to make commercial use of nostalgia?
King & Blue Jays
Proceed west on the south side of King St W to the SE corner of King & Blue Jays Way. This used to be the intersection of King &
Peter Sts, but in the late 1980s Peter St south of King was renamed. Why?
Cross Blue Jays way. On the SW corner of King & Blue Jays look around you are the various stores and businesses you can see. We
have travel agencies, coffee shops, clothing and outfitters. How do these stores use images of place to sell things?
Any signs of new condominium developments nearby?
At the SW corner of King & Blue Jays is a showroom display promoting a new condo development, M5V. Why would it be called
this? What is the significance of the bullfrog involved in the development?
Comment on the status of people, posters and graffiti.
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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409 King St W
Proceed west on the south side of King St W. Check out the business directory of 409 King St W. What sorts of businesses have
offices here?
Opposite 409 King St W, on the north side of the street is a new condo development The Hudson, which was being built in
2003-4. Next to it is the sales pavilion for another condo development. What is it called? Who is it aimed at? Why would this
kind of housing be built here?
King west of Spadina
Cross Spadina Ave and cross to the north side of King. Walk westwards along the north side of King St W. You are entering the old
factory lofts of the old Spadina garment district. These have now been converted to other uses. As you go along, make notes on the
sorts of uses, which are being made of these old factory buildings.
Comment on the status of pedestrians, posters and graffiti.
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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What uses are being made of
500 King St W
502 King St W
522 King St W
642 King St W
662 King St W
How does this place contrast with the entertainment district?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Bathurst St
At the intersection of King & Bathurst, turn north and walk up the west side of Bathurst St towards Queen St W.
111 Bathurst St.
This is the HQ of an auction house that, among other things, is the major auction centre for Inuit art in Canada. Name the auction
house.
Now that you have seen the atmosphere of King St W., comment on the ambience of Bathurst St between King & Queen.
Comment on the status of posters, pedestrians and graffiti.
Is there any evidence that the area is becoming gentrified?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Queen & Bathurst
When you reach Queen St W, cross to the NE corner of Queen & Bathurst. What sorts of businesses are located in this area?
Comment on the status of posters, graffiti and people in this place.
Walk slowly eastwards along the north side of Queen St W. What stores offer body modifications (piercing, tattooing etc.,)
There is a big parking lot at Queen & Ryerson. Flanked by some major graffiti sites. Any suggestion as to the future use of the
parking lot?
Comment on the differences of the Queen-Bathurst area from the King-Bathurst area.
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Comment on the use of bodies and body parts on street posters.
To see a major graffiti wall, cross Queen St W at the crosswalk and proceed to the rear entrance of 577 Queen St W (off Portland St).
Is this art?
Return to Queen St W, and proceed eastwards from Portland St, on the south side. As you walk, comment on the ambience of the
street, the status of pedestrians, posters and street art.
This area used to be a retail section for the adjoining garment district. What evidence is there that something of this function
survives?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Queen east of Spadina
Continue eastwards, crossing Spadina Avenue again and cross Queen St W to the NE corner of Queen & Spadina. You are have been
in the seedy bohemian part of Queen St W, you are now entering the trendy bohemian part of Queen St W. Take a look at the stores
etc., around you as you walk eastwards. What kinds of goods and services are offered? Who are these aimed at? How is the
public invited to enjoy Queen St W as social space?
Comment on the status of pedestrians, posters, graffiti and street art.
What are the street vendors selling in this section of Queen?
What does the Silver Snail sell?
Who is included and who is excluded from this place?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Walk eastwards and check out the old CITY-TV building. It occupied the old Ryerson Press building, and for many years seemed to
anchor a rather hip, youthful kind of bohemian street scene. What use is now being made of the old CITY-TV building?
Opposite the old CITY TV building new tribalism is celebrated in at least two businesses. What businesses celebrate "new
tribalism"? Why would they do this?
Continue to walk eastwards on Queen St W. You will shortly reach University Avenue where the trail ends and you can catch the
subway at the Osgoode Station.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
As you prepare for the class discussion and essay, please reflect on the themes indicated earlier in this booklet. Can you describe how
the economic activities visible on the trail vary from place to place? Why would illegal posters be abundant in some places, and
absent in others? Who are these places for? How does culture vary over the trail?
AS GEOG 1410 6.0 Introduction to Human geography Fall-Winter 2007-8
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Summary Table
Fill in this table to help you
compare the areas on the
urban trail
Financial District (King &
Bay, King St W to Simcoe)
Entertainment District
(King St W Simcoe to Blue
Jays)
DotCom/New
Media/Condo district
(King St W: Blue Jays to
Bathurst)
Somewhat Seedy bohemia
(Queen St W, Bathurst to
Spadina)
Trendy bohemia (Queen
St W, Spadina to
University)
Economy Types of
economic Activity; Who
holds economic power?
Built Form Streetscape and
buildings
Place as Experience street
life, body culture, place
atmosphere
Place as Commodity
How place is used to make
money