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This panorama was created on June 20th, at 11:20 p.m. in Crombie Park in the Old Town of Toronto. At first glance this community looks almost deserted. But look closer. Most of the windows in the surrounding residential buildings, old fashioned individual houses, newly built townhouses, affordable living co-op buildings and some luxurious condominiums that all blend in this harmonious community, are lit, so the neighbourhood is awake and alert. Most of the benches are occupied, at least 20 - 30 passersby, including 10 dog walkers, would be visible if this was not a 6 second long exposure shot. On really close inspection, their shadows are still there. Some kids were playing basketball [their clothes are visible on the court], most of the little convenience shops, cafes and restaurants are still open, most of them 24 hours a day, lots of bicycle stands are around, the public bus along The Esplanade [one of the two streets bordering the park] is still running. Facing this, moderately-sized park [620x50 meters], there are two public and two private schools, their school yards are integrated in the park and used by the public after hours, there is a community center with a public pool, several restaurants, a large covered Market [St. Lawrence Market, built in 1902] and several other well preserved heritage buildings. Extraordinary efforts from many urban enthusiasts, such as Jane Jacobs and David Crombie, contributed significantly to the well-being of this community developed along an abandoned railway yard. Social interactions are exemplary and even this late at night the area is quite safe. Studies show that the more people pass through the area [even strangers] the safer we are. A major positive attribute of this community are particularly developed territorial bonds among inhabitants–its psychological unity. It is definitely the result of mixed income living: condominiums, rental units, affordable co-op housing, individual residences, and opportunities for work in the area [the downtown core visible in the distance is 10 minutes away]. This attracts more people to live and work here and reduces commuting. The ethnic and cultural mix is also essential in developing the ground level social fabric connecting different groups. The meaning and importance of this connection was confirmed in recent studies including research at Neighbourhood Design Unit at the Centre for the Built Environment at Seneca College, that I have participated in for the last 8 months. More panoramas from this park [http://www.urbansquares.com/special07.html ], a complete Psychogeographical Portrait of the area [http://www.urbansquares.com/images/resources/oldToronto72.pdf ], and more urban panoramas from all over the world are available on my website: [http://www.urbansquares.com ].
Company standing behind all of this activities: good omen designing http://omen.urbansquares.com urbansquares.com [http://www.urbansquares.com] 
Shortcut to this page: http://worldwidepanorama.org/wwp_rss/go/n3476
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