Toronto, Montreal and Taipei Introduction 2007/3/1

Toronto, Montreal and TaipeiIntroduction 2007/3/1

Starting Questions City: Definitions

◦ 1. Dictionary Definition (and that of Urban Design)

◦ 2. Cultural Definition◦ 3. In Historical Perspective: Modern City &

Postmodern City ◦ 4. Examples: Toronto, Montreal and Taipei

How do we read a city? A Cultural Example The Course’s Purposes (See Handout) Assignments for Next Week

What is a city? What makes its cultural productions interesting?

How does a city develop? What are the differences between modern and postmodern cities?

Anything interesting about Toronto, Montreal and Taipei? Any issues they share as postmodern cities?

1. Dictionary (Physical) Definition & in terms of Urban Design

2. Cultural Definition: Aspects and Contradictions of a City: The visible vs. the invisible, the planned vs. the lived, the physical vs. the mental.

3. In Historical Perspective: ◦ Modern City ◦ Postmodern City

4. Examples: Toronto, Montreal and Taipei

1. Dictionary (physical) definitions: A large and densely populated urban area;

may include several independent administrative districts;

Population + administrative unit + center of economic and cultural/spiritual activities.

◦ e.g. Athen, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Pergamon (an

ancient Greek city, 16 miles inland from the Aegean Sea) Rome, Teotihuacan (in the present Mexico).

Related Terms: city vs. town, urbanization, city – traditional vs. modern ( 城市、都市 ), metropolis （都會） , megacity, megapolis

Urban Design -- Two kinds of city development: organic city and planned city. Video e.g. 1. two kinds (LA; cities for imperial leaders), 2. New York

how about Taipei, Montreal and Toronto?

Taipei – organic city; Harbors market

streets: 八里 新莊 艋岬 基隆

1884 －台北城 1895 － Japanese

control 1967 – 院轄市；

1994 －民選市長 城內（中山南路、中華路、

愛國西路與忠孝西路所圍的）、艋舺、大稻埕 忠孝東路 東區

Toronto – more a planned city, starting with 10 geometric blocks cleared from the edge of a forest in 1773.

Main street– Yonge St.

Croissant shape – its East and West are actually North and South.

Montreal: an Island city like New York

"Now the people in the city have something to teach me, but the fields and the trees won't teach me anything." (Plato)

e.g. water transportation system (aqueduct), concrete & architecture, road, urban design, fire engine, toilet flush, etc

Video examples: 1. water, 2. Roman’s toilet habit.

-- Marc Blanchard: "the city is in the streets, viewed and experienced through the eyes and the gestures of a passer-by" (qut in Zhang xv-xvi) city visions; -- Zhang [following Robert Park]: "This city . . . more than just a physical structure.  It is, among other things, a state of mind, an order of morality, a pattern of attitudes and ritualized behavior, a network of human connections, and a body of customs and traditions inscribed in certain practices and discourses" (Zhang 3-4).

Sociological View: A city succeeds when it balances needs for sacredness, security, and commerce. (Kotkin)

E.g. Understanding Cities 1 ◦ Cities attract people who want a better life; ◦ Cities are the essence of us all; they are the

vortex of all human activities and inventions; ◦ They are unpredictable; they respond to

changes and develop on the basis of their own histories.

What bring people to a city? For work – the job opportunities provided by

industrialism and technological improvements.

special rhythm and pace, convenience, fast flows of information, capital, commodities and people.

What bring people to a city? For work, security and a better life? A city is

filled with contradictions: order chaos (crimes, the

unpredictable); civilization barbarous crimesthe organized & systematized the

unpredictable & irregular

Traditional City Industrial City Modern City (Metropolis) Postmodern (Postcolonial) City

1. Industrialism Rapid urbanization: ◦ e.g. 1850 – 2 "million cities“’; 1990 -- 286

"million cities.“ (source)

1) Population – over 100,000 2) Average distribution rate of the

year 2000 (%)  Urban RuralChina  32  68 Hong Kong 100  0 Japan  79  21Rwanda 6  94  USA 77  23 Canada  77 23

台灣

1985 年 -- 78.6%

台北 -- 2001/8 -- 2,626,811

人口 ( 百萬

人 )人口密度( 人 / 平方公里 )

都市人口比率 (o/o)

1. 新 加 坡 3.3 6054.8 100

2. 奧 地 利 8.1 96.8 91

3. 澳大利亞 19.4 2.5 91

4. 英 國 60 242.6 90

5. 荷 蘭 16 392.8 90

6. 阿 根 廷 37.5 13.6 88

7. 德 國 82.4 230.5 88

8. 紐 西 蘭 3.9 14.3 86

9. 南 韓 47.7 476.9 83

10. 瑞 典 8.9 19.8 83

11. 巴 西 172.1 20.4 82

12. 日 本 218.5 341.4 79

13. 加 拿 大 31 3.2 79

14. 中華民國 22.3 620.5 78

15. 西 班 牙 40.1 79.4 78

16. 美國 286.1 30.4 77

The City in three phases since the 19 century:

1st – emergence of industrial city --> serious social problems and environmental problems. (e.g. Dickens’ and Blake’s London)

2nd – Modern city: utopian city, or a split between the spectacular metropolitan centers, declining downtown and spreading suburbs (2 Brasilia)

3rd – Postmodern city: 1. globalization( 全球化 ), (globalizing capital)

-- increasing fragmentation and assimilation by global culture; Mega city and Inner City (Merger vs. demerger)

2. gentrification( 土地增值 ; East Area in Taipei), ghettoization( 陋巷區隔 ) discrepancy between the rich and the poor,

3. Pluralism (1) diversification of regions and their functions, manufacturing sites reinvented as tourist destinations (e.g. Taipei?)

Pluralism (2): spectacular and multi-functional sites of consumption, architectural pastiche & restoration (e.g. Berlin’s parliament building;)

Pluralism (3): The new underclasses (immigrants) in the urban centers

The future of cities? Part of service industries move to the outskirts; a mega mall (cultural, entertainment and shopping center) (ref. Kotkin)◦ Ref. Panoramic view of Berlin from the Parliament

Renaissance-Style Exterior, with a new dome and modern-style interior

Similarities: Experience colonization; issue of national identity; subway;

Differences: density of population; different types of plurality, …

Nation/City

面積sq.km

人口( 百萬人 )

人口密度( 人 / 平方公里 )

都市人口比率 %

中華民國 22.3 620.5 78

加拿大 31 3.2 79

台北 271 2.6 96792007

(source)

多倫多(Greater Toronto Area )

632 2.4/5 in GTA

39392001

(source)

蒙特婁 /(Metropolitan Montreal Community)

185 1/3.6 in MMC

55902001

(source)

Source: http://www.moi.gov.tw/W3/stat/home.asp 內政部統計資訊網

As Global Cities: (12 points: London, New York, Paris, Tokyo)

Toronto – 9 points Taipei – 6 points Montreal – 5 points

During the Wars -- [ 小鎮 ](Toronto the Good and the Grey) -- 平靜整齊

Modern period -- 1950’s 至 60’s 年間，多倫多快速成長為加拿大第一個城市，居民遽增一倍（由 125 萬到將近300 萬），城市建築規劃採現代模式（規律、國際式、反歷史），並建造大型公寓區（如 St. Jamestown, Regent Park 和 Alexandra Park ）將都市郊區化（ Caulfield 5-60; Callaghan Introd. ）。同一時期，加勒比海移民有限度移入，以女僕和學生為主，出現在 Bloor 、 Bathust等街和多倫多大學校區。

Postmodern period-- 1970’s 至 1980’s 間，多倫多在城市改革者（ urban reformists ）、投資者、中產階級居民以及一些邊緣團體（如藝術家、同性戀團體和華裔團體）影響下，發展為一個多元的後現代大都會。

１．經濟上，去工業化，由服務業和商店取代 ﹔２ · 建築上，保留並維修古老建築（包括舊市街如 Yonge街、華埠、羅馬式建築的Richardsonian Romanesque舊市政府及許多維多利亞式的住屋）﹔新型建築物仿古（如許多購物中心仿傳統市場或維多利亞式建築），或與古蹟在形式和建材上銜接（如Eaton Center 與 Church of Holy Trinity﹔Caulfield 97-123 ） ﹔３ · 在人口上，大量中產階級由郊區住回市區（或稱 gentrification）。 (e.g. College St.—a very colorful area)

mais une metropole qui a une personnalite bien a elle 每個大都會都有自己的獨特個性… c’est rome la ville eternelle, 羅馬，永恆的城市 , alger la blanche 阿爾及爾，白色城市 , paris la ville lumineuse, 巴黎，閃耀的城市 ,

newyork et ses gratte-ciel, 紐約，摩天樓 et montreal, c’est la ville aux 2 visages 蒙特婁，雙面城市 la cite parle 整座城市說著話 la cite travaille et s’amuse 整座城市工作，娛樂 la cite s’allume et s’eteint en 2 langues 整座城市以兩種語言活躍或是沈寂

1759 -- the battle of Quebec 1774 -- 英國為了勸誘法語區不要加入美國獨立革

命，賦與英屬法語區若干民政權及宗教權。 1840 -- 境內百分之六十為法語人口，但加拿大聯邦以英語為唯一官方語言。

1960 -- Quiet Revolution 1967 – World Expo 1988 -- 178 Act 強制境內商業招牌一律使用法文

(to ride over a Supreme Court ruling) Referendum: (since 1980 40% yes) recently

in 1993; 1995 –(51% no and 49% yes)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1990s

Canada

Toronto

Montreal

Vancouver

Miami

New York

statistics

加拿大

多倫多 蒙

邁阿密

溫哥華 紐

約

In 1996 immigrants represented 17.4% of Canada’s population. Across the Toronto CMA (Census Metropolitan Area), immigrants comprised 42% of the population, while in the amagamated City of Toronto 47.6% were foreign-born.

The Vancouver CMA -- 35% are immigrants Montreal CMA -- 18% immigrants in the States

◦ Miami 33.6% ◦ New York 19.7% (Siemiatycki 75)

1977 -- Twelve Major Constructions started. 1984 -- the investment of MacDonald's 1987 -- the lifting of Martial Law (7/15)  1994 -- 年恢復市長民選 West-Gate – a mixture of Local, American

and Japanese cultures.

Taiwan: 92/3 年統計，外僑人數56246; 全國 91 年取得國籍 1533

2002, 12.5% newborn babies were by foreign brides.

Taipei (2003—1728 brides), the third highest no. of foreign brides.

Cultural representation of cities (films, photographies, songs, literature);

Documentaries on one of the world cities;(e.g.《城市的遠見》 , City Cabs, Six Degrees, Chasing Time in a City, etc.)

The social phenomena of a region we observe(e.g. of youngsters’ consumption habits at West-Gate; changes of the East Area of Taipei)

The signs of an urban space. (e.g. The elements of a city: paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks + people + architecture and spatial decorations)

No overall design

Ambiguous gender

identities

Mutual Gaze of the Controlled and Controlling

1. (In analyzing urban planning and a cultural representation of a city or urban spaces) -- what does "the producer" try to say and 'how'? Is there a way to disobey authorities’ orders without being punished?

-- Do cultural representations change the cities’ “realities”?

2. (In analyzing less organized texts such as what we observed and the documentaries)

-- What are the characteristics of your chosen city? How is it different from Taipei? (Do not just generalize; give concrete examples.)

-- What types of city dwellers have you seen? Do you expect to meet the same people here in Taipei?

-- What are the major factors of the environment which shape the life styles of the city dwellers you have seen/observed: history, power relations, capitalism, etc.?

History -- Read how it is influenced by history or oblivious of history (e.g. 超級大國民 )

Concept City vs. Lived City Postmodern features: -- globalization, ghetto-ization, gentrification; -- electronic network and flows (e.g. Polygraph

1, 2, 16 Happy Together 1, 2); -- commodification of space; chance

encounters and interconnectedness (example: next page)

Gender difference Chance encounter and accidents The pig’s responses:

◦ Sympathize by trying to imagine the chicken’s history;

◦ Escape; ◦ Re-connected with society How are we connected in a city?

Recurrent images:cells, eating, lemon, lines (veins, water pipes, drainage, electric wires, subway tunnels, radio/TV antenna, hole) , darkness and brightness.

Watch 2 videos – “Taipei, Taipei” “The Canvas of Time”

Read – “Urbanism as a Way of Life”

ref. those by 詹宏志“ Toronto: The Meeting Place” “Between the Solitudes”

Leave a message about either ‘The Taipei I know,’ “The Montreal I know’ or “The Toronto I know.’

Discovery Programs: Understanding Cities; City Life

Zhang, Yingjin.  The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film.  Standord, CA: Standford UP, 1996.

"Toronto Key Facts." http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ourcity/keyfacts.htm

"T`ai-pei t`u-ti jen-k`ou kai-k`uang [The Land and Population of Taipei: General Introduction]." http://www.dbas.taipei.gov.tw/stat/express/

《城市的歷史》． 喬爾 . 克特金 (Joel Kotkin) ． 謝佩妏譯 台北 : 左岸文化， 2006.