Ottawa: vibrant, exciting and alive?

[rakerman]

Some discussion appeared in the Tribeca thread.

I just want to make one point: there are lots of great cities - New York, Chicago, Vancouver, London, Paris... almost all of which have an urban core where owning or even renting is far far outside the reach of the average person. Just to give a couple examples, 550 square feet in New York's Upper West Side goes for about U$500k (after property prices took a major hit when the US real estate bubble burst).

New York Times - Got 500,000 Clams? The City Is Your Oyster - February 11, 2010

And in an extreme example, 178 square feet is renting for U$944 in Brooklyn

New York Times - A Roomy 178 Square Feet - February 10, 2010

The point being: Ottawa is not perfect, but it's getting better every year and, for the moment, you can still afford to buy and rent downtown. The food scene is good, the outdoorsy exercise scene is good, there's the NAC and the museums... I dream of subways, trams and better urban green space, but at least you can still affordably enjoy the many positives that Ottawa has. In other words, ever more "vibrant, exciting and alive" is coming, but be aware, it comes at a price. I won't say we're exactly fortunate that Ottawa neglected its downtown for so many years, but it has allowed a lot of new urbanites to move (and own) downtown who could never afford to live in the core of other major cities.

[adam-machiavelli]

So true.

[eternallyme]

Remember that Ottawa cannot be compared well to those cities as it is nowhere near them in population. Best comparison would be to its peer cities (metro areas of 1 to 2 million).

[rakerman]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Remember that Ottawa cannot be compared well to those cities as it is nowhere near them in population. Best comparison would be to its peer cities (metro areas of 1 to 2 million).

Two obvious comparables are Copenhagen and Stockholm, and I'm afraid Ottawa doesn't do particularly well in comparison I have to say, as both have subways (although the Copenhagen metro system is pretty small) and functional (albeit expensive) city cores with lots of green space. Ottawa actually could learn a lot from Copenhagen which spent 40 years deliberately transforming itself.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by rakerman

Two obvious comparables are Copenhagen and Stockholm, and I'm afraid Ottawa doesn't do particularly well in comparison I have to say, as both have subways (although the Copenhagen metro system is pretty small) and functional (albeit expensive) city cores with lots of green space. Ottawa actually could learn a lot from Copenhagen which spent 40 years deliberately transforming itself.

When I studied the ottawa transit situation, Oslo was also a city that came to mind.

[Kitchissippi]

It takes a skate up and down the canal on a day like today to realize this city is like no other. We often take for granted what is unique about Ottawa by saying we have less of what other cities have.

[cityguy]

Your point is true,but affordability does not equal exciting.I've lived in Ottawa for almost two decades and enjoying living here.The city has improved but I would never use exciting to describe it.Even my children urned for the excitement and opportunity of the big cities and have since moved away.

[Acajack]

Ottawa is going in the right direction for sure.

The last few times I have been to Europe, I found myself comparing the cultural offerings and urban "scene" of European cities of similar size to Ottawa and much to my surprise Ottawa I believe can hold its own quite well.

It is not quite on the level of capitals like Dublin, Stockholm or Copenhagen, but then again these capitals are a tad larger than Ottawa and also happen to be the largest cities in their country.

But certainly, Ottawa has nothing to be ashamed of compared to many metros of 1.3 million or so in France, Germany or other countries.

In my humble opinion.

[Ottawan]

Anyone who says Ottawa is not exciting has missed the following events:

-Any bar downtown any time the Sens are in the playoffs (but especially our great 2007 run)
-Any Canada Day ever.
-Bluesfest
-Political Protests (anyone remember the Tamils last year? This may not be everyone's idea of 'fun', but it is exciting, and unique to Ottawa)

These are just the prime examples. Lesser events occur all the time that to me make Ottawa quite exciting, including:

-Ottawa Fringe Festival
-Jazz Fest
-The Ottawa Writers' Festival
-The Ottawa Annimation Festival
-Fireworks competition at Casino du Lac Leamy
-Skating on the Canal

There are a number of one-off events recently that were exciting:

-The IIHF World Junior Championships (2009)
-NHL Draft (2008)
-FIFA World Cup 2006 (I worked in the ByWard Market, and after EVERY game, Canadians who were ethnically from the winning team would parade through the area in their cars waving flags and honking horns. When Italy won, I, along with thousands of others, went to Preston Street, which was flooded with people and a party like no other. THAT was exciting)
-The Grey Cup (2004)

Employment Sectors:

-Constantly up or down, start-up companies & major takeovers (ex: IBM-Cognos), booms and busts (Nortel), local business celebrities (Copelands, Terrence Matthews, Rod Bryden), our tech sector actually is very exciting to watch.
-Politics: if you mix with the right people, there actually is alot of excitment to the political intrigue and buzz of the city.

And this is without me harping on the cultural & educational institutions or outdoor activities that do make Ottawa unique.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

Anyone who says Ottawa is not exciting has missed the following events:

-Any bar downtown any time the Sens are in the playoffs (but especially our great 2007 run)
-Any Canada Day ever.
-Bluesfest
-Political Protests (anyone remember the Tamils last year? This may not be everyone's idea of 'fun', but it is exciting, and unique to Ottawa)

And this is without me harping on the cultural & educational institutions or outdoor activities that do make Ottawa unique.

The problem is that none of these activities are unique to Ottawa...

- Any bar downtown any time the Habs or Leafs win (and you don't have to drive 45 minutes for the enjoyment!)
- Any St-Jean-Baptiste day
...

To be a great city, Ottawa will need to get a) a real transportation system (that means deemed as essential service and be actually rapid) b) a vivid cultural scene (a few plays and shows is not that) c) unique restaurants (that is one that is definitely getting there) d) rid of public servants e) more immigrants

[Ottawan]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

The problem is that none of these activities are unique to Ottawa...

- Any bar downtown any time the Habs or Leafs win (and you don't have to drive 45 minutes for the enjoyment!)
- Any St-Jean-Baptiste day
...

To be a great city, Ottawa will need to get a) a real transportation system (that means deemed as essential service and be actually rapid) b) a vivid cultural scene (a few plays and shows is not that) c) unique restaurants (that is one that is definitely getting there) d) rid of public servants e) more immigrants

Of course there are many things Ottawa needs, and I am hoping it will get, so that it can become a great(er) city. In fact, I agree with almost every item on your list (the exceptions are b - we have quite a vivid cultural scene, and changing d to "diversify the economy", because public servants are in many ways a great thing to have, it is just their dominance that is a problem).

That said, I think it needs to be emphasized that this place has alot of potential, is currently on the track to becoming more urban and acquiring more of a 'big city' feel, but already IS EXCITING in it's own right. Does it have to be more exciting than every other place in order to hold this title? No. But should it be derided as boring when it's anything but? NO.

Also, the 300,000 to 500,000 people downtown every Canada Day is entirely unique to Ottawa.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

To be a great city, Ottawa will need to get a) a real transportation system (that means deemed as essential service and be actually rapid)

Just being the devil's advocate here, but aren't there some great cities in the world that don't have this... yet are still great metropolises? Los Angeles, maybe?

[Dado]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

To be a great city, Ottawa will need to get a) a real transportation system (that means deemed as essential service and be actually rapid) b) a vivid cultural scene (a few plays and shows is not that) c) unique restaurants (that is one that is definitely getting there) d) rid of public servants e) more immigrants

So Copenhagen and Stockholm aren't great cities? Both have lots of (d) and much less (e) than we do. Worse still for (d) would be Brussels. Or what of the megacities of Asia - they pretty much all fail on (b), (c) and (e) compared to us. Even Hong Kong, which, while technically it is a city made up of immigrants, is really just a Chinese-populated city created under British rule - ethnically it's probably more homogeneous than Kingston, never mind Ottawa.


Frankly, what I think you're doing is mixing cause and effect. Great cities don't result from the things in your list, but rather these sort of things occur in great cities (except (d)). Just dumping boatloads of immigrants, opening restaurants and creating a real transportation system aren't going to make Ottawa a great city.

The risk aversion aspect of the bureaucratic mentality that permeates Ottawa is, I think, one of the greatest barriers to Ottawa becoming a great city. There's a reactionary political culture in Ottawa. On paper, Ottawa has a lot going for it - the cultural trappings of being the capital, a fairly rich history that has endowed us with some significant assets like the Byward Market and the canal - no other major Canadian city has something quite like the canal in so central a location, a good location with fairly prominent natural assets close at hand (I can be cycling or skiing or skating or swimming or sailing or canoeing or whitewater kayaking or whatever in a relatively short period of time, unlike, for example, Toronto). We've even got a linguistic duality the likes of which is really only found in Montreal. The federal government provides a degree of stability and its promotion-agency, the NCC, is responsible for creating or having got the ball rolling on many of the fine festivals and events that occur throughout the year. We've got many of the amenities (and the potential for more) that one would expect and hope to find in a great city. And yet... that risk-averse political culture suppresses most of the potential.

Take our favourite target, transit. Our reactionary bureaucratic political culture couldn't take the risk of adopting light rail rather than BRT in the late 1970s/early 1980s like Edmonton and Calgary did. It's not that light rail in and of itself would have made us great, but rather the willingness to take the risk on it would have been a step in the right direction. The history of the O-Train is illustrative here because of the sheer amount of bureaucratic intransigence that had to be fought and beaten back to get it. It was our zenith moment in the high-flying late 90s and for a brief moment it looked like a new political culture might emerge coinciding with the new City, but, alas, the bureaucratic culture reasserted itself with a vengeance. The openness to new ideas just is not there.


I honestly don't know how a city fixes a problem like this, and we (not us here, but city-wide) don't likely even realize we have this problem. Changing a political culture, and indeed a wider culture in the populace, is not an easy task but until we do we're not going to accede to the greatness to which we aspire.

[Vaillant]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

Anyone who says Ottawa is not exciting has missed the following events:

-Any bar downtown any time the Sens are in the playoffs (but especially our great 2007 run)
-Any Canada Day ever.
-Bluesfest
-Political Protests (anyone remember the Tamils last year? This may not be everyone's idea of 'fun', but it is exciting, and unique to Ottawa)

These are just the prime examples. Lesser events occur all the time that to me make Ottawa quite exciting, including:

-Ottawa Fringe Festival
-Jazz Fest
-The Ottawa Writers' Festival
-The Ottawa Annimation Festival
-Fireworks competition at Casino du Lac Leamy
-Skating on the Canal

There are a number of one-off events recently that were exciting:

-The IIHF World Junior Championships (2009)
-NHL Draft (2008)
-FIFA World Cup 2006 (I worked in the ByWard Market, and after EVERY game, Canadians who were ethnically from the winning team would parade through the area in their cars waving flags and honking horns. When Italy won, I, along with thousands of others, went to Preston Street, which was flooded with people and a party like no other. THAT was exciting)
-The Grey Cup (2004)

Employment Sectors:

-Constantly up or down, start-up companies & major takeovers (ex: IBM-Cognos), booms and busts (Nortel), local business celebrities (Copelands, Terrence Matthews, Rod Bryden), our tech sector actually is very exciting to watch.
-Politics: if you mix with the right people, there actually is alot of excitment to the political intrigue and buzz of the city.

And this is without me harping on the cultural & educational institutions or outdoor activities that do make Ottawa unique.

yes it is boring!

[m0nkyman]

Ottawa has a vibrant Theatre scene, ranging from the student run Sock'n'Buskin to major productions at the NAC, GCTC and productions by Orpheus, not to mention a quite respectable Fringe Festival.

Musically there is and has been a wide variety of musical scenes from classical to punk. We have venues ranging from the NAC and Centrepointe Theatre at the classical end to stages at places like Mavericks, Babylon, and Zaphods, not to mention the major festivals and big shows at Scotiabank Place.

Foodwise, we have a phenomenal scene, with places like Atelier, Beckta, Juniper, Allium, Absinthe, Whalesbone, Benitz, Black Cat, Jaks etc.

We have a relatively vibrant visual arts scene as well, from SAW Gallery and the Basement Artists Collective to Enriched Bread Artists, along with some very nice galleries, not to mention the amazing collection at the National Gallery.

We have access to Gatineau Park, two rivers, and have a wide variety of sports facilities if you want more active activities, and if you want to watch sports, we have the Senators.

The idea that Ottawa is boring is laughable.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by m0nkyman

The idea that Ottawa is boring is laughable.

Boringer should be the term. Sure, the city has a lot of positive coming on, but a LOT has still to be done.


Just for the next two weeks, Montréal en Lumières:

http://www.montrealenlumiere.com/accueil_en.aspx

On the 27th, metro, stores, museums etc. are open all night.

For the nuit blanche, the metro becomes the biggest art gallery.


So yes, while you got the NAC for your couple of shows, you have about 100 activities in ONE night, in the middle of the night to be exact.


As a young professional who can live where he wants, which one looks better?

[AuxTown]

Comparing Ottawa to Montreal, a city that is 2.5x it's size and considered the cultural mecca of Canada, is ridiculous. People from Montreal seem to have this smug attitude that everything in their hometown is so much deeper and artsy than anywhere else in Canada. And, while they may hold the title in Canada currently as a centre of high culture, it's attitudes like that which will allow other growing centres like Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver (even Winnipeg and Saskatoon) to make up ground and even surpass them in terms of quality cultural events/festivals.

Ottawa is not boring and anyone who says that it is is welcome to move away in order to leave me a little more space at Bluesfest, Sens games, trendy clubs/bars, outdoor activity venues (Gatineau Park, Rideau Canal, Experimental Farm), and the many arts festivals/shows that this city has to offer. You can have Queue de Cheval (terribly overrated) and I'll dine at one of the many upandcoming and underrated restaurants that Ottawa has to offer (see above posts).

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Ottawa is not boring and anyone who says that it is is welcome to move away in order to leave me a little more space at Bluesfest, Sens games, trendy clubs/bars, outdoor activity venues (Gatineau Park, Rideau Canal, Experimental Farm), and the many arts festivals/shows that this city has to offer. You can have Queue de Cheval (terribly overrated) and I'll dine at one of the many upandcoming and underrated restaurants that Ottawa has to offer (see above posts).

Well I already moved! And you think there are no upcoming restaurants elsewhere? It's not about the population, it's about what to do with it. Many european cities has lower population Ottawa, and have a better live.

I would say that Toronto has stolen the title of cultural capital of Canada.

I say that Ottawa is become more interesting, but it is no way a unique or even fun city. First of all, its people should say "hi" when meeting people on the sidewalks, like "friendly" cities. This was one of my biggest pet peeve there.

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by rakerman

there are lots of great cities - New York, Chicago, Vancouver, London, Paris...

Vancouver pales in comparison with others on this list.. it is so different than the others. It's much much smaller, quieter and is an outdoors city while the other are true bustling megapolises which function 24hours a day.

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

On the 27th, metro, stores, museums etc. are open all night.

Most events are over at 3am. Some stores in some areas are open. The metro runs but not on its full schedule.

Having said that, Nuits Blanches -- a copy of the event in Paris -- is a lot of fun and i believe is the city's best festival, despite not being original to the city.

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

As a young professional who can live where he wants, which one looks better?

Depends what you want. Everyone is different and want different things. I chose Montreal only to realise it was too small for what I wanted to do. I loved it at first but eventually got bored of the attitude "we're the best and the rest is shit". Montreal can't walk the talk. Period. It doens't mean it's dull, it means it talks too much.

I actually spent a few years going back and forth and enjoyed both for various reasons. I love the Market in Ottawa and love Outremont and le Plateau in Montreal. I love that aspect of Ott where everything is yet to be done and always appreciated the vibrant cultural scene in Mtl.

I work in the creative field (was employed in downtown Montreal as a creative director for an ad agency). Had to act and dress a certain way and had to listen to bullshit (rara) talk of epic proportions. Montrealers secretelly want to be Parisians or New Yorkers.

Meanwhile, my colleagues in NY acted normally, dressed as they wished and just got down to business. They would praise Manhattan for its sense of freedom, that it accepted all and cherished all.

True world class cities don't need to try so hard. They don;t need a ton of pre-packaged/sponsored to death events and certainly don't need to continuously justify themselves. New Yorkers don't try to make Bostonians or Washingtonians feel like crap.

Generally speaking Ottawans are just tired of being bashed on. Yes, Montreal is fun. But it is small and quiet compared to NY and Tokyo.

Ottawa is good and getting better and most of all, it doesn't pretend to be anything else but Ottawa. It doesn't yearn to be a copy of Paris, New York, Houston or Hong Kong.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

True world class cities don't need to try so hard. They don;t need a ton of pre-packaged/sponsored to death events and certainly don't need to continuously justify themselves. New Yorkers don't try to make Bostonians or Washingtonians feel like crap.

Generally speaking Ottawans are just tired of being bashed on. Yes, Montreal is fun. But it is small and quiet compared to NY and Tokyo.

Ottawa is good and getting better and most of all, it doesn't pretend to be anything else but Ottawa. It doesn't yearn to be a copy of Paris, New York, Houston or Hong Kong.

Words of wisdom right there, brother. I couldn't agree with you more. I am a big fan of Montreal and Toronto for what they are and I work on making my city what I want it to be. Before the age of instant communications and constant comparisons, this would've been the normal way to city-build. Get inspired elsewhere and adapt the best ideas to your own place.