Quote:
Originally Posted by MPK
This has been a great thread, Flar!
It's going to be interesting to see what happens to areas in the lower city, such as Barton, over the next decade.
In general, Hamiltonians have very little appreciation for our "urban core" and what it offers. Many tend to treat Hamilton as a suburb itself, and they are quite content with travelling an hour east to Toronto for all things entertainment, culture, shopping, etc..
Unlike many other mid- to large-sized cities in North America, there has not been a recent demand in Hamilton for urban living spaces amongst young professionals, or anyone else, for that matter. The goal for nearly all educated and mildly successful individuals is to buy a suburban home in surrounding communities such as Ancaster, Burlington, Waterdown, Binbrook, and the South Mountain area (in fact, an acquaintance of mine who works in the city's urban planning department just bought a nice new McMansion in Binbrook). Most Hamiltonians with any kind of income want nothing to do with urban Hamilton. Therefore, I fear that the city's current population is either unable (poverty) or unwilling (suburban desires) to create sustainable urban revitalization.
Ironically, while I think Hamilton's proximity to Toronto hurts the city more than it helps, I believe that it will be Torontonians who save Hamilton from itself. Torontonians who appreciate an urban lifestyle are being priced out of Toronto; Hamilton offers an affordable alternative. Nearly identical Victorians that sell for $800,000+ in Toronto can be had for $300,000 in "trendy" areas of Hamilton. Artists priced out of Toronto are finding cheap studios and galleries.
So, as much as it pains me to admit it, I believe that Torontonians may help to save the city. However, it begs the question: What's better for Hamilton? A revitalized, gentrified, bedroom community full of Torontonians, or the status quo? I still haven't made up my mind.
(BTW, I love Toronto and its people(!), and it's not like I don't want them migrating to Hamilton. It's just sad when it seems like this city and its people cannot be the solution to its own problems)
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Unfortunately, gentrification by Torontonians won't fix the fundamental problems, it just displaces the poor. That's the big problem in Hamilton, so many thousands of Hamiltonians have suffered from the effects of industrial decline that it's created a deeply entrenched cycle of poverty that will be hard to break. I don't know what the answer to that is (it's not just a simple matter of more jobs or more education and training).
The other problem with Hamilton is that things have gotten so bad (by Canadian standards) that the middle to upper middle class has almost completely abandoned the city. All that are left in the lower city are some urban pioneers and Toronto transplants. Everyone else is content to concentrate poverty and social problems in the lower city.
Hamilton is the only sizable Canadian city that is being eaten by its own suburbs, in the American style. The way things work now is that everything good goes to the burbs and everything bad goes to the lower city. Although Ancaster, Stoney Creek and the rest of Wentworth County were amalgamated with Hamilton (against their will despite over-representation of suburbs on city council), the biggest suburb, Burlington, remains a separate municipality. Burlington is a shiny new place that had greenfeilds with highway access, low taxes and a friendly development environment. Everything is in Burlington now-- offices, shopping, industry, new businesses of all sorts, and most of the upper middle class. Huge numbers of Hamiltonians now reverse commute to Burlington for work. The shiny new city right beside Hamilton has all the jobs and tax base that Hamilton needs just to maintain itself.