Whoever is elected mayor in October will not fix Toronto, even if they wanted to.
asserted
they → elect → Toronto
As election season continues, we’re having local conversations about national and provincial problems in a city that doesn’t have the power to actually fix them.
asserted
that → continue → them
Toronto can only chip away at many of its problems from the edges.
asserted
Toronto → chip → edges
That’s the cause of some of the malaise that hangs over Toronto now.
asserted
that → ’ → Toronto
I talk to highly engaged people and apolitical ones and there’s a shared feeling that Toronto is on the wrong path, lost, and drifting.
asserted
Toronto → talk → path
It’s hard to articulate why that is, why Toronto in particular feels lost when its problems are common in other cities.
asserted
problems → ’ → cities
Urban dwellers from New York to London to Taipei can talk endlessly about the cost of living, traffic, construction and so on.
asserted
dwellers → talk → living
Toronto problems are international, big city problems, but Canadian ones too, as two recent city trips revealed to me.
asserted
trips → reveal → me
The first was on a bike ride from downtown Peterborough to Lakefield and back, pedalling along the Trent River.
asserted
first → pedal → River
A lovely trip, while weaving back downtown through a chain of parks, I was surprised by the amount of homeless people and others suffering drug addiction in public.
asserted
I → weave → public
The scale felt far more “big city” than Peterborough’s population.
asserted
scale → feel → population
The second trip was to Calgary where I walked many kilometres, reacquainting myself with a great city.
asserted
I → walk → city
Like Peterborough, its downtown has an incredible amount of homelessness and visible drug addiction.
asserted
downtown → have → homelessness
Two cities of different size, in different parts of Canada and with different political environments both suffering similar conditions.
asserted
cities → suffer → conditions
Such scenes can be found in cities all across Canada of course, a national tragedy, and a national problem.
asserted
scenes → find → course
I think of these other cities during Toronto’s municipal election when issues of homelessness, encampments, housing and affordability come up.
asserted
issues → think → homelessness
Sure, a city can choose to do things, like evict encampments, fund some shelters or build a few units of affordable housing, but actually solve the problem?
asserted
city → choose → problem
The problem is far bigger than one city can solve.
asserted
city → solve → ?
They’re our problems to deal with, but not unique.
asserted
They → ’re → ?
At the same time, there are many great things happening here too, so all is not lost.
asserted
all → be → time
Toronto’s great advantage has been that seemingly intractable problems could be solved.
uncertain
problems → solve → ?
The dirty waterfront and Port Lands were transformed into parks and neighbourhoods.
asserted
waterfront → transform → parks
Housing shortages after World War II were solved by a building boom.
asserted
shortages → solve → boom
That potential just doesn’t feel as true anymore.
asserted
potential → feel → ?
The cause might be that we’re stuck in a political purgatory.
uncertain
we → ’re → purgatory
We know what the problems are because big problems often manifest in cities first, where they can be seen everyday in public.
asserted
they → know → public
We even know some of the solutions, but they remain out of reach.
asserted
they → know → reach
Framed that way, it’s strange to have elections based on issues cities don’t control in a meaningful way.
asserted
cities → frame → way
To get around this, a mayoral or council candidate has to appeal to residents’ hearts a little more than their minds, presenting a vision — a dream — of the city that could be, even if the reality is they can only nudge the city in certain directions.
uncertain
they → get → directions
In Toronto, the all-powerful province has meddled in ways that don’t always fix the problems, so Doug Ford is part of the election even without being on the ballot.
asserted
Ford → meddle → ballot
Toronto has always been under the provincial thumb, but recent years of increased and egregious meddling have taken a toll, making it particularly hard to conjure a hopeful Toronto vision.
asserted
it → take → vision
Yet talking about reality is hardly inspiring.
asserted
talking → talk → reality
It feels whiny.
asserted
It → feel → ?
As somebody who believes in civics, especially municipal, it’s a particularly difficult problem to grapple with without declaring, “abandon all hope!” which is not healthy or actually the case.
asserted
which → believe → hope
As voters we have to choose between visions being presented.
asserted
we → have → visions
Do we want an honest, attainable one that might not inspire but that considers what a mayor can actually do?
uncertain
mayor → want → what
Or do we want a fantasy?
asserted
we → want → fantasy
A would-be mayor should dream big — we all should — but inspiring, vibes-based politics can also play into false illusions.
asserted
politics → dream → illusions
The way crime is being presented this election is an example.
asserted
crime → present → ?
People feel unsafe but crime is historically low.
asserted
crime → feel → ?
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
