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RES Gets TO

Posted by Tim / July 20, 2005

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I've lost count of articles about Toronto I've read in pubs like the NY Times and Wallpaper that don't quite seem to capture the essence of the city. Sort of like the Toronto Unlimited campaign.

So I was stunned (althought not totally surprised because the magazine totally rocks) to crack open the latest issue of RES and see they absolutely nailed it. Exhibit A:

"Some cities seem built for tourism, but Toronto is not one of them, despite such eye-catching attractions as the sky-high CN Tower and the Victorian-era Distillery Dictrict. Visitors are best off acting like residents who realize their city's primary appeal is its people. While America boasts of its melting pot, Canada describes itself as a mosaic. But this abstract multiculturalism only reaches fruition here in Toronto, where a walk across town reveals the entire world fitting snugly inside a single city."

I wouldn't hesitate to guess that a little article like this actually has more impact than those bogus Times ads.

Any how did RES garner this insight when an expensive research probe and a high priced US ad agency failed? They found a local to write the damn thing in the form of Eye contributor Joshua Ostroff.

Small World, Big City: Toronto by Joshua Ostroff appears on pages 36-37 in the July/August issue of RES Magazine. (Not the cover above. That's from the last issue)

Discussion

3 Comments

Dave / July 20, 2005 at 09:27 am
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You're right. They have nailed the city. It's nice to see somebody get it right for a change. Don't get me started on that whole "Unlimited" issue.

Cheers.
Sandy Hunter / July 22, 2005 at 09:08 am
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Hey there...In fact RES has an office here in Toronto (well a home office with me sitting in it) and we are planning some big events for the city.
Damian Z / July 22, 2005 at 12:31 pm
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Toronto strikes me as a city that desperately compares itself to other cities (I hope I never see "Canada's New York" in printed text ever again); maybe it seems like its not fully comfortable with itself. The two-year stint of a circus barker mayor toting the "greatest city in the world" tagline shows that city voters either had either little faith in the other mayoral candidates (sorry Tooker) or a need for that kind of meretricious self-congratulation that comes from being second-best. But that's not quite right either. Toronto is a great city when it's not being promoted as such. Despite borderline racially-fuelled comments aimed at just who pushes their way onto the subway first or who drives poorly, etc, people almost universally seem to get along with each other here. I think it's the unobtrusive understanding or respect for each other that makes Toronto an enjoyable place to live. But we NEED a lake shore!!!

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