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They are cheap, efficient, ubiquitous -- and, according to a small but growing movement, incredibly ugly.

So this summer, detractors of chain-link fences are on a mission to rid the city of what they say are unnecessary eyesores on residential properties.

"Every time a chain-link fence comes down, a little Berlin Wall comes down, too," said Dave Meslin, co-ordinator of the Toronto Public Space Committee.

"Fences create barriers between neighbours and citizens in communities," he said. When you tear down a fence, "instead of a jail, suddenly [the properties]become a community."

The Public Space Committee, a lobby group that campaigns against advertisements and on behalf of increased community and public space, say they are targeting chain-link fences in particular because they are just so ugly.

"No one puts up a chain-link fence for aesthetics," Mr. Meslin said. "It's a cheap way to put up a barrier."

For James Hyslop, the fence crowding his downtown property on Bartlett Avenue and keeping him from reaching certain spots in the garden was annoying, but removal was not a big priority. But when he found the committee's flyer offering to rip the barrier down for free, Mr. Hyslop jumped at the opportunity.

"Fences don't do anything beside delineate the property line," he said. "I walk down streets without fences and it's much more open. There's more of a sense of community."

Mr. Hyslop's property will be de-fenced tomorrow morning. Miranda Stecyk's east-end home on Hanson Street will be freed from its chains tomorrow afternoon.

"The fence made the house look impersonal and blocked it off from the rest of the neighbourhood," she said. "I'm all for having them take it down."

She said she would have done it herself after she bought her home in November, but didn't know how.

For Matt Blackett, publisher of Spacing, an alternative Toronto-based magazine, chain-link fences make people feel as if they're not welcome.

"I think it's really interesting to be cutting chain-link fences because they're so crappy looking," he said, adding that he noticed fences more when in the United States.

"There's more of a fence culture in the States than there is here," he said. "Here is a lot more open and friendlier in look."

Ken Greenberg, architect, urban designer and principal with Greenberg Consultants Inc. agrees.

"Chain-link fences are not that common in Toronto, actually," he said, adding that the fences are "usually pretty mean-looking and not that neighbourly."

Ian Chodikoff, editor of Canadian Architect magazine, said the fences are important for families with dogs, children or people who are worried about security.

But, he added, "maybe the adage that good fences build good neighbours doesn't always work. The more you consolidate your own space, the less you're involved in the community."

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