Today, readers are discussing a new report warning of a ‘hyper-concentration’ of jobs in Toronto’s downtown core and the stress it will place on the city’s transit system and land use planning.
A fundamental economic shift is “hyper-concentrating” knowledge-economy jobs in Toronto’s downtown as traditional manufacturing employment evaporates across much of southern Ontario, a new report warns.Galit Rodan/For The Globe and Mail
I run a software company and the competition for talent is intense. The opportunity to build a loyal employee base, outside the downtown core, where employees don’t jump ship every two years? That sounds pretty attractive and makes former bedroom communities on the edge of the GTA pretty attractive. I know Richard Florida is all about clustering, but like anything else, there are diminishing returns to scale: the commute, the high rents, the flighty employees, the coming exodus of talented millennials to suburbs? Hard pass on the downtown core. - Sea to the Dea
'm originally from small town Ontario, but have lived and worked in the Toronto downtown core for thirty years. For me (a white collar professional worker), there’s always been good jobs available downtown and a 10 minute walk to work. Secondary benefits are the brief walk to the Scotiabank Arena for concerts, the Rogers Centre for the Jays, the ROM, AGO, etc. It’s not for everyone, but it’s worked well enough for me. My hometown is still a quiet place, maybe a retirement option. - KarenM
You just have to look at the transit systems of London, Barcelona, Paris or New York and see how they got it right - and how Toronto has it so wrong - in moving people in and out of the downtown core. - Kpare
The new economy is based on information and services, not resource extraction - CognitiveDisonnance
In many ways, downtown is becoming more inhospitable and quality of life is suffering in this City. Playgrounds and parkland are inadequate to service the massive increases in density due to condos. Transit is unpleasantly and sometimes dangerously crowded. Less and less sunlight reaches the streets due to tall buildings. The street trees only last 5 years on average. We have wars over who will be able to use the roads (cars, seasonal-use bikes, pedestrians, trucks to service businesses). One part of the solution is to significantly expand high speed internet into rural and northern communities and improve health care in those areas so that living and working outside of Toronto becomes more viable for more people when they work and when they retire. - res ipsa loquitor
What else readers are discussing today:
Globe editorial: Faced with an Alberta oil price crisis, Rachel Notley made the least bad choice
I feel like I am being held hostage to a high-carbon province. This production cut should be maintained so that royalties can be maintained to help Alberta (and by extension, Canada) transition off its economic gravy train and carbon addiction. Slow it down to keep the price up, and move those excess resources (capital, workers) into a 21st century economy. Alberta failed to do this before, will it learn its lesson now? No $ for more pipelines, keep the oil slow, and use those royalties to diversify! - Systemsthink
It’s very rare I would agree government intervention in any realm is a good idea, however this is one of those moments. I agree with the editorial board on this. If the free market had its way we’d be building more pipelines right now. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Let’s just hope the worst of the crisis is now behind us. - Guy416
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