This blog post begins my first impressions walking around the streets of Chinatown. I then analyze these streets using the methods of Allan Jacobs and Jane Jacobs. Lastly, I look at the official land use and public realm of the neighbourhood to support my analysis of Chinatown’s streets.
First Impressions
In my initial walkaround in Chinatown, I explored the bustling main streets of Spadina Avenue from College to Sullivan and Dundas Street from Spadina to Beverly. I defined my area using the street signs — I walked only so far as the street signs had both Chinese and English writing on them.
I noticed a definite uniqueness to the spirit of Chinatown’s public realm. In comparison to many of the other streets I’ve walked in the city, Chinatown’s streets have a greater blurring between private spaces of shops and the public space of the sidewalk. This blurring is a result of the many open-air markets that spill out from stores onto the sidewalk. The sidewalks of Chinatown are constantly filled with people, whether it be grannies shopping in the street market, tourists exploring the neighbourhood for the first time, or people passing through the area to get elsewhere.
As you walk toward Spadina Crescent, there’s a greater mix of older and newer businesses. This shows evidence of gentrification — “replacing the things that make Chinatown, Chinatown” (Nasser, 2019).
Users in Chinatown
I witnessed a wide variety of users walking on the streets of Chinatown. with a majority being Chinese.
Built Form & Uses in the Public Realm
Main Streets
Buildings on Spadina and Dundas are typically two to three storeys in height, with businesses below-grade, at-grade, and above-grade spanning all uses. Dragon City Mall, located at the intersection of Spadina and Dundas, is the tallest buildings in the neighbourhood, standing at five storeys. This mall is a landmark of the neighbourhood, and notably, was developed by Shiu Pong, the developer of Dragon Centre in Scarborough (Shiu Pong, 2017).
The stores on Spadina and Dundas consist of grocers, restaurants, bakeries, herbalists, opticians, tech stores, bubble tea stores, and miscellaneous gift and trading stores in the neighbourhood that “serve more than one primary function” (Jacobs, 1961:150). Buildings are situated in short, walkable blocks with wide sidewalks that create a safe pedestrian space. The buildings are of varying ages and conditions, with many new businesses renovating old building facades. The diversity in use and built form on the main streets permits for a sufficiently dense array of uses by different users at all times of day, “for whatever purposes they may be there” (Jacobs, 1961: 150). All in all, the built form and uses in Chinatown generate what Jane Jacobs (1961:150–151) calls “exuberant diversity”.
Residential Streets
Residential streets in Chinatown are significantly calmer, quieter, and less frequented than the main streets.
Jane Jacobs (1961) furthermore outlines eight guiding principles of good neighbourhoods. These are as follows:
- Walkability
- Mixed Uses and Integrated Functions
- Diversity (of families, cultures, buildings types, et cetera)
- High Density
- Transit Oriented, Limited Car Space
- Architectural Features
- Maintenance and Safety
- Green Space
I will be using a land use map, a cross-sectional diagram, and pictures from my walkaround of the neighbourhood to assess Chinatown based on Jacob’s guiding principles.
The photos above show the high pedestrian volume at the intersection of Spadina and Dundas, where both a streetcar stop on Spadina and a bus stop on Dundas are located. This creates a hub of pedestrian activity.
The pictures above shows the mixed uses in Chinatown. In the first photo, Lucky Moose Food Mart is located on the first floor of a building with a Shaolin martial arts academy on the second floor. In the second photo, the building holds a hot pot restaurant, a furniture store, a dim sum restaurant, a race track betting establishment, a couple herbalists, a health centre, and a gift shop. In the third photo, Rol San restaurant is located on the first floor, and Hong Kong Bistro Cafe is located on the second floor.
Zoning, Land Use & Public Realm
The official zoning designation for Spadina Avenue between Dundas Street West and College Street is Low Density Mixed Commercial-Residential (City of Toronto, 1999). A more detailed interaction zoning map can be found on the City of Toronto Zoning Map website.
Looking to the land use map below, we find an abundance of residential units, with some commercial units mixed in. There is, however, a lack of greenspace within Chinatown . The closest large park is Grange Park to the east, but within the neighbourhood itself, there are only small parkettes.
The cross-section diagram of Spadina Avenue below shows the balance between different users of the public realm. In the centre, there is a dedicated lane for streetcars with shelters on either side. Bordering the streetcar lane on either side are car lanes and sharrows for bikes. The sidewalk is lined by trees and light fixtures. The sidewalks themselves are a bit cramped in places where stores spill out onto the street, but are generally wide enough to create a comfortable pedestrian environment. The varying uses of the street show how Chinatown is accessible by foot, bike, public transit, and automobile.
In the following blog post, I will cover a brief history of Chinatown’s development and explore how ethnicity has manifested into the landscape of Chinatown. I will conclude with thoughts on how Chinatown has contributed to the City of Toronto’s multicultural landscape and social sustainability.
Citations
Texts & Maps
Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage. (Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 7: The Generators of Diversity).
Land Use Map of Chinatown Neighbourhood [map]. 1:5500. City of Toronto Open Data Centreline WGS84, Property Boundaries WGS84, Land Use, Neighbourhoods, Statistics Canada Ida 00b16a e [computer files]. Toronto: Jane Law, October 17, 2019. Using: QGIS Geographic Information System 3.4. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project. http://qgis.osgeo.org.
Nasser, S. (2019, June 5). What will become of Toronto’s Chinatown? Activists worry gentrification will erase a unique piece of history | CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/chinatown-toronto-gentrification-1.5162626.
Shiu Pong. (2017). Shiu Pong Construction Management. Retrieved from https://shiupong.com/management.php.
Images
Freepik. Lamp post [image]. Retrieved from https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/lamp-post_89069
GoodStudio. Crowd of people performing summer outdoor activities [image]. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/crowd-people-performing-summer-outdoor-activities-1035999331?src=8wuFTkgN07yWoaQXMoUWHw-1-0
Omelapics. Collection of different trees [image]. Retrieved from https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/collection-different-trees_949887.htm#page=1&query=tree&position=32
Vector FX. Set of passenger transport vector icons [image]. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/train-metro-tram-bus-trolleybus-taxi-772989856?src=A5SBehFGWItppZ3fNCufwA-1-6
Yatskov, Evgeniy. Set of vector flat design restaurants and shops facade icons [image]. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/set-vector-flat-design-restaurants-shops-756436945
