City Identity and the role of public policy
I have lived in three of the consistently ranked “most livable” cities in the world, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Auckland. However, I personally prefer my experiences living in cities significantly further down on the lists, including San Francisco and New York. That’s correct — I would rather inhabit a city with rat-infested subways, urine-stained streets, and “affordable” housing limited to over-priced deteriorating walk-up apartments smaller than CG 361. Did I mention the price of health care should I fall hauling my couch up the stairs of said walk-up?
Nonetheless, I am currently limiting my job search to New York due to one key characteristic that differentiates my personal rankings from the “official” rankings — city identity. I find myself attracted to cities in which there is a strong sense of pride and identity in residing there. While I struggle to define the Toronto identity other than the fact it’s not Ottawa, I have no issue describing the identity of a New Yorker. A New Yorker doesn’t wait for the walk sign to cross the street, she folds her dollar slice of pizza in half and eats it on the go, and she rather move to New Brunswick than New Jersey. During the short amount of time I lived in New York, the overwhelming sense of pride in being a New Yorker was abundantly clear, and I want it.
Although New York is more than three times the size of Toronto, it somehow feels more intimate due to the perceived greater ability to make connections with fellow New Yorkers and the resulting heightened sense of community. These of course are my own preferences and opinions, which I know are not shared by all, so I look forward to investigating further the many varying “pulls” and priorities that attract us to cities. I am curious the extent to which public policy can affect city identity and community. For example, do the differing immigration systems/patterns between Canada and the U.S. play a role? I look forward to exploring the overlapping nature of policy, community, and culture within an urban environment.
