So. I live in Calgary, which is, according to its own PR “the Heart of the New West“. Which is a phrase that just makes me want to barf. But I guess that’s because I grew up in stodgy old Toronto which is, as anyone west of the Manitoba border will tell you, THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE. Funny thing is, the whole time I lived there I certainly never thought Toronto was anything of the sort. In fact, much as I love Toronto, I did always think it was a bit, well, small-time. You know…not London or New York, but sorta Canada’s version of London or New York. And, kinda like Canadian TV, it’s just, well…you know, Canadian. Small-time. Nice and all, but still small-time.
It was only moving out here to the (gag) New West that made me see just how much the rest of the country really hates Ontario in general and Toronto in particular. And let me just be fair and point out that 99% of the people who say, in voices dripping with sarcasm, “Oh, Toronto. Don’t you mean THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE?” have never actually been there. So to them I say: WHATEVER. I’ve been around, and Toronto’s a pretty nice place. It definitely ranks in the top 3 cities in Canada, whereas Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg (all of which I HAVE been to, thankyouverymuch) do not.
But I didn’t actually start this post to defend Toronto. Or to bash the Canadian prairie cities which, it must be admitted, each have their own unique charm. No, I intended to write about what I call the Small-Town Big City, otherwise known as (gag) Heart of the New West in which I now live, and which my oldest daughter, a grade three student, will be exploring next month in a really great program called City Hall School.
In City Hall School, kids from a select few grade 3 classes around the city go downtown to City Hall and spend a week learning all about the city, its history, architecture, culture and how the municipal government works. They meet the Mayor, their Alderman and City Planners from all sorts of different departments. Seems like a great opportunity for learning to me. Let’s face it – these are kids from suburban neighbourhoods (Calgary is famously a donut-city: most people live in the suburbs surrounding the city like a donut; they drive into the core in the morning for work, then they drive out of it in the evening to go home) who seldom get the chance to experience the downtown core of their home city.
So, to the crux. I attended the parent meeting last night, where the teachers enthusiastically introduced the program. The students travel by city bus downtown, explore the city on foot in small groups, interacting with other citizens and maybe even some tourists, and engage in some large group activities in the classroom at City Hall. Cool, right?
Apparently, not so much. Evidently I am a brazen, citified gal who has no regard for the safety and emotional well-being of my sheltered little girl. Why? Because (with the notable exception of another mom who grew up in a big city – she’s from New York) I was alone in not fiercely objecting to:
- My child riding city transit.
“Think of all the people on the bus…I mean, these are people who can’t afford cars!“Yeah, you’re right. And all the business people who can afford better cars than you, but choose not to drive them! AND! As it turns out, the city provides a dedicated bus which picks the kids up at their school and drives them directly to City Hall. Bah.
- My child interacting with other citizens.
“I just worry about all the riff-raff (and yes, she actually used the word ‘riff-raff’) downtown.”Yeah, you know those civil servants, engineers and oil execs! You really gotta watch them!
- Me and/or my child getting lost.
“I try to avoid ever going downtown…”Yes, some parents were afraid to volunteer because they were worried about being responsible for a group of four children in a three-block radius of City Hall. And folks: this is a city built on a numbered grid system. The only way to get lost in downtown Calgary is if you can’t count.
As we left the meeting, my NYC pal and I rolled our eyes at each other and I whacked my bus-objecting friend over the head with my volunteer sign-up sheet. “You’re so provincial!” I chided her. And you know what? I realize now I was right on the money when I said that.
You see, Calgary has grown from being a town of about 500,000 when I first moved here in 1998, to a big city of over a million today. Anybody who grew up in Calgary (and there aren’t many of them left, trust me) grew up in a small, prairie city. The rest all moved here from small towns in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the 90s, followed by a more recent influx of small-town maritimers. The result? Calgary truly is a Small-Town Big City. Small-town attitudes and expectations of a truly big city environment.
And it all got me to wondering…is urbanism about geography and location, or is it about mind-set? What do you think? We are, after all, urbanmoms, no matter where we live!
I grew up in NB, and a lot of people there shared similar views about Toronto. Often, my telling people that i lived there prompted responses such as “oh yeah, i visited there in 1988. went to a leafs game but that city is just too big for me.”
after living here a while, i love it, but unlike london, new york or montreal, cities which immediately captivated me, this city took time to grow on me…seeping into my consciousness and establishing itself in my heart. alot of that came from moving to a real neighbourhood and forming ties to the community – similar to the ones my family had in St. Stephen when i was growing up.
your daughter’s project sounds fascinating!
I guess that explains some of the drivers in Calgary. The only things they’re used to watching out for on the hiway are Deer and maybe the odd Moose.
That is a fabulous project for the kids! I am SO envious! As far as I know we don’t have anything like it in Toronto. The one thing these parents neglected to consider is that this is a SUPERVISED trip to the city. The kids (and the parent volunteers) are not going to be dropped off on a street corner and asked to fend for themselves. Jeesh.
The whole idea that Toronto is the Centre of the Universe was totally new to me before starting urbanmoms.ca. As you said, I feel like we are small-potato-ish compared to some of the world’s great cities. I am always surprised when people from outside of Ontario make this comment. It is kind of like how Canadians think of the US.
As for urbanism, I think it is about attitude and lifestyle as much as geography. I know plenty of people who live in the city who don’t live a very urban lifestyle and don’t take advantage of everything the city has to offer and then I know suburban folks who do.