Some Great Idea: Good Neighbourhoods, Crazy Politics and the Invention of Toronto

by Edward Keenan

Since 2010 Toronto's headlines have been consumed by the outrageous personal foibles and government-slashing, anti-urbanist policies of Mayor Rob Ford. But the heated debate at City Hall has obscured a bigger, decade-long narrative of Toronto's ascending as a mature global city. It raises What role does a mayor play in a city's temperament and self-confidence? Can a terrible mayor make a city better by forcing its citizens to engage? What place is there in our new decentralized, global, open-source world for an autocrat?
Edward Keenan serves as senior editor and lead columnist at The Grid magazine in Toronto, Ontario. An eight-time finalist at the National Magazine Awards, he has written for and edited at Eye Weekly , Spacing magazine, and The Walrus .

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, History, Politics, Urban Planning

171 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2012

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second smart review of Toronto politics I've read in the last few months. I'm pleased that there are writers like Edward Keenan who are able to provide insight into Toronto's anarchic politics without succumbing to prejudice. In his review of the mayoralties of Mel Lastman, David Miller, and Rob Ford, Keenan reveals deep social fissures in the city. These are not the result of divisive politics, but in fact the forces that explain the election of Rob Ford. As the city grows apart socially and economically, there is no small amount of incomprehension, snobbery, and even bigotry, on both sides of the political spectrum as people feel excluded from the city or alienated by its mayor. In the midst of this division, however, Keenan does see a new civic engagement, perhaps a maturing of our politics, which he hopes will create the space for debate and even unity over Toronto's future.

[Biff Nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking and intelligent read..I could hardly put it down! Although ALREADY outdated (he ends on the heady days right after Ford was ordered from office), it is nonetheless an excellent analysis of what Toronto is, was, and could be. A must read for any Torontonian!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and readable look at the past decade of Toronto politics. Especially recommended if you've been watching the Rob Ford saga unfold and wondered how things got that way.

At the core of Toronto's problems is a divide between suburbs and city which no other Canadian city faces on the same scale - Vancouver is unaffordable everywhere, while Montreal struggles to prosper at all, and Calgary and Edmonton are nothing but suburbs. Only Toronto has such a marked contrast between idealized urban living (lattes, streetcars, condos, density) and stereotypical suburban living (middle-class, car-centric, spread out), all within city limits.

Though the author (like myself) is clearly an urban left wing pinko who probably rides a bike and takes transit and visits farmer's markets on weekends, he acknowledges the demographically-changing middle-class population that fill Toronto's suburbs, and questions how to bring them into the fold of a growing and prospering Toronto.

It's a problem I care about, too, even if I never end up living in Toronto again. I love my mixed-use, mixed-wealth neighbourhood in Montreal - how do we make sure these places live on, and prosper, without become exclusive enclaves for wealthy yuppies?

(P.S. If you're one of those people who can't understand why anyone likes Toronto, this book may also shed some light)

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read for anyone that lives in and cares about Toronto. Keenan gives a good overview of the history of the city focusing on the characters that built it '....the Holy Trinity of Torontoism: William Lyon Mackenzie, R.C. Harris, and Jane Jacob'. His focus is on the post amalgamation mayors (Lastman, Miller, Ford) and how their governing style helped to create the city we know today. He's not easy on them exposing their strengths and weaknesses. The most frustrating part is the book is outdated - it ends with Ford being ordered from office even though the 'clown show' goes on.
Keenan's definition of a mayor: "The mayor is the personification of the city's character and mood. He or she sets the tone and establishes the content of the civic conversation. He or she serves as the public face a city shows itself and the rest of the world, and acts as the voice of the city in reaction to events. The mayor, elected by the people, represents the city's psyche." Does Rob Ford represent our psyche? - the next election will be the tell.
Nominated for the Ontario Speaker's Book Award 2013.

[Leif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this on just moving to Toronto, I was happy to find a well-versed, smartly written summary of Toronto's political and urbanist history over the course of its last three mayors --- Lastman, Harris, and Ford --- with brief glimpses of enduring presences in the city's architectural and cultural historical landscape, namely the influences of reformer William Lyon Mackenzie, public works commissioner Roland Caldwell Harris (well known by the argumentative take on his life from In the Skin of a Lion), and Jane Jacobs. Keenan is especially good on recent history, which, given his usual writing gigs at The Grid and Spacing, isn't surprising: anyone looking to understand why Rob Ford was elected in such a political clamour should come here first.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book if you live in Toronto. City politics reporter Edward Keenan has unveiled his analysis of Toronto since amalgamation, examining how neighbourhoods have grown and how they respond to different policies and developments based on their unique circumstances. Framed by this primer on urban development comes Keenan's analysis of the three mayors since amalgamation: Mel Lastman, David Miller and Rob Ford.

While Keenan is no fan of Rob Ford, he gives what I see as a fair, almost magnanimous, analysis of Ford's strengths and weaknesses as mayor. If you want to understand Rob Ford, and why he was elected, read this book!

[Bill Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published before the Ford appeal decision, so it might be premature in its assumption that the Ford era is at an end. However, this is a thorough review of the last 15 years of local history, and is a manifesto /blueprint /impassioned plea for a political program and leadership that can make something better of the mess we find ourselves in. I agree with the urgency and the thesis, and that's why I'm giving it 5 stars.

[Julian Haigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A polemical account of Toronto's politics since amalgamation viewing the three mayors: Lastman, Miller and Ford, as prisms to understand the voting blocks of Toronto. A quick read, certainly no longer developed arguments, though with an open mind and a strong appreciation for the place of citizen engagement in the proper conduct of municipal affairs.

[Vaishnavee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked his points about Toronto's multiculturalism and the identity crisis that it has been going through since its inception. However, I just couldn't take the over the top aggrandizing... gave up after "the sun never sets on the Toronto empire." ~Chapter 3.

I might come back to it during the summer, with more patience.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this read. Well researched with just enough historical context provided. Contemporary, historic and futuristic thought in one little gem of a book. Rob Ford fans - this book is not for you. Unless you need another reason to come over to the bright side.

[Angela Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, mainly on mayoral politics of Toronto. Would've like more insight into the broader genesis of city and its urban planning versus a deep dive into its sometimes petty politics. Well-written, passionate author.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful consideration of the different kinds of relationships people have with their city. Through no fault of Keenan's own, I am just kind of sick of some of the stories. Cmoooon 2014.

[Adam Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative, breezily written book about recent Toronto politics. If you want to know how we managed to elect Rob Ford, this is a pretty good place to start.

[Daniel Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in a book. This was truly awful.

[Arshy]

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[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

He kept my attention for a whole book on municipal politics -- very thoughtful and some great writing

[Rob Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to properly understand the city I live in, this one is on the syllabus.

[Chris Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and good overview of recent politics in Toronto, helped me wrap my head around it. Covers the administrations of the last three mayors. Very biased journalist who is very aware of his biases.

[Jessie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book made me realize that I was paying more attention to Toronto politics than I realized and that is is a fascinating topic.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good overview of the city of Toronto's history, but I didn't realize when I started that it was six years old. Stopping partway through Rob Ford's tenure as mayor was disappointing, and then I didn't find the last chapter where Keenan talked about future directions that interesting. But until that point, I'd really enjoyed it.

[Edwin White Chacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good overview of the history of Toronto.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last night finished Edward Keenan's Some Great Idea: Good Neighbourhoods, Crazy Politics and the Invention of Toronto (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2013). Keenan who is a local journalist on urban affairs writes about the last three mayors of the city since amalgamation, Mel Lastman, David Miller and Rob Ford. He tries to tease out the connections between disparity of wealth, ideologies and politics by looking at how Toronto has struggled to find itself. Like the larger quest for Canadian identity, Toronto's search for its own voice, is convincingly argued by Keenan the basis of the identity we look for. The story of the city is intertwined with Keenan's own narrative and his relationship to the various neighbourhoods he has known and lived in in Toronto. It is an exciting book for anyone seeking to understand the ins and outs of Toronto urban politics.

[shaggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great points were made, some good back-story was given, some fantastic reads were referenced.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

audiobook for the ride to work, sorta a comfort now