Welcome to "In the Davisville Habit"

Welcome to my new blog. A few words of introduction are both inevitable and required. This blog is my humble attempt to make sense of my relationship with the city in which I live, work, and study. My confession: for years I took life in Toronto for granted. I operated under a central flawed assumption about urban life - that the city would look after itself. However, in the face of the radical political, ideological, and structural change being imposed (again) on our municipality, I discovered that that supposition was no longer tenable. "Decisions," wrote Aaron Sorkin, "are made by those who show up." I may never be elected to city council but I have discovered the power of civic engagement. I found my civic voice and the means to express it. As Nigel Tufnel said, "This one goes to 11." In other words, I may not be Toronto's most articulate commentator, but I intend to be loud. Refinement comes with practice.

One of the greatest aspects of my recent civic engagement was the discovery that so many people are already there, working hard, and making a difference. Of course I knew they existed, I simply hadn't appreciated exactly what it was they did. Nor did I fully comprehend the value of their efforts. For me, life was about getting from one moment to the next and hoping I wouldn't fall through the cracks. I assumed, as noted above, that someone else would take care of things like politics and city building. It would be inaccurate to suggest that I was totally disconnected - I have a long history of calling MP's and MPP's to let them know what I thought of them - and their policies. (I recall with great fondness a late night, furious return call from David Tsubouchi during the equally bleak Harris years. That man can curse with the best of them!) Also, I have never missed an opportunity to vote since I reached the age of majority more than twenty years ago. In short, I did the bare minimum. For someone who claimed to love where he lives, this still troubles me. By joining the ranks of those already engaged, I am learning how to make the city a better place. Active participation is the key.

Perhaps a few words on my background in the city might provide some valuable context. My love affair with Toronto began at an early age. My public school in the Yonge and Eglinton area regularly took classes of tiny Torontonians on field trips to Kensington Market, the University theater, Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, St. Lawrence Market, and many other places around town. Through my high school years I familiarized myself with the city's poolhalls and the various dive bars that served 17 year olds (Hello, Queen and Bathurst!) I explored our ravines and bridges, abandoned buildings, and the hidden lane-ways that offered a secondary, and much less known, charting of our streets. They felt like a map within a map to me - part of a secret city known only to a few of us. (Arrogant youth!) I still find lanes fascinating spaces. Later on, as I pursued a career in the Toronto film industry as a set dresser, I became enchanted with all the wonderful hidden locations that world opened to me. From the abandoned lower Bay TTC station to the wonderful Victorian industrialism of Gooderham and Worts (prior to its reincarnation as the Distillery District,) I discovered an historic, yet living city waiting to be explored. Today, as a historian working to complete a PhD, I bring a new set of analytical skills to my exploration of the city and its denizens. I hope they will be both interesting and occasionally illuminating.

I reside, as the blog's name suggests, in the Davisville neighbourhood between Eglinton and St. Clair. I have lived in other parts of the city as well and I regularly venture into different neighbourhoods and areas. I find myself comfortable with the term flaneur. What better way to understand the city?

This blog represents a way for me to repay a debt to the city I love by raising awareness of the things that I believe matter to Toronto. To that end, In the Davisville Habit will present a wide range of themes for consideration: Politics, culture, art, rants and raves, musings on urban life and city building, activism, social justice, and probably many pictures of my cats.

There is no shortage of first-rate bloggers in the city of Toronto, writing about a wide range of topics. I owe a debt of gratitude to these wonderful authors of whom we all have the privilege (and duty) to read on a regular basis. I hope to learn from your successes. The mistakes are mine alone.