Analytical Essay

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GEO793 The Geography of Toronto

Winter 2020

Analytical Essay:

Equity in the City of Toronto: Are the needs of Toronto

neighbourhoods being met?

2,000 word minimum excluding bibliography 20% late penalty per calendar day

Check D2L for your section’s due dates 35% of final grade

The essay assignment is where you turn the research you conducted in your field report into an essay. Since this an upper level liberal studies course, we expect you to use some higher order, conceptual thinking to develop your ideas. For this assignment, you need to connect your own research with research of scholars in the field. Together these findings will help you to answer the question: are the needs of your neighbourhood of study being met? Higher order thinking connects concrete examples to concepts (abstractions, like place, culture, space) and theories (sets of abstractions brought together, like gentrification). In your essays we want you to connect things you see in your neighbourhood to broader concepts or theories. You will need to understand the readings and think about them in order to connect your own observations to more abstract ideas. A major concept embedded in the question of “Are the needs of Toronto neighbourhoods being met?” is the notion of spatial mismatch. Spatial mismatch is a term highlighting the disconnection between where people live and where people work, and particularly how certain groups of people are disadvantaged when there is a mismatch. We can also think of spatial mismatch as between where people live and where social resources like shops, restaurants, and services are located. A sustainable neighbourhood would have most of the amenities that people need on a daily basis within walking distance, and those on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis further away. If commuting from home to work or services takes significant portions of one’s day, the patterns of one’s everyday life are less sustainable.

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Transportation mismatch is a term that examines how particular modes of transportation may disallow access to jobs for particular people. If jobs are not located on public transportation routes, and there is no housing near by, a personal automobile is required. For groups who cannot afford this resource, their access to jobs may be limited. Over time, neighbourhoods grow and shrink in population size, change their composition in terms of demographics and ethnic identity, and shift their function from an industrial area to a residential or commercial area. Sometimes these shifts accompany a good balance of resources and services, and sometimes they are not. Your challenge in this essay, is to examine what the needs of a neighbourhood are, and what are the resources that the neighbourhood provides. As mentioned in the field report, you can take one of two approaches to this research: 1. A cultural approach You can think of culture broadly as a way of life, thus people live many cultures (ethnic, religious, sports, arts, age-specific). Your research should focus on a certain set of needs depending on the ethnic, language, religious, subculture, or age characteristics of the population. Next, you connect these needs with a set of resources (social services, venues, public spaces, any others). You then assess whether the needs are currently being met or not, and make some analytical comments. You may ask questions about whether the needs of the majority ethnic group in an area are being met with services like restaurants that serve cuisine from that region. You may ask if the needs of children are being supported with adequate daycare. You can inquire if there are sufficient cultural resources for seniors, particularly immigrant seniors. Income, education, and language are also variables that you can shape into a needs profile. Your resources profile should take into account the neighbourhood’s history. You can see if the neighbourhood’s history as an industrial site has left it devoid of commercial venues, thus requiring residents to travel far for shops and restaurants. Did the planning of the 1950s shape the residential area into separate areas for separate land uses? 2. A mobility approach How does (a subset of) the population have unique or specific needs, and are they are met by the existing infrastructure (sidewalks, public transit, bikeways, crossings, roads)? The needs become the characteristics of the population, and the resources become the transportation infrastructure (both soft (transit programs, services, rules) and hard (roads, sidewalks, subways). In order to truly sample the characteristics of users in the area, you are being asked to conduct 1 hour of traffic observation at two spots (2 hours

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in total) in your neighbourhood of interest using the mobile app Counterpoint (https://counterpointapp.org/). A video by the creators of Counterpoint (and one of my former students who know works for them) will be ready by the end of February. Include the results of this count in your findings. You can be creative in your analysis of the needs : resources ratio: could it be area on the ground? How many users are using a location in a given time snapshot and how much space is dedicated to them? Anyone who uses Yonge-Dundas during class changes knows what I am talking about! A lot of space for cars, and not a lot for pedestrians! The essay should have 7 major parts. Labelling these with subheadings makes it much easier for the marking assistants to read your papers and is recommended.

1. Title Page: Make a creative title for your essay that describes to the reader your topic and neighbourhood

2. The Introduction (around 250+ words): here you introduce your topic, neighbourhood, and your outline of your argument

3. The Literature Review (around 500+ words): here you will summarize at least 6 scholarly sources (peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters in university presses or academic publishers (Routledge, Sage, Wiley), or dissertations and theses), highlighting how they are important to your argument. You can use the same wording you used in questions 6 of your field report to start your literature review but be sure to connect the point of why they are important to your essay. Newspaper articles and popular media sources should not be used here.

4. The Field Research (around 500+ words): here you summarize the main findings from your field report, and if you are choosing the mobility essay include the results of your Counterpoint analysis. Have two sections or paragraphs that detail

a. The needs of the neighbourhood based on the population b. The resources in the neighbourhood based on its history and your field

research You can include findings from your newspaper (field report question 4) and popular media (field report question 8) analyses here to help support things you saw in your field observations. You should include 3 figures (photographs, graphs, or maps) to illustrate these neighbourhood characteristics.

5. Analysis (around 500+ words): this is the meat and potatoes of your essay where you link up your literature review with the field research, using them to craft an argument about whether your neighbourhood’s needs are being met.

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This argument should incorporate a few concepts from the class. Have a look at the last page to see how an argument is crafted with evidence and sub- arguments. Drawing on the history of the neighbourhood might be a useful tactic to show both why the neighbourhood works or does not: How did it change since over time? How did it relate to the rest of the city? If you are doing the mobility section, include some recommendations for improving mobility for groups in your area.

6. The Conclusion (around 250+ words): here you conclude your essay by summarizing your argument, and your evidence. You can include some ideas for further research if you would like.

7. Bibliography: This is your full bibliography of all the works cited in your research. Make sure it is in alphabetical order, and using hanging indents (as below (you do not need to include links in bibliographies and it should be doubled spaced). Use APA format here (no numbers!)

Formatting: • Include a title page with an assignment title, your name, student number, course section • Use double-spacing (2.0 or every other line) • 1 inch or 2.54cm (Normal) margins • Use 10 or 11 pt font for sans serif (Arial etc), or 12 pt font for serif (Times, etc). • Include page numbers • You may include images, tables and graphs in the text: make sure you have a source caption • Ensure you label all figures: Figure 1: Write a Descriptive Title. Source: Where you got the image, if your own photograph use your name and the date. • Check your work for typographical, spelling, and grammar errors. Print out a copy and read it! •Save your file as your LASTNAMEFIRSTINITIALGEO793ESSAY.pdf Some Geography of Toronto related articles to whet your appetite Amar, A. K., & Teelucksingh, C. (2015). Environmental justice, transit equity and the

place for immigrants in Toronto. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 24(2), 43- 63. https://go-gale- com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/ps/i.do?ty=as&v=2.1&u=rpu_main&it=DIourl&s=RELE VANCE&p=CPI&qt=SP%7E43%7E%7EIU%7E2%7E%7ESN%7E1188- 3774%7E%7EVO%7E24&lm=DA%7E120150000&sw=w

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Buzzelli, M. (2001). From Little Britain to Little Italy: an urban ethnic landscape study in Toronto. Journal of Historical Geography, 27(4), 573-587. https://journals- scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/details/03057488/v27i0004/573_flbtliuelsit.xml

Chaudhary, A. R., & Guarnizo, L. E. (2016). Pakistani immigrant organisational spaces in Toronto and New York City. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(6), 1013-1035. https://journals-scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/1369183x/v42i0006/1013_piositanyc.xml

Currah, A. (2002). Behind the web store: the organisational and spatial evolution of multichannel retailing in Toronto. Environment and Planning A, 34(8), 1411-1441. http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/doi/pdf/10.1068/a3562

Foth, N., Manaugh, K., & El-Geneidy, A. M. (2014). Determinants of mode share over time: how changing transport system affects transit use in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Transportation Research Record, 2417(1), 67-77. https://journals- sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/doi/abs/10.3141/2417-08

Hiebert, D. (1993). Jewish immigrants and the garment industry of Toronto, 1901–1931: A study of ethnic and class relations. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 83(2), 243-271. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/stable/pdf/2563495.pdf?refreqid=excel sior%3A3d06d631cb1677e2e8fbfe59bfd3e18c

Nash, C. J., & Gorman-Murray, A. (2015). Recovering the gay village: A comparative historical geography of urban change and planning in Toronto and Sydney. Historical Geography, 43, 84-105. https://ejournals.unm.edu/index.php/historicalgeography/article/view/3188/Nash- GormanMurray

Rankin, K. N., & McLean, H. (2015). Governing the commercial streets of the city: New terrains of disinvestment and gentrification in Toronto's inner suburbs. Antipode, 47(1), 216-239. https://journals-scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/00664812/v47i0001/216_gtcsotagitis.xml

Ray, B., & Preston, V. (2015). Working with diversity: A geographical analysis of ethno- racial discrimination in Toronto. Urban Studies, 52(8), 1505-1522. https://journals-scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/00420980/v52i0008/1505_wwdagaoedit.xml

Takahashi, K. (2017). Toronto’s Little Portugal: gentrification and social relations among local entrepreneurs. Urban Geography, 38(4), 578-605. https://journals- scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/details/02723638/v38i0004/578_tlpgasrale.xml

Walks, R. A. (2001). The social ecology of the post-Fordist/global city? Economic restructuring and socio-spatial polarisation in the Toronto urban region. Urban Studies, 38(3), 407-447. https://journals-scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/00420980/v38i0003/407_tseotppittur.xml

Zhuang, Z. C., & Chen, A. X. (2017). The role of ethnic retailing in retrofitting suburbia: case studies from Toronto, Canada. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 10(3), 275-295.

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https://journals-scholarsportal- info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/17549175/v10i0003/275_troeriscsftc.xml

Example outline of the Argument of an Essay (https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/studentlearningsupport/resources/els- writing/The_Essay_Outline.pdf) Argument/Thesis: Downloading music illegally is the same as stealing Subargument #1: Downloading music for free is a legal issue. Supporting evidence:

 Theft is taking something from someone who is the rightful owner without their permission. (Canadian Law quote)

 Artists own the rights to their own music. (Canadian Law quote)

 Music is under copyright + Music is intellectual property, and taking it without permission should be considered a criminal act - despite the fact that "everyone is doing it." (Research Article 1 and 2)

Subargument #2: Downloading music for free is an ethical issue.

Supporting evidence

 Principles of morality, i.e. what is right and what is wrong. (Dictionary of Philosophy)

 There is no difference between taking the music for free off the internet and taking it for free out of a store. (Research Article 3)

 Intellectual property = Intangible. This should be treated the same way as tangible property, i.e. something physical that you can touch. (Research Article 4)

Subargument #3: Downloading music for free results in a loss of income.

Supporting evidence

 Musicians love making music → but if people download their music for free, simply because they can → music won’t be a good, stable source of income Record companies will also lose money. Record companies have a very positive role to play: they scout for new talent + offer training and production studios for up-and-coming musicians + they provide valuable marketing services, making sure that new artists get heard. (Personal communication with artists)

 Therefore many jobs related to the music industry will be affected. (Statistics)

 Talent will be underdeveloped → so, downloading music without permission will lead to fewer good musicians → not only bad for the musicians, but also

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for general public → we’ll have less good music to listen to. (Research Articles 5 and 6)

Rubric for Analytical Essay

A+ A and A- Excellent. Thorough to exceptional knowledge of concepts and/or techniques together with a high degree of skill and/or some elements of originality in satisfying the requirements of an assignment. B+ B and B- Good. Thorough to good level of knowledge of concepts and/or techniques together with considerable skill in using them to satisfy the requirements of an assignment. C+ C and C- Satisfactory. Acceptable level of knowledge of concepts and/or techniques together with considerable to some skill in using them to satisfy the requirements of an assignment.

Excellent A

Good B

Satisfactory C

Marginal D

Fail F

Absent 0

Overall Writes an essay that analyses the cultural, or mobility needs and resources of a City of Toronto neighbourhood with clear introduction, literature review, field research, discussion, and conclusion sections.

20 15 12.5 10 8 0

Field Research Field research incorporates research from the Field Report and detailed observations about the neighbourhood’s needs and resources. Uses 3 sources.

20 15 12.5 10 8 0

Literature Review Literature review is clear and summarizes a minimum of 6 peer reviewed or scholarly sources.

20 15 12.5 10 8 0

Discussion Incorporates literature review with field research, and makes an argument about the whether the neighbourhood’s needs are met.

20 15 12.5 10 8 0

Professionalism Essay is presented clearly, with attention to grammar and spelling, including tables, graphs, maps, photographs where applicable. Formatting is correct and is at least 2,000 words. Citations are correct.

20 15 12.5 10 8 0

100 75 62.5 58 40 0-40

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D+ D and D- Marginal. Slightly better than minimum to minimum knowledge of concepts and/or techniques needed to satisfy the requirements of an assignment. F Unsatisfactory. Does not meet the requirements of the assignment.

Counterpoint Instructions 1. Make an account before you start to familiarize yourself with the app. Join my team

“Social Geography All-Stars” and have a look at the instructions https://www.counterpointapp.org/how-it-works/

2. Figure out where you want to set up a counterpoint: this should be in an area you want to measure the traffic. It needs have a clear line of sight across a street. You may use an existing counterpoint, or make a new one.

3. Make sure your phone is well charged, and if it is cold, find a coffee shop or other interior site to use as shelter.

4. Set up the point, and start counting. Make sure to count traffic in both directions (if a two way street). Counts should not be across an intersection. Try to space out your count to collect data from different times of day or days of the week to get the best picture of your traffic flow. Counts can be in length from 15-60 minutes, but you should have 120 minutes of counting in total. If you want to team up with a classmate you could both collect time at a few sites to get an even better data source!

5. Feel free to collect information from your area using the Building Types area audit! 6. You can View Count History or Download Data from these sites after you are completed. 7. Turn the data into graphs and descriptive statistics in Excel. 8. Repeat and tell your friends! Share it on social media