[URBAN NOTE] "Does Toronto have an east end or an east side?"
blogTO's Derek Flack discusses the complex, often contradicted, internal geographical boundaries of Toronto.
Toronto has never been a place with widely agreed upon internal borders. Debate over where the east and west portions of the city begin and end quietly marches on almost a hundred years after the birth of the Bloor Viaduct.
Confusion as to our collective sense of place isn't, however, confined merely to Toronto's contested borders, but also the terminology we use to identify the various parts of the city.
Perhaps the best example of this is the "side" vs. "end" debate. Let's start with a question: if you were heading to the Beaches (itself a contested term), would you be going to the east side of the city or the east end?
For my part, I'm firmly in the side camp given this example. If, on the other hand, I was destined for the Scarborough Bluffs, I'd say I was heading to the east end.
In this example, I would say "East End" as well. I'd define it as everything east of the Don River.
Toronto has never been a place with widely agreed upon internal borders. Debate over where the east and west portions of the city begin and end quietly marches on almost a hundred years after the birth of the Bloor Viaduct.
Confusion as to our collective sense of place isn't, however, confined merely to Toronto's contested borders, but also the terminology we use to identify the various parts of the city.
Perhaps the best example of this is the "side" vs. "end" debate. Let's start with a question: if you were heading to the Beaches (itself a contested term), would you be going to the east side of the city or the east end?
For my part, I'm firmly in the side camp given this example. If, on the other hand, I was destined for the Scarborough Bluffs, I'd say I was heading to the east end.
In this example, I would say "East End" as well. I'd define it as everything east of the Don River.