After all the sewer related issues the rain still makes me paranoid. But I am really happy with the picture :)Sewer issues, and sewers, and garbage, and recycling, and other major pollutant plants and industries are of course a raison d’être of the East Side and obliquely the reason I am here.
Basically this really fantastic part of town has been peppered with these kinds of industries which of course kept it from being the 'good' part of town. That is until the 70 ies. However by the 80 ies and onwards the industries were forced out anyway, we do keep the sewer plant and recycling and more of course. This caused a really interesting dynamic that I think really created the unmatched character of the East Side. As the toxic fumes blew away people suddenly started noticing the neighborhood that is so central, accessible, green, and convenient. And so a slow gentrification began. As there are plenty of ex heavy industry lands available the upscale land hog- the movies moved in, and so did movie people.
Now there is a great mix of the avangarde, the yuppie, the old money, he regular white collars, blue collars, old timers, and refugees. I have got to say that this really keeps the area fresh and alive, how sad is it to live in a 'hood that only caters to one of the groups? And that is most other areas of the GTA I know. Luckily though and I am crossing my fingers here there is still some stigma attached which keeps the area from being 100% gentrified. It would be nice to keep the freshness for years to come, and undoubtedly the creative concentration here helps.
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