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Eric Very

@ekvery.bsky.social

Writing at www.brockton-history.ca, jogging, coffee, dad. Working on the waterfront.

178 Posts179 Follower283 Folgt
Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 3d ago

How Upper Canadian experiment of paying surveyors with land instead of cash flopped. "Disenchantment with the Upper Canada survey system was probably one of the reasons why...moved to Lower Canada... where surveyors were paid in money." champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-cont...

Duncan McDonell Shakes Up Upper Canada Surveying - Champlain Society

In this month's Findings, the petitions of Duncan McDonell tell of the transformations in surveying in Upper Canada in the early 19th century, where changes in renumeration fueled rampant land speculation.

champlainsociety.utppublishing.com

Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 5d ago

I also wrote about racism on Toronto's first transit system. A Black woman was refused a seat on the city's first omnibus, as James Mink, one of Toronto's wealthiest Black men, ran a competing omnibus line, revealing the contradictions of Black Victorian Toronto. brockton-history.ca/2025/02/26/d...

Denied a Ride – Black History in 1850s Brockton

Brockton is often remembered as an Irish village, but what about its early Black residents? Their presence is harder to trace in official records, but glimpses appear in historical accounts—one of …

brockton-history.ca

Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Weiss/Manfredi & du Toit Allsopp Hillier concept was pretty neat and my second favourite. The massive boardwalk peninsula is a cool idea, but it lacks the focus on renaturalization and bringing the park to the harbour. Rather site on the inner harbour then a wider Keating Channel.

Colour-coded site plan for the Weiss/Manfredi & du Toit Allsopp Hillier "Wandering Ecologies" proposal, labeling zones including The Marshlands, The Lower Don Meander, The Peninsula, The Outlook, Recreational Valley, Lower Don Square, and Central Port Lands, with the meandering river winding through orange and green landscape zones.Rendering of a naturalized river channel lined with autumn-toned grasses and reeds, with a low bridge crossing the water and the elevated Gardiner Expressway running alongside on the right.Rendering of a long wooden boardwalk extending into the harbour at dusk, crowded with pedestrians and cyclists, with the Toronto skyline and CN Tower visible across the water.
Lanrick Bennett@lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 5d ago

'When it comes to Black history & slavery, many Canadians believe our country's story begins with the Underground Railroad, Canada acting as a benevolent safe haven for enslaved Africans escaping the bitter bondage of the American South...there's more to the story...' @shellenedrakestull.bsky.social

Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 6d ago

Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride is a unique and awesome tradition the TTC runs with the Blackhurst Cultural Centre. A non-stop ride between Vaughan Metropolitan Station and Union Station with singing and drumming to celebrate emancipation day. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 6d ago

Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride is a unique and awesome tradition the TTC runs with the Blackhurst Cultural Centre. A non-stop ride between Vaughan Metropolitan Station and Union Station with singing and drumming to celebrate emancipation day. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Shellene Drakes-Tull: Canada’s Black history: A deeper look beyond the Underground Railroad

There is more to Black history in Canada and its history with slavery than the Underground Railroad.

thestar.com

Our World in Data@ourworldindata.org · 6d ago

Most of the world’s fastest-growing megacities will soon be in Africa— Many cities across East Asia and Latin America have grown quickly over the last few decades. Since 1950, São Paulo’s population has grown sixfold. Shanghai’s nearly tenfold.

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Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 6d ago

As we celebrate Biidaasige Park's opening, a quick look at the designs that didn't win. The winning design by MVVA is very recognizable in the park we got: the meandering river, the big park on the harbour, and a focus on keeping the Keating Channel while naturalizing the harbour and river. 🧵

2007 rendering by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA) for the lower donAerial photo of Biidaasige Park on Ookwemin Minising, Toronto, showing curving pathways and green lawns along the park's harbour edge, with small marsh islands offshore, construction areas to the south, and the industrial Port Lands and inner harbour visible in the background.
Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · last wk.

Last map is 1840, and this is where it shifts. Shank's old holdings get bought up mostly by Walter O'Hara. King's College ends up with a big chunk of Crown land, and the first small building lots show up along the major roads and at Dundas and Dufferin, the corner that becomes Brockton Village.

Map of west Toronto in 1840 showing widespread change from the earlier two maps. Most parcels are now green ("large lots sold"), David Shank's former holdings have been broken up and bought largely by Walter O'Hara, King's College now controls large institutional blocks, and small red parcel, subdivided building lots are clustered on Davenport, Queen Street and at the corner of Dundas and Dufferin where Brockton Village will take root.
Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · last wk.

Climate change isn't mentioned, but it's got to be a major factor in this stat: "across the 60 most populous cities across the continent, nine of the top 10 into which animals are most likely to be moving are in Canada (number 11 on the list is Toronto)." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: The Great Urban Shift is here, and our urban ecosystems will never be the same

Urban ecologists have discovered over the past couple of decades that cities, long derided as ‘biological deserts,’ are often more biodiverse than the areas that surround them

theglobeandmail.com

Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · last wk.

Second map is 1830. Ten years on and not much had changed. Shank and the Crown were still sitting on most of the land. A couple of gentry families were slowly expanding their holdings. An Irish newcomer, Bartholomew Bull, bought 100 acres and built the west end's first brick house on Davenport.

Map of west Toronto in 1830 showing the same parcels ten years later. More land has shifted to green ("large lots sold"), especially around the Denison family holdings and along Dundas Street, but the overall pattern is similar to 182. David Shank and the Crown still hold much of the land, with Bartholomew Bull's new Springmount estate on Davenport Road the notable addition
Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · last wk.

First of the three maps looks at 1820. Land here was still mostly in the hands of the Crown and the original grantees. David Shank alone held close to a quarter of all the privately owned land in the area.

Map of west Toronto in 1820 showing land ownership by parcel, colour-coded by status. Most land is still held by the Crown or original grantee families (shown in gold and grey); David Shank alone owns a large connected block running from Bloor Street down to Queen Street. Only a few large lots (green) have been sold, concentrated near Crookshank's farm along Bathurst Street; none have been subdivided into small lots.
Eric Very@ekvery.bsky.social · 2w ago

Deep dive into Waterloo region's water crisis "A combination of low aquifers, poorly maintained infrastructure, delayed water projects and a flawed formula for calculating supply forced the regional municipality... effectively freezing development approvals" www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Waterloo Region is short on water. It’s a cautionary tale for cities across Canada

Decades of decisions set up this growing Ontario hub, which relies on groundwater, for a costly crisis of its own making

theglobeandmail.com