“Tis the season”

As the holiday approach, stress levels arise and Montrealers don’t know how cope with all of this. In addition to the holiday stress, construction around the city is unbearable. Blocked streets and detour route commuters around the city, although these repairs need to be completed, taking a longer way to your destination is frustrating. For people taking their car into the city finding free parking or a reasonably priced parking meter is nearly impossible. In addition during the winter seasons there is a snow removal hour which Montreals need to worry about. All in all Montreal is a very festive city around the holidays however does come with a price with heavy construction and no parking.

Victor Mancini

Montreal makes NYT list of "hip" cities | Daily Brew - Yahoo! News

Montreal makes NYT list of "hip" cities | Daily Brew - Yahoo! News

The Underground City and Recycling

The underground city of Montreal is used by many people who are commuting to, from and through various places. This display of art  is made of re-used carton boxes and recyled paper, and is located in the Eaton Center mall, right by the St. Catherine Street exit. Since the Eaton Centre is one of the most popular underground malls in Canada, it can be used as a platform to convey global and social messages about the environment. Materials, such as water bottles, cardboard, and recycled paper are collected and made into beautiful art that is put on display for millions to see.

The recycled art is seen by many people who shop, or who simply use the exit to get to the metro. This snowman is made of green, orange, and brown re-used bottles and is located in Les Cours Mont-Royal, right by Peel Metro. In addition, this kind of recycled art is put up throughout other connecting malls, such as Les Cours Mont-Royal.

This tree is made of recycled bottles and is in Les Cours Mont-Royal:

 Text and photos by Sabrina Principe

Personality

Climate has a strong correlation with the mood of people, their social life and their state of mind. We aren't favored with a mild weather in Montreal, cold and long winters are a struggle for some and we can see it in the change of people's lifestyle during those months of frost. Who stays outside in the winter? People don't do it unless they have to. How long do they stay, how often do they go out for a breath of fresh air, how often do they go on social meeting? The cold cuts people's contact with the outside world and shows the dark side of our city. The unsocial coldness of Montreal is reviled.

Who's Occupying?

In the last few months, "Occupy Montreal" is being a subject of numerous discussions and debates and even though, it's a bit of a "cliche" now, I feel that there is a lot to do and improve about it. Personally I support the idea, and when I first heard about it, I was pretty excited and loved the idea that people were willing to sleep on the street in the name of a global cause. My imaginations though, were ruined when I first got there. The whole square was occupied by "bums" with tents. There was no enthusiasm at all, dirt was everywhere, and people were just not the kind I was imagining. I recognize my biased opinion about that protest since, I only went there once and I was totally discouraged to participate. Maybe the day I went was not a good one, maybe my expectations were drifting way to far, but it just didn't seem right. Where were all the middle class personages, where were all the students that have to carry all the economic dishonesty for their entire lifetime? The majority of the participants at that day were homeless people, for whom, in my opinion, living outside on the street is a personal decisions and being at the occupation is just a way to have a shelter and socialize. I personally think that the idea of the "occupy" movement all over North America is brilliant and there is a potential of a change. But don't you think that goal wasn't even understood by some of the participants, and the image was ruined?

History of Dawson College

HISTORY OF DAWSON by

Stéphanie Giannuzzo

Marjorie Ann Alcantara

Suganya Thangarajah

TIMELINE: History of the Building

-1908: Mother House

-1970: Number of Sister decreased

-1972: The secretarial school moved to a smaller building

-1977: Building was classified as a Historic site

-1982: Dawson College made its bid on the property 

TIMELINE: History of Dawson College

-1945: Dawson College located at St-Jean sur Richelieu/McGill satellite campus

-1950: Dawson College as McGill’s branch campus is closed

-1968: Dawson received its charter with a mandate: the first English language Cegep in Quebec

-1968: Dawson College opens its doors at 350 Shelby street and other locations in Westmount

-1988: Dawson College settled at the Mother House (present day campus)

-2006: Dawson Shooting

-2010: Pepsi Forum classes

-2010: Unveiling of Peace Garden

-2011: Students strike against rising tuition fees

In 1968, Dawson received its charter with a mandate to establish the first English-language Cegep in Quebec. Dawson College first opened its doors to students in 1969, making it the first English-language Cegep institution in the Quebec network of CEGEPs. There were approximately 1,200 students enrolled in its first fall semester. In 1969, the only programs offered were... Today, there are almost 10,000 students, which include around 7,5020 day students and 2,500 part-time students. Dawson College offers 25 pre-university programs designed to prepare students for university studies in Creative Arts, Literature and Languages, Science, Social Science, and Special Areas of Study and 21 career/technical programs in Business Administration, Computer Science, Design, Health and Medicine, Laboratory Technologies, Media and Publishing, Photography, Professional Theatre, Nursing, Photography, Social Services, and Radiological Technologies. Through its Continuing Education division, the College provides for-credit and non-credit professional training and preparation programs and 2 pre-university programs in Science and Social Science. Dawson’s students are among the most ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse of any Quebec Cegep. * The dean of Dawson College is Robert Kavanagh.

The College was originally housedin a converted pharmaceutical factory in Westmount. In 1970, a second campus (used mostly for Creative Arts programs) was opened on Viger Street close to Old Montreal. Two years later, its third campus was opened near Parc Lafontaine. And by1988 it settled at the Mother House of the congregation de Notre-Dame, which is the building where it is situated today. Dawson completed the wing the houses the technical programs and the physical education facilities in 1997.

The college was named after Sir John William Dawson, who was a professor of geology and the principal of McGill University from 1885 to 1893. So a bit about Dawson, he was born on October 13,1820 and died on November 19, 1899. He was Nova Scotia's first superintendent of education, between 1850 to 1853. He made a discovery about the first fossil plant found in rocks of Devonian origin; he is now considered one of the founders of the science of palaeobotany.

Dawson College-Pepsi Forum

As a solution to the overcrowding, Dawson has been having classes held in the Pepsi Forum since August 2010. The Pepsi Forum (otherwise known as the P-wing) used to be the former home of the Canadiens on Ste. Catherine Street between Atwater Ave. and Lambert Closse Street. Now they are hosting lessons on sociology and other academic subjects. The Pepsi Forum became the best choice because of the short time that Dawson had to build the classrooms, the rental cost and the location.

There has been a 17.9% spike in population in English CEGEPs across Montreal. That translates to an extra 300 more students for Dawson forcing the creation of nine classrooms and two social science laboratories. The Ministry of Education has been asking English CEGEPS to accept more students than their capacity and has given $1million for funding to do so. Since Dawson is a heritage building, that does not permit them by Westmount laws to build extra space internally so, they had no choice but to opt for external space.

The population bulge is expected to last until 2013. Dawson has signed to remain at the Pepsi Forum for three to five years. Dawson school officials also plan to permanently expand to the Forum to teach adult education classes.  

Dawson’s Future

Dawson looks to the future with confidence and optimism.  We have indeed come far as an institution, but we envision even more development and continuous improvement in the coming years.  This progress will be all the more assured if the Government of Quebec reiterates its support for Dawson College and the range of instruction we offer and awards Dawson greater institutional autonomy, which is appropriate to the effective, high quality institution of higher education we have become and for which we have convincingly demonstrated our readiness. 

Rock That Stache!

November, newly branded Movember is slowly changing the face of men’s health. Thousands of men around Canada sport their various forms of moustaches throughout the month to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer.

How does this movement work? At the start of the month, men, called “Mo Bros”, register at movember.com with a clean and shaven face. Throughout the course of the month, they act as walking billboards creating awareness of this movement and raise money with the help of those around them. Towards the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas get together and celebrate the success of the month at a ‘Movember’ Party or at the Gala Party held by Movember. The funds then get processed through Movember and Prostate Cancer Canada.

How does this relate to The City? This movement began in Melbourne, Australia and it has made a global impact. It is now practiced in New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Ireland and many other countries support and recognize Mo Bros and Mo Sistas globally. Through urban living and city life, messages like that of Movember and other heatlh issues are brought to the eyes of many that are unaware and encourage support. On a positive note, in 2010, nearly 119,000 Canadian Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising $22.3 million CAD. As Movember nears an end, embrace the stache!

For more information and how you can participate visit: http://ca.movember.com/?home

Amanda M.

Urban Survival

 This year, the City Class has donated funds to Dans la rue.

This is a Montreal-based non profit, committed to supporting street kids. You can help too.



. 2 x Montreal Ruelle Fall 2011.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch.

Back to the Future

 

One of the reasons why I chose the City: Intersection of Text and Place as my English class this semester is that have always had a liking for cities and the dynamism that comes through them. I decided to share with all of you a poem that I wrote in grade 8 about my dream of living in the city of New York, which is still accurate to this day:

Capturing a Memory: New York

From miles away the glittering lights                                                                                                      

The aroma of steamed hotdogs

A girl squeals when seeing her busband

Exiting Tiffany & Co.,

Holding the trademark blue bag

So small surrounded by tall buildings,

Stretching to the sky

The hopes and dreams of millions,

Driven to succeed

This will be home some day.

Poem and text by Stephanie Giannuzzo

Photo by Merrianne Couture

STM Société de transport de Montréal

Every city has its own symbols and signs that its residents recognize. The Metro system has 68 stations in total that are spread through out the four lines. Each one of us relate to at least one station; it could be a memory of summer job, home, school, college, university, hospital et cetera, just imagine if you see this map anywhere in the world it will appeal to you, you will definitely consider "hey that's where I belong" The STM metro system is a brilliant way to represent the city of Montreal. Every one of us is familiar with this metro map; we have travelled from one end to the other, station by station. It means more than a method of transportation, it is the time we have given away tunneling in and out. The images that have been built in our minds are what gathers us on this one.

Statistics show that the metro system serves over 1 000 000 daily passengers on an average weekday. Each station was designed with different themes and features by different architects and the trains themselves run on rubber tires to reduce the loudness as much as possible.

The second picture is of Lionel Groulx, it's a metro station that relates to me the most as my daily routine starts at this station; I have travelled all across the four lines and the stations that I have been on the most are Angrignon, Verdun, Lionel Groulx, Snowdon, Namur, Cote-Vertu, Acadie and Place des Arts.

Freedom

It's true that most of us live in cities and it seems that we are so used to it that we have forgotten what our nature is. Personally, I enjoy living in a big city, I enjoy my social life and all the benefits and facilities the urban environment offers us but I cannot imagine myself never going out of the city and being into the wild. Even if it is just for a day, being out of any society in the nature is essential for the well being of human beings. The nature recharges you with positivism and good emotions. You feel as you are a part of something much more sizable. The quietness and the fresh air makes you think about all the disadvantages of the big city. All the noise and air pollution that provoke a big part of the so common nowadays stress. Being out there makes you forget all the city problems and emotions. Artificial problems that the human race has created itself, problems that didn't exist in our lives before. I think that everyone should experience that feeling of freedom from time to time and do not forget that after all, we are humans. Humans that are not made to spent their entire life in a box of concrete.

Text and Photo: Misho

Parkur

The Parkour is a sport that nowadays gains more and more popularity all around the world. It's main idea is to move around obstacles with speed, efficiency and precision. What is good about it is that it can be practiced in any urban environment. That is, I think, the main reason why it's getting popularity so fast. Young people could train their minds and bodies, practicing parkour, at any corner of the city they live in. No special playground or equipment is needed, only a pair of comfortable shoes, some good will and patience. Even though, its roots come from back in the days, when people had to run fast and overcome all kinds of obstacles to survive in the jungle or forest, the parkour is one of the purest "urban" sports.

Text and Photo: Misho

Parkour: Martin

Apple In NYC

Soho Apple store New York City:



Sticky notes Memorials in honour of Steve Jobs also appeared at the flagship 5th Avenue shop and the upper west side and world wide, I imagine.

Photo: Merrianne Couture

An Apple A Day

One man, exceptional innovative skills, millions of dollars and a new way of life… Who could this be? Yes, the renown Steve Jobs. Earlier today, I took a walk to the Apple store on Saint-Catherine and absorbed what has become from a mere thought in Jobs’ mind so many years ago.

I snapped a picture of my view of his tribute and although the picture was taken at 10:15am, I realized other people had also taken time to pay tribute to Steve Jobs. Messages that read: “You revolutionized my world and life” and “You are my source of inspiration”, apples, flowers, candles and images of Jobs were posted outside the windows of the store to commemorate his life.

Much to our dismay, we do not realize the impact his company has had over our lives. It can almost be recognized as a staple of the 21^st century, one of the greatest and innovative companies to have succeeded so quickly. Our culture has evolved to depend on these devices to survive and has influenced the creation of cities and new culture.

As the sun brightens on one of the most renowned stores of the 21^st century, I commemorate one of the world’s most innovative and inspiring people of our time. May you rest in peace, Steve Jobs.

For further reading, check out the article written by The Gazette's TechnoCité: Apple's Steve Jobs mourned in Montreal. An inspiring and realistic piece with photos of the Apple store throughout the day and multiple interviews.

Thanks, Amanda M.

Urban Labyrinth

Vancouver Labyrinth on Spanish Banks -- Summer 2011 -- photo by Merrianne Couture

Walking a labyrinth is its own pleasure but has ancient origins. A contemplative state may be reached while following the maze on the path. The urban background in this instance mixes the old with the new. Change is inevitable and turbulent.The city highlights this complexity in its daily traffic of ideas and vehicles.

Bridges

Burrard Bridge View from Granville Island.

Vancouver, BC -- photo by Merrianne Couture

Coastal cities need links.

Island cities, such as Montreal, need links too.

Bridges need repair.

Words are infrastructure as well, and  hold millions and millions. The weight is metaphoric, though.

Graffiti Art

This is a photo by my sister who took a summer photography course at Dawson College.  On one day, the class was assigned a project to photograph different areas within the city of Montreal.  I thought it would be a good idea to upload one of her photos to the blog.  This photo is my favorite out of the thousands she took that day.  In the photo, we can see the graffiti done on the side of the buildings.  The angle at which she captured the photo creates a very interesting, and very artful look to the photograph.  The lighting makes the graffiti's vibrant colour tones and the old faded colors of the buildings look like they're on the same level of intensity and have the same amount of brightness.  Graffiti on a roof top like this photo would normally give me a very ghetto feeling to a city at first glance but looking at this picture again I couldn't help but admire its beauty.  She captured something so dark and grungy and turned it into a masterpiece.  This is why I admire this photo so much.
 Photo credit: Carina D'AllevaBlog Entry:  Anthony D'Alleva

Nature

This is a picture of a Tractor taken from one of the poor villages in South Asia; it is not to show the poverty or the weakness of the country. Instead it is to make us realize how strongly we have been disconnected from the nature of the world. A tractor is a farm vehicle which represents agriculture; if you look at it agriculture is one of the first most basic developments in history and it is spread throughout the world, but today whenever there is a desire for food, we can conveniently go to the market and grocery stores such as IGA, Maxi and etc.. Many of us fail to consider what land these spices are from, or what must have taken a person to produce certain corns because we have been so far away from the natural world. Basically this picture should give us a small imagination of even being in this century there are places where there is no electricity and people live a very basic life.

Party Spirit

We all know that Montreal is famous with its party spirit and numerous festivals going on all year long. This is a picture from one of them. Going on from May to October, "Piknic Electronique" is probably one of the biggest ones. Every Sunday it brings together thousands of people of all ages and refreshes the mood with electronic music. What is unique is the place where it is held. "La place de l'homme" faces all of downtown Montreal and its old port. There is no doubt that the view of the city and the river combined with good music creates an adorable atmosphere and an impression of a city full of life. I think that festivals are a vital part of city live. They tear people away from the everyday routine and recharge them for another week in school or in the office. I'm so glad that we have so many of them in Montreal. No wonder the city keeps its young spirit and everybody is so positive.

Photo&Text:

Misho

Routine

This is a scene in front of the metro building at Snowdon station on Queen-Mary on a hot and sweaty late summer evening. The line of people who fill the page from left to right, and beyond that, are all waiting for the 51 bus to arrive, so that they can return to their homes after a long day either at school or work. Sometimes, I'm one of those people. Most of the time, I just glance at this scene and start walking home on foot. Either way, seeing this kind of thing has ceased to surprise me for a while now.

Though I wouldn't say this kind of thing is common, it happens often enough that I don't get the nervousness it gave me the first time I experience something like this. And though it's annoying, I've learned to just shrug it off and just say, "Oh well, guess I'll just have to have supper late tonight", or something like that. But then, I start to wonder: Why doesn't it bother me anymore? Why have I come to accept this kind of thing as everyday? Such scenes, and the city as a whole, used to be something strange and bizarre to me, having lived most of my life in a peaceful rural town where such a situation is almost unheard off.

Then it hits me: this has become routine for me. It's troublesome, but it's all just part of what comes with living in the city. And it's not just that, I realize now. All the things that once seemed so weird to me here, are now just part of the background that make up my life here in Montreal. And it's the same for most other people too, from what I've seen. You could say it's just human adaptability, but it's more than that; everything in Montreal or any city, though seemingly chaotic/disparate, is all just part of a massive routine to most people, so much that even outrageous situations don't truly shock anyone anymore. It's all part of the city experience, as I like to call it.

Why does this bother me? It doesn't, not really. But, it makes me think: Do cities just make people jaded? Or is it that there's just so much of everything in cities, nothing seems impossible to its citizens? I don't know whether either possibility is good or bad, but at the very least, it makes me consider the things I've come to take for granted since coming to Montreal. (And perhaps the simple sense of "wonder" I've lost in the process.)

By Richard Arzenshek

The streets themselves

Esplanade crossing Villeneuve

The Intersection

Living on the Plateau for the past 19 years has been quite the experience. Especially recently with all the construction that has been going on. At the beginning of this semester, we read a poem called : The Intersection by Bryan Sentes where he spoke about the intersection of the streets Esplanade and Villeneuve. Since I was just there, I thought i might as well share the view that he must've when he thought of the poem. However, the "oldness" of the city and neighbourhood is receiving a facelift as you can see. I would've provided the poem as well, but could not find it anywhere online.. anybody have it and could post it?

Casablanca

Casablanca, Morocco:

- located in north-western Africa
- population: 2.5 million
- Casablanca has one of the largest ports in all of North Africa.
- "Casablanca" is Spanish for "white house." It was officially part of Spain between 1580-1640.
- Casablanca became independent from France in 1956.

Since independence:
- in 2000, womens' groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country.

- in 2004,the king implemented the family law which met some of the demands of women's rights activists.

- May 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 10 injured from a multiple suicide bomb attack done by Moroccans which was linked to Al-Qaeda.

By: Joel Swieca

Has the Time Stopped?

It is an early winter morning in downtown Zurich. Even though it's a week day morning, the city is calm and quiet. There is no traffic and nobody seems to rush. I had a feeling that the whole city was still sleeping. It made me feel really comfortable and allow me to see Zurich by another angle. Wherever I was going, the view was magnificent. The city was clean and the architecture was staggering. Most of the buildings were old but well maintained, roads were narrow but clean and with no sigh of potholes. While enjoying the outstanding view of the city, I was thinking about an ad I saw ones in a magazine. In it, there was a picture of a single house in the Swiss alps and a text saying: "If you live there and feel like the time has stopped, you will find a way to measure it." Do Swiss people still feel the same way? Was that a metaphor or their real state of mind? I don't know, but I hope one day to go back and have a better chance to get into their way of life.

Photo and text:

Misho

Montreal From its Weakest Point

Montreal, a beautiful city know for its culture and nightlife. With every positive aspect of a city comes a negative aspect. Every day commuters come on and off the Island of Montreal from the Champlain Bridge. Locals know that the bridge's conditions aren't the best and repairs need to be done as soon as possible. Daily traffic forces commuters to take the bridge if they want to arrive to work on time. There isn't much we can do now, but we can ask our city why they waited so long to do repairs when proper maintenance could have prevented this.

Vic

New York View

  

I decided to upload this picture, because I think it represents a typical day in New York City. In the picture we see many people walking, various buildings, colourful advertisements, lights, stores, restaurants, and street vendors. All of these elements represent characteristics of a busy city such as New York. 

Picture Taken: April 2010, in New York.

Photo and text by Sabrina Principe

The Presence of Modernist Art in the City

This photograph, taken in the NDG neighbourhood of Montreal, illustrates a typical swirling staircase of an apartment building. The beauty that is portrayed in this image can be easily unmasked by observing the contrast of the rust on the sky blue staircase. Moreover, this contrast can be compared to the city's ability to diversify its population through the acceptance of various social and cultural groups. The rust seems to have been accepted by the staircase, creating a bizarrely intriguing effect; this can be compared to the city-dweller's strive to find their place in the city where they feel best accepted. This style of art is associated with the artistic modernist movement, which emerged mostly in the 20th century. Modernist art is all around us, and being able to understand it makes life in the city so much more fascinating.

Image and caption by Thomas Cerazy

The world according to Montreal

A world traveler following a Montrealer`s directions might be surprised to find himself in a very different location than the one desired. This is because the city`s coordinate system, for a reason unknown to me, is not really in tune with the earth`s one. This shows how the inhabitants of a place can perceive the outside differently of how the outside perceives itself.

Image and tittle by  iorgfeflkd

Manhattan Views

Lower Manhattan Skyline: Summer 2001
Photo by Frank Kuin

Ground Zero Site: August 2011
Photo by Frank Kuin

Hometown Glory

‘Hometown Glory’ by Adele is one of my favorite songs because anyone can relate to the lyrics. As she sings about her hometown of London, anyone can listen to the lyrics and relate it to their hometown. The reading of “Who’s Your City” by Richard Florida, in our manual, made me think of ‘Hometown Glory’ because of the significance of choosing a city that best fits your lifestyle. Although Florida writes about the importance of choosing the location of a permanent city, Adele’s song does not pertain to a certain city, but the beauties within a city. As Adele writes, the people within her city and her memories have created the ‘wonders of this world’. For example, as she sings about little snap-shots of city-life activities like:

"I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades/ I like it in the city when two worlds collide/ You get the people and the government/ Everybody taking different sides”

This passage signifies her unique experience in the city she loves (London) and makes the listener reflect on the little things that makes his/her city beautiful. Through her lyrics, she shows how important the memories and the people you remember of a city impact the way you appreciate your time spent in that location. In the end, this song is about appreciating what makes your city unique and real no matter what stands out to a certain individual.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9Fzwuf43c

Lyrics to the song: http://www.metrolyrics.com/hometown-glory-lyrics-adele.html

Peace, Amanda M.

Rain Town

A short film on the theme of towns and survival.

Rain Town: Student Film by Hiroyasu Ishida

Submitted for The City Course by Farwa Syed.


"The best or the coolest thing about this small animated video is that it has no talking involved. Its intensity and power surpasses all countries and cultures and allows everyone to understand. This extraordinary piece of work is absolutely fantastic."

The Soft City

Cities are an integral part of life in the 21st Century. 80% of Canadians live in an urban area.

The continued development of bustling cities requires attention to sustainability.

Cities are creative hubs and are as complex as the people who inhabit them.

Photos and Art: Soft City Collective (Toronto- based)

Drama in the City Sky

Vancouver View Spring 2011 Photo by Merrianne Couture

This is a lesson in contrast: no colour needed.

Montreal Signs Combine

Montreal Neighborhood Mile End
Summer 2010
Photo by Merrianne Couture

A familiar site.

Reading signs.