Finding Privilege Where the Sidewalk Ends

Running thoughts are similar to shower thoughts; both often produce people’s best thinking. The mundane is re-examined and moments of inspiration and (sometimes) questions about life emerge.  Some thoughts are profound, others banal. Some personal, others universal. 

I often think about privilege. Mainly, I think about my own, what it means, and how it has evolved through different stages of life.  Growing up, I was often reminded about the socio-economic privilege I had. I had two working parents, a safe, clean, and permanent home, food and health security, and access to education. As an adult, the lens of what privilege captures is constantly refocusing especially as I reflect on what that means to me through lived experiences and the lived experiences of others.

When I run, it permeates into my thoughts; I often think about privilege as a runner and what it means in my “n”deavour. 

What does privilege as a runner even mean? More relevantly, what does it mean to me? A question like that can travel in so many different directions and down countless avenues but today’s dissection will not be a deep dive into the usual roads explored (although each aspect deserves its own article and space).  

Instead, I contemplate the privilege I have as a runner with respect to infrastructure. I’m grateful knowing that I live in a city that prioritizes an adequate budget to maintain sidewalks, traffic barriers and trails. A city that supports cleanliness and safety for its denizens. I sit humbled knowing that there are street lights and berths in my neighbourhood to accommodate more than one person walking at a time (and if there isn’t, there are dividers of grass between the sidewalk and the road to navigate those narrows). Even more so, I sit thankful knowing that I’m not going to fall into a sinkhole or have something injure me as I run. 

I also think about how the decisions of urban planners (and by extension motions passed by city councillors), past and present, contribute to this privilege with their thoughts on how to best lay out the landscape of a neighbourhood. 

So in staying with the theme of moving beyond my comfort zone, I hope to shed a different light on city planning and its influence on running privilege. One that we often do not think about or is entwined with other factors that impact running.

If you prefer an abridged, less personal version, I may have one up on Runners of the Six at some point (and if for some reason I do not, there’s plenty of other good content there to peruse).  If you’re here for some short reflections and a conclusion, this is your cue to jump to the last few paragraphs. Fair warning, it is a long read.

A disclaimer: I am not an urban planner or historian. My “research” in this blog pertains mainly to Toronto and is very much peppered with my own biases/reflections as they relate to my experiences. The information obtained is objective but interpretation is obviously subjective. Discussion is always welcome. I encourage that if you want factual evidence-based and well researched information to refer to textbooks, archival information, urban development studies and of course, speak to the urban planners who run the initiatives in your city.

A Different Era: When The Sidewalks Were and Never Were

Toronto is an amalgam of historical towns and surrounding cities. A patchwork of communities from the last century that were refurbished, facelifted, and integrated into what is now the area encompassed by Steeles Ave to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek/Highway 427 to the West and the Rouge River/Rouge Park to the East. From the sidewalk inventory map, the remnants of different development philosophies can be seen. Towards the core, the older urban neigbourhoods seem to have more bilateral sidewalks. To the east and west but very evidently in the north, the more rural-feeling suburbs and its lack of sidewalks on local roads can be seen. 

The neighbourhood I currently run in was built about 65 years ago for the affluent class of its time. Today, while there are remnants of that demographic, it is home to a larger proportion of middle class working families with diverse backgrounds. There are SOME older high-rise apartments but the abundance of new luxury condo and townhouse developments contribute to most of its recent density. However, the footprint of mid-century urban planning is still evident. 

The planning philosophy of the 1950s and 1960s seemed to focus on keeping the flow of the area in harmony with that of the adjacent ravines and wooded areas. As a result, there was a juxtaposition of nature and forest with the homes that abut it and long curved roads that followed the topography of the land. These geographic benefits are still evident today; I’m fortunate that I can head within a 5km radius of where I live to utilize the beautiful corridors and ravines with paved walkways and trails or run down a 3km winding road. 

The sidewalks on the local streets themselves are another story, one that captures the feeling of the time but seems to be lacking for today’s current utility. The thought process taken for urban planning a half century ago was one that marketed the appeal of a pastoral refuge from the noisy and frenetic “big city”– a creation of a place that exuded a sense of exclusivity, a world apart from the narrow and crowded 19th century neighbourhoods at the city’s core.  The idea was one entrenched in separating out the cars from the pedestrians and maintaining harmony without the perceived intrusiveness of sidewalks. 

Today, the remnants of sidewalk-less local streets where grassy ditches stretch out to the front lawns is still evident especially on exclusive roads and crescents hidden from the main arteries. While the city has attempted to increase the amount of sidewalks, there are often still hold outs against sidewalks mainly in the form of protest against the removal of maturing trees, changing the “feel” of a neighbourhood, or potential property devaluation. 

While sidewalks are often a beacon for safety, this general aesthetic and neighbourhood design reflects the privilege and affluence from days past  

When I run in these neighbourhoods, I know that if there was something unsafe on the sidewalks, someone would come from 311 immediately to rectify that situation. When I run, I do not need a sidewalk to feel a sense of safety; the roads are calm and quiet and I’ve never felt unsafe veering onto them when circumstances have forced me to do so. Furthermore, if I encounter an area without convenient sidewalks available, there are connections to the surrounding trails and corridors where I can go for a more natural ambiance.

I’m also privileged to have the whole sidewalk to myself most days. There are no people on the sidewalks forcing me to jockey for a safe and physically distant position (and if I can’t, there’s usually a grassy strip I can divert to). I am not worried about the noise (or exhaust) pollution from cars, trucks and buses when I head down a major street because they are far removed from the house-lined streets I run on. I know I’ll never get splashed by mud, water, or slush from a bus on a major arterial road either because the walkways are far enough in from the road.  

In contrast, and to highlight the idea of infrastructure as it relates to running privilege, there are neighbourhoods in Toronto that were developed around the same time as the one I run in but without the same thought put into density, traffic calming measures, and environmental supports that foster community. These neighbourhoods were not developed with the ease and lifestyle of the affluent in mind and the impact is evident . When you run through them, you can feel some of that impracticality. The local roads are often looped and short with little thought to green space and tree canopy. There are often swaths of commercial and industrial zones close to houses making for someone hostile scenery. The main roads are very heavy with traffic due to the frequency of buses on it. The sidewalks are often not as divided from the road and there are often more people utilizing the walkways as a means to be transported and not for recreation. It’s when I think of the design of these neighbourhoods that I am again reminded of running privilege in the areas so close to me.

A Different Priority: What does the future hold?

As much as historical planning can contribute to the aesthetic and utility of an area, I believe that my city will continue to strive to investigate and rectify any inequities that are related to the landscape of a neighbourhood. I wish i had a crystal ball that showed exactly what the urban planners and priorities of the city would be in creating spaces that are easy to walk, run and use for exercise but I don’t. In the absence of the psychic ability to predict the future here are some points to consider as I look at the design of our cities and the need to re-invigorate them. 

• The full replacement of sidewalks occurs every 75-100 years. That being said, there are committees and programs (like the missing sidewalk program and vision zero) looking at correcting the mistakes of accessibility from the past. A lot of the time, the well intentioned corrections are met with resistance from people who do not want the intrusion of infrastructure within their neighbourhoods and that puts urban planners in a bit of a tough situation. 
• Sometimes it is hard to the change course of past philosophies. A lot of original roadways were not designed with the idea of wide comfortable sidewalks in mind. Cost, scheduling, and reconstruction (and of course bureaucracy) are all factors that can impact why or why not a sidewalk is created, replaced, or moved. The pace of a city doesn’t always align with the demand of its citizens. The mistakes of the past will change but it’ll take some time to do so. 
• A new sidewalk doesn’t always bring equality to the privilege that an environment holds. There are so many other intertwined factors. Aspects like community safety, tree coverage, parks, street lighting, ambiance, usage of the sidewalk and surrounding roads that play into this privilege. To not at least acknowledge it would be doing a disservice to this whole thought on the environment. 

Final Thoughts: My Privilege. My Runs. My City.

What started as a reflection of running privilege evolved into a look at the planning of my city and a better appreciation of the landscape that I am privy to. The infrastructure, the maintenance, the continuity, the cleanliness and of course, the safety. Even within my own city the feel of the neighbourhoods and the philosophy of planning continue to impact current living.

A sense of historical class is engrained in the structure of these neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, that might bring a barrier to those who live in them that want to run or exercise or get outside. While the demographics and socio-economic status of these areas have both changed and contributed to the feel of each area from their conception 60 years ago, I think these barriers are still present and can unconsciously contribute to the privilege one enjoys (or doesn’t) when running. 

We often take this accessibility and convenience for granted and don’t realize it until we become strangers to another neighbourhood or city.  To reflect on the privilege afforded to you by your running environment, ask yourself, how do you feel when you run in your neighbourhood or city? How do you feel when you run in a different part of your city? Are there areas you avoid because the routes aren’t enjoyable or maintained? What about if you ran in another city? What would attempting to run through Shibuya at rush hour look like? Or the Las Vegas Strip at 7PM? London? Sao Paolo? Tel Aviv? New Delhi? What is evident or lacking in running in these places?

Each city has its nuances and I’m glad I was able to explore the nuances of mine. As I run, I’ll remember the plethora of urban planners trying to bring accessible running routes into the city. I do hope though, that the mistakes of the past are learned from and that city design does not become a hurdle to those who want to run. Any privileges that I have as a runner should be afforded to others as well regardless of where they reside.

To end on a lighter note: Here is a really good example of sidewalks being built at different times with different purpose, on Briar Hill Avenue in Toronto

As always, you’re amazing and awesome and wherever you are, you’re doing a great job!

-N

References and Resources:

A special thank you to my urban planning experts J, B, and R who did a lot of the legwork to find the weblinks and references for me. If you’re interested in more, I’d suggest checking on some of the resources/references I used below. This isn’t an extensive list but might point you in the right direction.

The Shape of a City: Toronto’s Struggles with Modern Planning  By John Sewell

Where new sidewalks about being constructed: https://map.toronto.ca/toinview/ 

Sidewalk Inventory: www.toronto.ca/walking –

Essential Links Sidewalk Program: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2002/agendas/council/cc020730/pof11rpt/cl001.pdf

Sidewalk Maintenance and Repair: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/road-maintenance/road-sidewalk-repair/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_neighbourhoods_in_Toronto (and its subsequent links to various neighbourhoods).