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Founder of Ryerson University
Ryerson University is touted as the "down-town" University of the city of Toronto. The Ryerson campus is expected to receive $210 million over 20 years to dramatically expand the campus. So far, $45 million have been promised by the provincial government. This 20-year project hopes to fund itself both through public and private monies.
A lot of this rationale for this expansion comes from increased student applications, which rose by 20% since last year, and which are expected to spiral up in the upcoming years. The school currently has about 20,000 full time students, and expects this to at least quadruple.
Since this a blog that deals with art, culture and society, I will focus on:
- Architects
- How the aesthetics of Toronto's landscape is changing for the worse
- Multiculturalism
Architects:
I don't have a great deal of respect for contemporary architects as I've outlined here, here, here, here and here.
No less than four architects are now part of the Ryerson campus expansion, with more surely to join the fray in the future. The lucrative deal between university and architects (funded by public funds and generous wealthy private donors - individual or corporate) is not to be take lightly.
Urban aesthetics:
One of my most poignant posts was when I noticed a beautiful three-storey building along Gerrard street across from the Ryerson campus proper, and decided to reproduce it in charcoal and pastel. To my dismay, about a year later, this building was being demolished to what I presumed would become a high rise building.
Well, I was right in that it would be a several-storied building. But, the ultimate irony is that it belongs to Ryerson, who built it as accommodation for its students.
Immigration:
Much of my reasoning to explain the drive for urban development and expansions comes from information provided by blogger Dispatches from the Hogtown Front, and his detailed analysis as to why Toronto's downtown skyscrapers are flourishing.
Succinctly, his point is: immigration. The city of Toronto receives about 1000,000 new immigrants, mostly from India, China and other Asian countries, a year.
And they have to live somewhere, and go to school somewhere.
The president of Ryerson, Sheldon Levy, also commented in an interview that it is immigration which will bring this unprecedented increase in student number.
Hence, Ryerson's ambitious plan to cater for this "growing number of students" by its spectacular development projects, all in all costing upwards of $200 million.
I will later on elaborate on the consequences of this urban development scheme fueled by high levels of immigrants from Asiatic countries, many of them also Muslims.
Addendum:
I should add that the most authentic, and deserving expansion comes from my alma mater department of Image Arts, where the Photography Gallery and Research Center is to house the famous Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection which was donated to the department. This has nothing to do with accommodating the latest governmental policy on population regulation, but on the hard work, wise connections and academic excellence which the department has fostered.
That is why universities should expand, and not as boxes to refuge students who have unexpectedly inundated their campuses.