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Major languages include (in order) Chinese, Italian, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Tamil, Portuguese, Persian, Russian, Polish, Arabic
But hard to compare, because not exact thing. U.S. Census question is "What is primary language spoken at home". Canadian Census question is "What is your mother tongue".
By count, there are more languages spoken in Toronto than Brooklyn when considering 1% or more of the population.
I would be very surprised if there were more languages spoken in Toronto than in Brooklyn, especially given that Brooklyn has a much larger tilt towards Latin America, and its thousands of indigenous languages.
And, no, don't think "number of languages spoken" would be an obvious proxy for relative diversity. Is a Swiss dude more diverse than a German because he likely was required to learn three languages in school? Is a Haitian immigrant more diverse than a Jamaican one, because one speaks English at home and the other doesn't? Some countries have more commonly spoken languages than others. And I don't even know how you would get comparable data.
So, if there are 14 languages spoken, only one/two of which are the national language, how does that not point to diversity?
And yes, when someone speaks English at home, there is a difference in terms of the diversity they bring to their surroundings. Someone who speaks their native tongue at home is closer to their home country in many ways. Who do you think brings a stronger native Sicilian culture, my grandparents who spoke their foreign tongue at home, brought their food with them on the boat (literally), brought their traditions with them, etc. OR me, who is twice removed from Sicilian culture, speaks English, and cooks a fraction of what my grandmother could cook. That's what diversity is. Culture, food, language.
And even if we factor in the situations where there are people who bring a strong presence of native culture and diversity to a city, while speaking the national language, there is a strong indicator that greater diversity exists. I counted 17 languages spoken in Toronto vs. 8 spoken in Brooklyn when considering 1% or more of the population.
This 50 percent white Canada is VERY diverse. I grew up in a neighbourhood with a lot of immigrants. They were a mixed bag from Poland, Italy, The Netherlands, Scotland, etc. Lumping them all together because they are white, is just plain silly.
Just like lumping our neighbours who where Chinese and Japanese together.
Yes, Toronto and NYC definitely are the top cities on the continent for foreign born white populations.
Here's a recent video from just over two months ago which features a drive down Yonge street from St. Clair down to the waterfront. While passing Yonge and Dundas you can see the Eaton Centre on the right with the new Nordstrom still under redevelopment.
The person who uploaded this has many other city driving videos including many that feature Brooklyn.
My apartment in Toronto is just a few blocks north of the train station tower. It's a very nice and vibrant area, though the residents tend to skew a bit on the older age band probably because those neighborhoods are more established. Anyway, one of my favorite spots to hang out in the city
As I already stated upthread, the new Nordstrom facade of the former Sears space at the Eaton centre is now complete, there are windows and a new entrance into the store directly from the Yonge street sidewalk. It looks much better now. There are no curb cuts to access the parking garage, Shuter street terminates directly at the entrance to the garage at a controlled intersection with Yonge Street.
The sidewalks along Yonge are 10-12 feet wide for most of the length of the street between Front and Bloor, they seem more narrow than that because there are simply too many pedestrians walking on Yonge and it always feels crowded. The sidewalks are much wider (20+ feet) at major intersections such as Yonge and Dundas, Yonge and College and Yonge and Bloor.
10-12 ft is simply not enough for a major pedestrian and shopping district in Toronto. They have to (and I think the they are in the process of) cut down the number of traffic lanes to 2. Or better yet, that part of between Queen and Dundas should just be exclusively pedestrian only - like what Montreal did with Saint Catherine around Place des Arts and east of Rue Berri - it's perfectly doable if there is political will and some spine in the city planning dept. There are more than enough North-South roads adjacent to Yonge to compensate for the loss in motor lanes. Also, I feel no sympathy for anyone foolish enough to take their car to that part of Yonge - you are pretty much asking for it (I did it a few times, never again would I subject myself to that kind of torture). Adjacent streets like Bay, University and Jarvis have more than enough motor lanes for drivers.
That's a stupid comparison. A NYC borough with an entire city.. Manhattan vs TO would be more in line (Manhattan would easily win).
Why include the whole city when Brooklyn alone can outshine Toronto? Based on what OP said, he didn't include all of NYC because the result is obvious.
Why include the whole city when Brooklyn alone can outshine Toronto? Based on what OP said, he didn't include all of NYC because the result is obvious.
I wonder how many who voted on here have actually spent a reasonable amount of time in both Toronto and Brooklyn to make an informed comparison. Especially Toronto considering it is in a different country and many I assume have limited travel experience to that city.
I wonder how many who voted on here have actually spent a reasonable amount of time in both Toronto and Brooklyn to make an informed comparison. Especially Toronto considering it is in a different country and many I assume have limited travel experience to that city.
I have been to both. It definitely goes both ways. Actually I think I see more blatantly incorrect things being said about Brooklyn here than Toronto. The only things being said about Toronto that I have seen is that it is car-centric and not as diverse as Brooklyn. Besides the guy that said Toronto is in upstate New York, that was an obvious troll. The diversity is arguable, but compared to Brooklyn or NYC in general (except Staten Island) Toronto does seem a little suburban, but I think people from NYC have their standards set really high.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mooguy
Hardly a fair comparison. Toronto is a real world city and for all it's density and unique urban grit, Brooklyn is still just a suburb.
Brooklyn is an interesting place but in terms of the arts, museums, food, shopping, urban vibe, nightlife, music, and culture, Toronto blows Brooklyn out of the water. Brooklyn may have better transit and I would say architecture is a tie. Of course Toronto is much safer and has a far higher quality of life and far superior schools both public and post-secondary and has better parks and has a wonderful lakefront and Toronto Islands. Toronto has a fantastic reputation worldwide and Brooklyn, outside of the US, has a pretty lousy one. Outside the US most people's view of Brooklyn is Welcome Back Kotter.
This isn't a smear against Brooklyn but comparing a suburb to a real world city is pretty unfair.
> thinking Brooklyn is a suburb
> implying Toronto is more of a "real world city"
> claiming Toronto is more urban than Brooklyn
> claiming Brooklyn has no "urban vibe", nightlife, or ART scene. Brooklyn is arguably the creative capital of NYC, especially in the past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMI
Yes, good point, Brooklyn is not a fully complete city, more like a giant sized suburb.
Kinda like Mississauga is to Toronto.
For example, Mississauga has a slightly higher population compared to Winnipeg,
But Winnipeg is more of a "stand alone" real city.
It really has to be...no sizeable other cities for hundreds of miles.
> another person that thinks Brooklyn is a suburb of NYC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atticman
Toronto is being underrated quite a bit here. It matches or outranks Brooklyn in things like food, nightlife, events, things to do, art and museums due to it being a fully complete, mature, well rounded city whereas Brooklyn is somewhat lacking in some of those categories since the famous powerhouse of Manhattan right across the river tends to steal its thunder quite a bit.
A lot of people not from NY get this idea that NYC = Manhattan only. This is a silly idea, but somewhat common, since 99% of tourists spend all their time in Manhattan.
I can guarantee you that these people have never been to Brooklyn
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