COMM 102651SE32

The Good

Julie DragomautzSandra Meir

Deanna Opasky

Visual Survey

February 13, 2013

The Sad

& The Ugly

INTRODUCTION

If you ask anyone (who is not from Hamilton) what they know about the city, the most common answer is that we are known for our steel factories. Anyone that lives in Hamilton knows this is the furthest thing from the truth. With this reputation in mind, our group decided to take a drive through downtown Hamilton. We wanted to see our city through

the eyes of a first time visitor. What we saw left a lot to be desired. There are scads of boarded up store fronts and derelict buildings, homeless people on almost every street corner, graffiti defaced property , and garbage littering our

streets and parks. Worst of all, we have a waterfront that should be the most beautiful and attractive part of the city but it is instead ridden with monstrous buildings that emit harmful toxins into the air. Attracting people to our community is what we want, to see that there actually is some good in this city. If we do not do something to fix these sad and ugly

problems, we will never be able to change the city’s reputation.

ABANDONED BUILDINGS

Th i s bu i l d i ng i s l oca ted r i gh t a t Augus ta and Wa lnu t S t reet , i n the hear t o f the downtown core . Augus ta i s qu i te a busy s t reet , fi l l ed w i th pubs and par ty-goers . The p i c tu re mounted on the bu i l d i ng shows a mock-up o f what they wou ld l i ke i t t r ans fo rmed in to . Bes ide i t i s a s i gn that reads “COMING SOON.” However , th i s l o t has been vacant f o r years now. Th i s bu i l d i ng i s j us t one o f the many eye -so res that l i t te r the s t reets downtown . The un fo r tunate par t i s tha t th i s bu i l d i ng wou ld p robab ly be very easy to fi l l w i th tenants , as Augus ta i s a very popu la r ne ighbourhood w i th the l oca l s . Bu t here i t s tands , abandoned and uns igh t l y.

ABANDONED BUILDINGS

This picture shows only one, of probably 100, store fronts that are being left uninhabited or abandoned by its owner. As we drove around Hamilton’s downtown area, we came across an abandoned store front on almost every block. Boarded up windows, locked doors, and sometimes even items left behind are just a few un-appealing things about these buildings. Is it no wonder that members of our community do not venture into downtown to do their shopping, as they are left searching for businesses that are actually open. When you do find a business that is not abandoned, you will usually find a store front that is very unappealing to the eye. It leaves you wondering if it’s even worth going inside. If the owners of these store fronts spent more time and money on upgrading these buildings, and making them more attractive, the downtown core might actually be a place where people enjoy shopping, and businesses could, subsequently, thrive.

GRAFFITI

Does th i s s ight look fami l ia r? I t shou ld! I t ’ s hard to fi nd a s ing le mai lbox in the c i ty that i sn ’ t covered in graffi t i . In fac t , i t was hard to fi nd a s ing le b lock that d idn ’ t conta in at l eas t some type o f proper ty vanda l i sm. The c i ty has t r ied to contro l graffi t i ar t i s ts by se lec t ing var ious wal l s and tunne ls throughout the Core in wh ich they are a l lowed to tag . Never the less , there wi l l a lways be some people who need to go aga ins t the gra in . I t ’ s unfor tunate because when done r ight , graffi t i can ac tua l l y l ook qu i te beaut i fu l .

GRAFFITI

This picture is a “work of art”, which can be seen almost anywhere you look in downtown Hamilton. As discussed in the previous slide, the city has tried to rectify this issue by creating designated areas in which tagging can be done. Business or building owners also hire these so-called “artists” to add a little “sparkle” to their exteriors. Even with these efforts to try to cut down the amount of vandalism, graffiti is still a huge problem throughout the city. To these “artists”, graffiti is a freedom of expression, but what they don’t realize is that it is crime that comes with quite a hefty fine. If these people took the time to paint their “art” on a canvas instead of private property, they could possibly make a living as a real artist. Instead, they continue to vandalize properties, which is a total lack of respect to the community. The city has spent tons of tax payer’s dollars having to paint over this graffiti; money that I am sure could be put towards benefiting our community for the better.

LITTER

This is a fairly common site around the city. There is a strictly enforced bag allowance for all residents of the city. However, many people, especially those with a large family, have a hard time staying within the trash allowance. The result is bags of garbage being dumped around town. Many people choose to live downtown because of the close proximity to amenities. This is especially convenient for people who do not own a vehicle. But, not having access to a car can become problematic when grocery shopping. An easy solution is just to take the cart all the way home with you. Once the groceries have been unloaded, and the cart is no longer necessary, it is easier to dump it in a parking lot then it is to take it all the way back to the store. We found this mess right outside of a retail establishment. Not exactly what you want to see on your way in. It makes you second guess even going inside, because it gives the impression that the store owner doesn’t value the curb appeal of his own business.

LITTER

This picture represents the lack of respect that residents of Hamilton have for the environment. I understand that sometimes that a stray piece of garbage may fly away from you. However, the amount of garbage that has accumulated in this park area is ridiculous. This park is a place for people and families to enjoy, but no one wants to take the time to clean it up. As a result the park is an unattractive and unsanitary place for children. Children are known to pick up anything they find on the ground, so why would you want them to play in garbage? During our drive around town, this park, of course, was not the only place where large amounts of garbage were found. It’s scary to think of what we may find if we were to venture into the smaller and less travelled parts of town. Do we really want someone visiting our city to be displeased over something that can be easily fixed? By simply picking up a piece of garbage, or enforcing a law that fines businesses for not cleaning up around their buildings, we can produce amazing results in altering one’s first impression of Hamilton, as well as a sense of living in a safe, clean place for those who reside here.

POLLUTION

The waterfront is usually the most attractive part of a city. However, in Hamilton, this is not the case. With plants, like US Steel and Arcelor Mittal, plaguing the waterfront with their constant clouds of harmful, toxic smoke, it is no wonder that steel is all that we are known for. These hideous sites on our waterfront can be seen from Burlington and even Toronto. It is no wonder why people never tend to venture into Hamilton. Not only are these steel plants an eye sore, but they are also releasing harmful toxins into the air that the residents of Hamilton breathe in. It seems that we are faced with smog advisories every summer. Locals appreciate that these steel plants are creating jobs for the community and making the city money. What they fail to realize is that they are costing us something much more important in the end: our health. If I was shown this picture of Hamilton, I would not consider moving here.

POLLUTION

Where do I start with this picture? Aside from the air pollution billowing out of one of its many smoke stacks, the building is a total eye-sore and the lot surrounding it is completely filled with garbage. Probably the most ironic thing about this building was the slogan on their sign (that we weren’t able to get a picture of. We were already parked in a lot that said no trespassing and would have had to go in further to capture the sign) reading “TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.” Now maybe it’s just me, but if that’s what tomorrow is going to look like, then I’m not interested!

HOMELESSPEOPLE

We were dr iv ing down Main St reet when we s tumbled upon th i s young man. Unfor tunate ly , we weren’ t ab le to get a shot o f h im look ing at us . However , we d id make eye-contac t w i th h im once . The sadness in h i s eyes was hear t break ing. He looked so lone ly. We watched as people wa lked by h im, pay ing h im no mind, as i f he wasn’ t even there . He was l i ke a ghost on one o f the bus ies t s t ree ts in the downtown core . Sad ly , th i s i s how we t reat our homeless . I t seems i t ’ s a lmost eas ie r to ignore them and pre tend they aren ’ t there , than i t i s to he lp them.

HOMELESSPEOPLE

This picture signifies the sad truth that most Hamiltonians try to ignore, homelessness. We have all walked by that man or woman sitting on the sidewalk, asking for spare change so that they can get themselves something to eat. More often than not, we don’t even give them a second glance. It’s sad to think that homelessness has become such a problem in our city, and that most of us do not stop to help a member of our community. It seems that homelessness doesn’t even phase most of us, even though just a small amount of change or time could make all the difference in the world to these unfortunate people. We may not realize it, but most of the people who are homeless used to be upstanding members of our society. Many have, unfortunately, gone through a series of hardships that caused them to resort to living this way. There are many different reasons why people become homeless. Loss of employment, physical/mental disabilities, bad luck, or just being at wrong place at the wrong time, to name a few. With their homes on street corners and in alley ways, the shelters that these people have created for themselves are cluttering up our streets and filling them with garbage when they decide to relocate. Even though it may not be their fault, the large amount of homeless people who call the streets of downtown Hamilton home, are giving our city an uncomfortable and unsafe image.

CONCLUSION

Whether you are heading in from the QEW or coming downtown via one of the many mountain access roads, this is what you see. It’s definitely not the prettiest site. Hamilton has so much beauty, but to an outsider, this is all they know. To them it’s just Steel City. Unbeknownst to them, we are the waterfall capital of the world! Many of those

visiting Hamilton are coming in to view a football game, take in a show at Copps Coliseum, or party at Hess Village, all of which are located in the downtown core. Unfortunately, this power point is filled with several of the sights that an outsider will encounter. Not exactly the type of first impression we want our city to make. As with many other large urban hubs, our city is plagued with homelessness, pollution, litter, graffiti and abandoned buildings. It’s up to us, as

citizens, to take pride in our city, and make Hamilton the best city it can possibly be.