[FORUM] What examples of unexpected consequences have you come across?

The unspoken theme of my post this evening at Demography Matters, I suppose, relates to unexpected consequences. The people who ran Singapore after it gained independence from Malaysia did succeed in making their city-state a world city of note, but in so doing made it difficult for Singaporean families to sustain themselves, creating new problems.

What examples can you think of?

[PHOTO] East Chinatown Grocery, Toronto, September 2009

The intersection of Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street marks the heart of Toronto's East Chinatown neighbourhood, so called for its location east of Toronto's urban core and the original Chinatown on Spadina Avenue.

Back in the month this photo was taken, I linked to a Spacing Toronto post suggesting that East Chinatown was already attenuating, as Chinese-Canadians and Asian groceries diffused beyond their initial points of arrival in the Greater Toronto Area. That's probably the case, but in the interim, the street displays of fruits and vegetables are eye-catching.

(At right, almost hidden behind the telephone pole in the blue shirt, I think I spy Andrew Barton. Am I correct?)

[FORUM] What sorts of neighbourhoods do you prefer?

In your everyday worlds, what sorts of neighbourhoods--environments more broadly, I suppose--do you like frequenting? Me, I'm very strongly committed to dense, mixed urban neighbourhoods. I like their feel.