[URBAN NOTE] "A love letter to Toronto's alleyways and lanes"

[rfmcdonald]

blogTO's Derek Flack has another great photo essay, this one dedicated to the laneways of Toronto.

The Toronto laneway is the vein to the artery that is the city's streets. There are over 250 kilometres of laneways and alleys spread across the city, though you wouldn't know it without looking at a map. You could pass by the entrance to a laneway for months without taking notice of it, relegated as they are to background status.

Yet, it's precisely the degree to which our laneways are overlooked spaces that makes them so intriguing. This is messy urbanism at its finest. I'm not just talking about graffiti, but the strange process that takes place when people share urban space that's outside of everyday view.

If the front yard is all about putting on a face, the laneway is about utility. From irregular garages, fences, and trellises to coach houses, car ports, and basketball nets, you can learn more about a person's life by strolling through these spaces than past the manicured lawns that face the street.

Go to the site, please. There are plenty of beautiful photos, to say nothing of the words.