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Monday, October 12, 2009

Harry, Harry, the visionary?


Harry Stinson thinks "out of the box" and big. His propensity to breathe a fresh vision into an otherwise stale topic, is always thought provoking and interesting. In a recent piece that he wrote for the Spec. entitled "Connaught could be 'urban cool'", he effectively puts forth a vision for the Connaught which would see it filled with students and artists. See the full story here

From my perspective, I'm a fan of "out of the box", big thinking and imaginative bold moves. I think there is a way of getting there while not being reckless about it. So I applaud Harry for pushing with such ideas.

It seems this sentiment is not entirely shared. In a Spec opinion article, Arnold Devries writes" While I applaud Harry Stinson's efforts, ideas and gumption, I am also tired of hearing of his grandiose ideas around revitalizing the downtown core.I will be more welcoming of his ideas when one of his Hamilton ideas comes to fruition."

What do you think?

1 comment:

  1. The SageOctober 12, 2009

    I think he is a charlatan. Hamiltonians are sooooo desperate to see anything happen downtown that they will embrace any kook that comes up with an idea for downtown. Tried and true developers will tell you that if a scheme is not based on sound economics - anticipated revenues must support debt repayments - it will not fly. Let's not blame the banks for not financing pie-in-the-sky visions.
    Why did he not come up with his urban cool idea for the connaught when he had tied up the site?
    The more we celebrate failures and failed ideas and proposals the further we will get from reality. The reality is that neither City Hall nor the community has a single vision and plan for downtown to guide developers. We need that first before we embark on revitalizing the downtown. That's how every other successful downtown renewal has taken place.

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