Final Project/Exam

Below you will find a list of questions, from which you should CHOOSE ONLY ONE.
You must CONSTRUCT AN ARGUMENT in response to this question, and you can express
this argument in one of two forms:


1)Treat it as a take-home exam/essay, and prepare a 12-15 page paper for
submission.

OR

2)Using any film media (VHS, digital, cell phone, etc.), create a 15-20 minute
short film that PRESENTS AN ARGUMENT in relation to the question at hand.


Keep in mind: whichever option you choose, your project must MAKE AN ARGUMENT,
but the second option will also weigh this against creativity and design.  For
the second option, if you choose, you may team up with other students to submit
a joint project (to a maximum of 3 students), for which you will receive a
common grade.  If you choose group work (only available for the second
option!), please make sure that you state clearly who is in your group.

You will have 6 days to complete the exam.  On FRIDAY, APRILL 11TH, I will be in
my office (South Ross, 631) between 1 and 3 pm.  Please make sure I receive your
exam by that time.



Questions


1.  In recent years, public transit in the Greater Toronto Area has increasingly
been the subject of controversy.  Public transportation systems have been
under-funded, and many argue that the system is nowhere near the capacity
necessary for a metropolitan area the size of the GTA.  What local and/or
global factors do you think have reinforced the likelihood that ‘car culture’
wins out over public transit in the Toronto area?

2. In class, we explored the idea of a ‘placeless space’, wherein abstract urban
space is filled with designs, concepts, and structures that have no historical,
cultural or meaningful attachment to place.  To what degree do you think
Toronto has been consumed by ‘placeless space’, and what are the local/global
forces driving this process?

3. Toronto has recently expanded its ‘blue box’ programme in household waste
recycling.  Since methane emissions from landfill sites make up a major part of
greenhouse gases, this might be seen as part of an effort to counteract climate
change.  Climate change, of course, has been the subject of intense global
controversies in recent years, particularly in relation to both the IPCC Report
and the Kyoto Protocol.  To what extent do you think Toronto has responded to
global political pressures related to environmentalism?  Has it done enough?
Must it do more?  Who is responsible for such political action?