Ontario Activists Claim Ravines Are Racist
Post Millennial | April 22, 2021 | Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
A new analysis by The Globe and Mail‘s Urban Affairs reporter and Architecture Critic argues that race, gender, and economic status “can all be barriers” to Toronto’s free and publicly accessible green spaces.The article asserts that Toronto’s ravines are only accepting of people’s different backgrounds and income levels “in theory,” and cites the case of black outdoorswoman Jacqueline L. Scott, who says that the lack of diverse faces makes it less likely for people of colour to go to green spaces—something that is sometimes called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The article argues that concerns around [?] representation discourage “racialized people” [??] living near ravines from using their public backyards, and that hurdles such as a “lack of signs indicating where to enter a ravine” remain in place. [!!]
Ah HA HA HA!
Another barrier, according to University of Toronto doctoral student Ambika Tenneti, is that “people of colour communities like to sit and chat around,” an activity that is difficult to do in ravines, which are “generally trails.”
“You just have to walk and there’s no place to sit down or anything,” she says.
The Globe and Mail piece also lacks in originality.
A recent Los Angeles Times article also argued that “longtime oppression and historical barriers” were responsible for keeping people of colour “from feeling comfortable in American outdoors.”
Ah-HA HA HA! Stop it! Ba ha ha hah hah hahah !!!
You’re killing me!
Oh. That’s the idea.

Watch out for those ravines, there’s black panthers in ’em!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaqTuLQThsY
I’m from Toronto. I can tell you, there’s lots of areas to sit down in the ravine pathways. Sounds like a graduate student trying to get a thesis passed through without ever having walked a kilometre of the trail.
But then again, a couple of generations ago, Iwo Jima.
Thank you, Mark,. for the insider’s knowledge.
And for the invitation to put things in perspective.
I hear Ravines also require photo ID for entry.
Hey Ambika try the Chavez ravine…not only can you sit, you can even watch a baseball game there.