Hello everyone, I don't generally like to add long stories to my go along with my images I post as i prefer to let the images do all the taking.  However, this past weekend, i went to an event I wanted to share a little bit on my own thoughts on.

This past Saturday, there was a small protest event in the Kennsington Market area of Toronto to protest against  a plan to have  a large major food chain retailer  come into the area.  Kennsington Market , but all rights and appearances should have been torn down decades ago as the buildings there are fire traps and a  stroll through some of the back allies , one can find rodents the size of medium sized  cats and or dogs. Kennsington market has, however, survived  all of these decades because it is one of the true remaining communities where the people still mingle with other real people.

The land in question until very recently was home to  a mediation center  as seen here in an older image I found online. :

Today, this same spot is a parcel of and waiting to be developed as can be seen here ( there are my own images as shot from the event )  :

Now don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to having large corporations around as they do provide much needed jobs. HOWEVER, in this case, i oppose have one here because the community here is very unique and every type of service and staple one can ever wish for can be found here in Kennsington Market , locally owned, locally operated , community based. 

What I fear happening here is what happened along Queen street west . Queen street west used to e home to many independent business owners who were actually a part of the community the worked in. They knew the customers both socially and professionally . Along the way, slowly over several years, larger corporations moved in and now, its a giant open air shopping mall. The rents are so high now that ONLY major corporations with deep pockets can afford to be there. This, sadly will be the eventual outcome in Kennsigton  Market , if this is allowed to go ahead.

The land in question sits vacant at this point. i think a far better use for this space would be the creation of affordable, geared to in come housing, something we greatly need in this city. Those how would move into these new homes would frequent these local shops, and be a part of this community ,  something that many people just need, a sense of belonging. 

Here are a few images, of this event: