The Public Image of the High-Rise Toronto Condo

Meaning, media and dwellings: the public image of the high-rise Toronto condo by Paul Langlois A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geography University of Toronto © Copyright by Paul Langlois 2012 Meaning, media and dwellings: the public image of the high-rise Toronto condo Paul Langlois Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geography University of Toronto 2012 Abstract The research examines representations of condominiums in the real estate section of the Toronto Star from 1967 through 1997, and in the Star’s Condo Living section between 1997 and 2007. I depart from conventional approaches by evaluating the articles as well as the advertisements that comprise the real estate section, based on the assumption that the context in which these texts appear is significant: a major newspaper is not a neutral vehicle, and ads and articles—consumed together, as they are in a print newspaper—will interact in creating representations of condominiums. The Condo Living section in particular is seen to perform a number of brand-like activities, most obviously in positioning the Toronto high-rise condominium as a dwelling that is particularly well-suited to young, middle-class women. This occurs partly as a function of the frequency with which women are portrayed as condominium owners. Beyond this, however, I show how the advertisements and articles in Condo Living help remake the public image of the condominium by countering existing stigmas attached to high-rise living. The section also helps to differentiate the condominium from other dwelling types by emphasizing elaborate amenities and making claims to urbanity through high-profile cultural and entertainment events. Perhaps most importantly, I demonstrate how the leading present-day design aesthetic—a reworking of midcentury modernisms—came to thoroughly dominate the image and the built form of the recent-era condominium. Positioning the condominium as a design-led dwelling type had profound implications: due to the links between design and high-end fashion, health and ii beauty items, the condominium immediately became a member of an aspirational product category associated with women, wealth, style and glamour. In addition to positioning the condominium as ‘naturally’ suited to young single, women, it removed the condo from direct competition with the single-family house, allowing it to be perceived as a desirable and distinct—rather than denigrated—dwelling type. iii Acknowledgments This research would not have been possible without support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in the form of a doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................viii List of Figures........................................................................................................................................ix Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 1.1 Overview................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Condo Living .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Dwelling and Meaning........................................................................................................................ 8 1.3.1 The social context of the American (and Canadian) Dream..........................................................9 1.3.2 Media and the public image of the single-family house............................................................... 11 1.4 Defining the Dream House..............................................................................................................15 1.5 Context: Toronto and Condo Living .............................................................................................31 1.6 Document structure..........................................................................................................................36 1.7 Summary...............................................................................................................................................41 Chapter 2 Review of the literature............................................................................................... 43 2.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................................43 2.2 The absence of the condominium in urban research ............................................................43 2.3 Condominium-specific research: demographics, associations and attitudes...............45 2.4 Real estate advertising.....................................................................................................................58 Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 63 3.1 The transformation of branding...................................................................................................63 3.2 The expansion of branding.............................................................................................................65 3.2.1 Everyday consumption and branding.................................................................................................. 65 3.2.2 Design and brands........................................................................................................................................ 66 3.2.3 Productive consumption and the co-production of branding................................................... 69 3.3 Brands and branding in this research ........................................................................................75 Chapter 4 Research Approach....................................................................................................... 81 v 4.1 Research sensibility...........................................................................................................................81 4.2 Condominium development in Toronto .....................................................................................81 4.3 The real estate section as object of study ..................................................................................84 4.4 Data.........................................................................................................................................................87 4.5 Coding ....................................................................................................................................................89 4.6 Methods.................................................................................................................................................89 Chapter 5 Updating the condo’s public image.......................................................................... 91 5.1 Brands, branding and dwellings...................................................................................................93 5.2 Early representations of high-rise living...................................................................................93 5.3 Countering stigma .............................................................................................................................94 5.3.1 Condos are for families, too (?)............................................................................................................... 95 5.3.2 Crime and safety............................................................................................................................................ 99 5.3.3 Size ....................................................................................................................................................................103 5.3.4 Other negative perceptions of high-rise living...............................................................................109 5.3.5 Testimonial articles, peer groups and meaning ............................................................................111 5.4 Differentiating the condo from other dwelling types......................................................... 115 5.4.1 The structural aspects of the public image of the condo...........................................................116 5.4.2 Facilities..........................................................................................................................................................120 5.4.3 Lifestyle...........................................................................................................................................................123 5.4.4 Invoking Urbanity.......................................................................................................................................134 5.4.5 Summary.........................................................................................................................................................142

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