Toronto as Community is a poetic portrayal of the city, with photographs sequenced to evoke an intimate visual symphony. The pictures document the daily life of ordinary citizens, including work and leisure, many accompanied by original stories. The book also documents many of the natural areas and some of the city’s architecture, all through the lens of social justice. The images will resonate and provoke the readers’ sense of nostalgia, inviting reflection on the city that once was, how it became the city it is, and how it continues to develop into a social experiment that is the envy of many other cities and nations.
As the largest city in Canada and the fourth largest in North America, Toronto has become one of the most ethnically diversified cities in the world, with over 52% of its residents born outside of the country and speaking 180 languages.
Vincenzo Pietropaolo has been a dedicated chronicler of Toronto for more than fifty years. His attachment to the city and its people is demonstrated on every page of Toronto as Community. His father was a construction worker who helped to build many of Toronto’s landmark buildings. Vincenzo collaborated with Jane Jacobs, by providing photographs for an exhibition based on her seminal book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. He is the author of numerous monographs and exhibition catalogues, as well as commissioned books.