Foreword from the Managing Editor Where do you live? Here is a question for you. Is London really a small town trying to be a big city or is it actually a big city still acting like a small town? Maybe this requires us to think about where the boundaries of the city have existed over time and the effects it has on how people identify as Londoners. We know Old East Village, which these days feels like an extension of downtown, didn’t become a part of London until 1885. Meanwhile, Masonville and Byron became a part of the city in 1961 and Lambeth and Arva, now conveniently located near two major shopping districts, only joined in 1993. So are we in fact becoming a big ‘city of neighbourhoods’ after all? We could likely extend this question to many Canadian cities. So what does this mean for one’s sense of ‘community’? How does it feel from the perspective of your neighbourhood? Is your neighbourhood a place where you live, but not necessarily where you spend your time? In a sprawling city this makes sense when time is so precious and getting from one place to the next consumes your day. So is community a word that is only reserved for small towns? Where tying people together through events and experiences is the only way they survive? Maybe in a big city, you don’t need this kind of effort because the neighbourhood has been a part of the city and the ‘community’ has already been in existence. One can just move in and assimilate. But what happens when ‘community’ does disappear? So let’s go back to the opening questions. Which are we here in London: big city or small town? What does that mean for your sense of community? Old East Village has most definitely held its own unique culture for a very long time. Quirky, artsy, historical and often leading by example for others to pick up on.
Prior to the pandemic, Old East was becoming THE example for neighbourhood development in Ontario. Now we are facing challenges, ones which all cities and all areas of a city are facing. Can we rally around this and continue to be the leaders? Maybe this is when it defines us not just as a neighbourhood, but as a community AND as a part of a bigger city.
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Page 2 Old East Villager January-February 2025
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