We support proper city planning, the development of strong communities with vibrant local fabrics and the active involvement of citizens in civic affairs.
From the book Big Ideas: The Social Crusades of Joseph E. Atkinson, edited by Michael Pieri:
Joseph E. Atkinson was a lifelong promoter of city planning. "Toronto is going to be a big city . . . we should begin to shape things accordingly," he declared in a 1900 Star editorial. Under the publisher's watchful eye, Star editorials and news stories waged lavish crusades against "the forces of Muddy Yorkism and civic stagnation," and prodded city fathers to find the necessary confidence and vision to improve the "great, growing city." He also wanted planners to put a stamp of beauty on the features of Toronto.
During a half century, his newspaper fought to save trees, open more parks, create boulevards, save beaches, improve roads, encourage more beautiful architecture, improve street lights, purify water, build a sea wall, protect and develop the CNE, raise building standards, and encourage affordable housing. The Star just as enthusiastically waged war against urban sprawl, short-sighted planning, and a massive waterfront "land grab" that would have had disastrous consequences for Toronto's citizens today. In 1909, an editorial that called for a big improvement to the waterfront seemed to sum up the publisher's position on the need for bold and imaginative planning:
"There is always an outcry from some quarter against any forward step that is advocated in or out of city council. If the people of Toronto continue to listen to the Jeremiahs who exlaim against every project that more enterprising men put forward, the city will always be what it is although there will be more of it year after year - more area, more population, without any increase in the features that make a city great and city-like."
Toronto's explosive growth led the Star to predict in 1901 what the city would be like in 2001. The paper saw Toronto's population soaring from 200,000 to 6 million people with the city extending to take in Whitby, Uxbridge, Brampton and Oakville. Flying machines would traverse the skies and there would be few fish left in Lake Ontario.