Toronto Star

With a population that may be as high as 30 million – no one's sure – this chaotic city doesn't have much in common with calm, quiet Toronto. In Toronto, streets are used to get from one place to another. In Mexico, people live, work, eat, play and die on the streets. It is a different way of life, to say the least, but strangely refreshing to a Torontonian more accustomed to the Canadian culture of complete control. Some might say Canadians are anal, but we seem to like it that way. Indeed, much of what Mexicans take entirely for granted would get you arrested in Toronto, or your business shut down. The street food, for example, breaks every rule in the Toronto book. Mexicans don't eat hot dogs, so nothing that's sold on the sidewalks here would be legal in Toronto. And as for street vendors, the Mexicans make Chinatown look neat and tidy. But this isn't to say that Mexico City lacks elegance, sophistication or urbanity. It possesses them all, in spades. In fact, Toronto could learn a thing or two from the Mexican capital, especially at a time when the former is in the midst of putting together a contract for its street furniture.