The Globe and Mail

Viewed in the grand scheme of all things Toronto, the Queen West triangle is not a big deal. It's just another tiny parcel of old industrial land of the kind that abounds along the railway corridors that criss-cross the city. Before Toronto's current real estate boom, this undistinguished plot of ground - wedged between the CNR tracks and Dovercourt Road, and lying south of Queen Street West - was largely, and understandably, ignored by developers and local residents alike. But in the past couple of years, the triangle has emerged as an important battlefield. Though the area is small, the contest being waged there addresses large, crucial questions: What kind of city will we have when the condo building frenzy is over and the housing market settles into quieter patterns? Will the things we cherish about our traditional neighbourhoods survive? Or will they be lost forever?