The Globe and Mail

As cities go, Toronto is more plugged in than most. It has been widely reported that we rank highest in North America on the popular public networking website Facebook — with more members than New York and Los Angeles combined — and, judging from the number of iPods on our streets, we have a love affair with private technology as well. In the past decade or so, this younger, technology-savvy generation has also discovered a love for our architectural past and urban infrastructure, as evidenced by digital photographers (or photo-bloggers), the "murmur" cellular storytelling project, and publications such as Spacing magazine. It was inevitable that the two interests should come together. Thankfully, the marriage of technology and heritage appreciation has arrived in MP3 form courtesy of Heritage Toronto, the Toronto Public Library and Michael Redhill, author of Consolation, the award-winning 2007 novel that deals, in large part, with 1850s Toronto. Released just two weeks ago, on offer is a free, downloadable podcast walking tour narrated by Mr. Redhill.