# Frontier city By [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly), 2017-08-31 321-davenport-road, alterra, architecture, davenport-road, development, housing, margaret-atwood, nimby, shawn-micallef, toronto, uncategorized, urban, urbanism, village-mentality, yimby --- Opposition to new development is nothing new in this city. In fact, it’s the norm in almost all cities, regardless of how big or small the project might be. But the battle happening right now in Toronto with respect to the proposed 8 storey condominium project at [321 Davenport Road](https://torontolife.com/city/society/margaret-atwood-really-mad-condos-built-near-house/) is certainly taking things to the next level. All over 16 units. Some of the most recognized names in this city have their hat in the ring and virtually every media outlet has covered the topic. See [here](https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-storeys-margaret-atwood-condemns/article36123420/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&service=mobile), [here](https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/08/29/margaret-atwood-defends-neighbours-condo-opposition-140-characters-at-a-time.html), [here](http://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-welcome-to-toronto-where-to-margaret-atwood-and-friends-an-eight-storey-condo-is-an-assault), and [here](http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/margaret-atwood-joins-toronto-condo-controversy/), for a small taste. Just this evening I saw that [Shawn Micallef](https://twitter.com/shawnmicallef) (yes camp) had [sent a copy of his recent book](https://twitter.com/shawnmicallef/status/902613350009462786) to [Margaret Atwood](https://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood) (no camp) in the hopes that she would read it and better appreciate why it behooves our neighborhoods to move past this “[village mentality](https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/talk-of-the-town/article33979484/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&).” If you haven’t yet read it, it’s called [Frontier City: Toronto on the Verge of Greatness](https://www.amazon.ca/Frontier-City-Toronto-Verge-Greatness/dp/0771059329). I’ve just moved it to the top of my reading pile. I hope more folks do the same. --- *Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly/frontier-city)*