Kensington Market: Cultural Mosaic
Waves of immigrants — European Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Jamaican — have made Kensington Market their own before moving on to make room for the next tile of our cultural mosaic.

Each has left their mark on the community, a few square blocks of small food-centric merchants. Here, shopping is an activity, not a chore, as if supermarkets were never invented.

Dry goods shops sit next to fishmongers. Piles of ripe produce share airspace with the strong smells wafting out of cheese shops. An entire street is dedicated to second-hand clothing stores, perennially supplying the neighbourhood with teenagers.

While the number of food shops has dwindled, those remaining and emerging become more refined. Now there is a butcher focusing on Ontario meats, a farm-minded organic produce shop. Residents and merchants have rallied around the exclusion of corporate interests such as Starbucks and Nike.

The hectic streets of Kensington, a chaotic patchwork of bylaws and cultures, can confound city planners and residents alike. But that's what keeps it fresh.

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