The Parks Issue

We all know the role of public parks in the health and vitality of a major city: they provide space for recreation, help reduce the impact of harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and absorb runoff from heavy thaws or storms. Parks also help make a city more equal: they provide greenery, amenities, and spaces to socialize to all people, regardless of income or status. But in a quickly intensifying city with soaring property values, Toronto is hard-pressed to create the parkland necessary to accommodate the needs of a growing population. Our contributors explore these themes in our 20-page cover section.

You’ll also find engaging articles on the neurological reasons why we respond to certain architecture styles, how purpose-built apartments after World War I opened up independent city-living for women, where all of the building permits have been issued in the city over the last 20 years, why local comic artists are using Toronto as the setting in their stories, and how Mayor John Tory has made four horrible decisions that Torontonians will have to live with for generations.

cover photo by Patrick Cummins