September 30th, 2009
Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside …
September 29th, 2009
On Saturday the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives opened their permanent new home in an (appropriately old) house on Isabella between Church and Yonge Streets. After being transient for many years, the CLGA …
September 29th, 2009
Go listen to the new episode!
Episode 008 of Spacing Radio examines the idea of haphazardness in a city. Spacing magazine contributing editor Amy Lavender Harris takes producer Mieke …
September 29th, 2009
My old Haunts in Greek Town just east of this intersection.
Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local …
September 28th, 2009
If you tally up the list of prominent politicians at all levels who staked their careers on advancing the so-called cities agenda, only one’s still in power - …
September 28th, 2009
“Every time you do something in the city, don’t just do it, do it beautifully.”
A seemingly simple statement made by Joe Berridge at IPAC’s recent Cities and Public Policy Conference, speaks volumes about how we see planning and urban design policy making in Toronto. It summarized much of the talk during the two days and over 40 speakers, who included politicians, academics and management. A common thread of the speakers was the need for us to change the way we think about cities and urban design.
The conference opened with Mayor David Miller and Toronto’s role in Canada and among other global cities. He spoke about Toronto being a city that people choose to live in because of its diversity, culture and economic opportunities. While admitting he did not have the answer, he urged the delegates to think about how cities can sustain themselves in a changing political context, a relevant issue for Toronto, now that Mayor Miller’s time in Office is ending.
Eva Ligeti, Executive Director of Clean Air Partnership stated, “one of the key things that is holding us back is our culture of entitlement,” and an overall thinking that “whatever we have now, cannot be changed.” She references Malcolm Gladwell’s ideas in The Tipping Point and “the magic moment when ideas transcend and social behaviours cross thresholds, tip and spread like wild fire, whereupon institutions undergo fundamental change.” Ligeti gives the successful example of the five-cent a bag bylaw, which the City of Toronto recently implemented. A very simple change that has shown people things can be done on a small scale and now stores all over Ontario are doing the same. As Ligeti says, “a small item, but it worked.”
September 28th, 2009
Each Monday, we bring you some of the popular posts from our sister blog, Spacing Montreal. We’ll keep an eye open for …
