The Kids Issue

There are always challenges raising a child in the city, but it becomes amplified as a city becomes larger and more dense. For kids in Toronto, it’s almost as if the urban designers of generations past forgot that kids use the city too.

In this issue of Spacing, our contributors examine topics that affect how both kids and parents are affected by how our city is built. We explore stroller etiquette on transit, how toddlers improve — and prolong — the lives of elderly, why the Youth Council at City Hall is under-utilized, and how kids walking to school alone has become a hot-button issue.

Also featured in this issue:
• Former mayor David Miller advocates for Toronto to lead the world on climate change;
• A photo essay from the Toronto Archives that documents the buildings never built;
• A look back at the Toronto Zoo’s decommissioned monorail; and
• Why the 1970s pedestrianization of Yonge Street was both a failure and success

cover photo by Jae Yang