Want to go back to school, but can’t afford it? I recently realized that there is an abundance of free lectures in Toronto. Between the University of Toronto, OCAD, Ryerson, and York (plus all the colleges, cultural institutions, community organizations, and smarty-pants hipster-types who create new speaking series for fun), you could go to a lecture every night of the week in this city if you wanted to. And if you are a bit of a geek like me, that’s a very good thing.
Like any big city, Toronto itself is an institute for higher learning. In this era of Ted talks and iTunes U, it’s nice to know that good old-fashioned lectures still abound. Lectures provide a way for institutions, like universities, to make connections with the broader public. They also give attendees the opportunity to meet others with similar interests — and maybe even go out for a drink or two after all the event. Instead of book clubs, how about lecture clubs? Or perhaps they already exist? (Please let us know if they do.)
And so, without further ado, I present the first in what will become regular weekly posts highlighting free lectures on city politics, planning, architecture, and urbanism in Toronto.
Up this week:
Daniels Faculty 2011-2012 Public Lecture Series
Catherine Mosbach: “Building a landscape”
French landscape architect Catherine Mosbach presents a lecture on the process through which a landscape-design project is shaped and the role that desire plays in its evolution.
Where: The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
230 College Street, Room 103
When: 6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
Toronto Talks Mobility – Public Forum
The Toronto Talks Mobility Public Forum will bring the public and guest mayors together to talk about transportation visions for Canadian cities with inspiring mobility experts George Hazel and Bob Stanley. Moderated by Christopher Hume.
Where: Toronto City Hall Council Chambers, 100 Queen Street West
When: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Struggling Cities: Tokyo-Toronto Talk Series
Andre Sorensen, Associate Professor of Urban Geography, at the University of Toronto, presents “Tokyo: City Under Pressure.” This talk uses census data and GIS mapping to show the extraordinary growth of population in central Tokyo. From a relatively low-rise city, Tokyo is quickly evolving into an increasingly high-rise city, in a dramatic transformation that has profound implications for quality of life and urban policy.
Where: Japan Foundation, 131 Bloor Street West, Suite 213, Toronto
When: 6:30 PM
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Interventions: Department of Architectural Sciences Lecture Series, Ryerson University
Architect Giancarlo Mazzanti from Equipo de Mazzanti, Bogota, will speak on Architecture and urban design.
Where: Ryerson University, Department of Architectural Science, 325 Church Street
When: 6:30 PM
9 comments
Note the Tokyo talk is actually Wednesday November 9th!!
This new feature is great. Please keep running a weekly list of lectures.
Doh! Thanks for catching that, Rob. We’ll correct it now.
Thanks for this new feature so we don’t need to hunt these all down ourselves!
Don’t forget about Big City: Big Ideas!
The next one is Nov.16 with Larry Beasley.
Don’t forget about Big City: Big Ideas!
Our next lecture will feature Larry Beasley, on Nov.16.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-City-Big-Ideas/163028103779809
Thank you for this new feature, it will be well put to use!
What Rob said! Please make this a weekly feature. Was fortunate enough to catch a Gilberto Gil lecture just last night that I had only heard about a few hours prior.
Oh, my. This is just what I’ve been looking for – keep this up!