Neighbourhoods
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LORINC: The Rail Deck Park considered
About two years ago, deputy city manager John Livey, Toronto’s top planner, realized the strategy of creating pocket parks and little private plazas...
By John Lorinc -
Misleading Leaside: Lobbyists score a hat trick with digital billboard
Outfront Media wants to construct a massive digital billboard in the residential community of Leaside. The problem is, no one wants digital billboards in...
By Dave Meslin -
LORINC: The Scarborough subway and the climate change agenda
What will future residents of Scarborough think, 30 or 40 years hence, when they cast their minds back to the craven transit decisions being made today by...
By John Lorinc -
How co-housing designs community into developments
For a lot of city dwellers, knowing their neighbors names is a rarity, let alone knocking on their door to ask to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar...
By Alex Steep -
From folk singers to folklore, 1960s Yorkville lingers
With Canadian Music Week taking place just in clubs throughout Toronto, the historic Masonic Temple concert hall on Yonge Street — which has hosted the...
By Kieran Delamont -
INFOGRAPHIC: The business of bikes and parking
EDITOR’S NOTE: There has been some debate about whether bike lanes on Bloor would hurt or harm businesses. Spacing is republishing this infographic from...
By Spacing -
How to consult in gentrifying neighbourhoods
Every municipal planner knows that when the City convenes a public meeting to consult a community about a proposed project, the people who tend to show up...
By Mariana Valverde -
The cold war siren system Toronto never used
At Dundas West and Shaw, near Trinity-Bellwoods Park, there’s a conspicuous piece of Canada’s Cold War history. On top of a 15-metre pole sits...
By Chris Bateman -
The killing of Aune Newell
She was found beneath a coat hidden under dogwood and sweet clover. Toronto parks department employee Harry Lemon saw her shoe first, carelessly discarded...
By Chris Bateman -
How the Eaton Centre nearly wrecked Old City Hall
Ever since Toronto city council moved over the street in 1965, Toronto hasn’t quite known what to do with Old City Hall. The exquisite heritage...
By Chris Bateman -
Why we need youth-created art in public spaces
At the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal on Queen’s Quay West, a colourful, 80-foot mosaic stretches the length of the pedestrian walkway. Fragments of glass...
By Lana Hall -
BACK TO SCHOOL: Why I use the city as a classroom
At this time of year, the signs abound. Colourful backpack displays have replaced the Slip-N-Slide demo at Walmart. And if you listened closely last week...
By Laurie Townshend