Urban Design

LORINC: Who is behind the Therme Group, the spa company redeveloping Ontario Place?

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When Sidewalk Labs rolled into Toronto in 2017, there was no ambiguity about the corporate family tree. Sidewalk officials repeatedly... Read More

Kensington is funky and non-conventional. Its streets should be too

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Kensington Market is one of Toronto’s most charismatic and iconic neighbourhoods, distinguished for its cultural impact. Putting your... Read More

LORINC: The future of Ontario Place must become an election issue

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The only thing worse than the design proposed for Ontario Place’s indoor spa mega-project is the fact that a firm with such a... Read More

Urban planning is not a science

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Urban planning is not a science. For as long as planning has been a profession, however, we’ve tried to make it one. I’ve been a... Read More

WHY WE CAN’T GO: Debunking the Costs of Operating Public Washrooms, pt. 3

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Parks Forestry and Recreation (PFR), according to City of Toronto data, operates over 1,500 parks, nearly 700 sports fields, 123... Read More

Why We Can’t Go: City Flushes Time Away, pt. 2

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Anyone who spends time in cities, and not just Toronto, likely has both a mental map as well as a strategy for finding a place to go... Read More

Why We Can’t Go: A Report on Toronto’s Public Washrooms, pt. 1

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Because this is Toronto, and because it’s important for officialdom to do certain things backwards, we’re going to spend... Read More

LORINC: Doug Ford’s electrification plan is actually a gas-powered climate nightmare

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It being election season (and Earth Day), the Ontario government news releases are arriving a dime a dozen right now, and many seem to... Read More

OP-ED: Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force pushes for private sector power over true affordability

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Written on behalf of The Architecture Lobby Toronto/Tkaronto (TAL-TO). TAL-TO is a volunteer-run collective working to improve the... Read More