Urban Design
-
LORINC: The future of Ontario Place must become an election issue
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 storied history in...
By John Lorinc -
Urban planning is not a science
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 planner for over 15...
By Giulio Cescasto -
WHY WE CAN’T GO: Debunking the Costs of Operating Public Washrooms, pt. 3
Parks Forestry and Recreation (PFR), according to City of Toronto data, operates over 1,500 parks, nearly 700 sports fields, 123 community recreation...
By John Lorinc -
Why We Can’t Go: City Flushes Time Away, pt. 2
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, and knowing what to...
By John Lorinc -
Why We Can’t Go: A Report on Toronto’s Public Washrooms, pt. 1
Because this is Toronto, and because it’s important for officialdom to do certain things backwards, we’re going to spend this week — the days...
By John Lorinc -
LORINC: Doug Ford’s electrification plan is actually a gas-powered climate nightmare
It being election season (and Earth Day), the Ontario government news releases are arriving a dime a dozen right now, and many seem to feature the...
By John Lorinc -
OP-ED: Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force pushes for private sector power over true affordability
Written on behalf of The Architecture Lobby Toronto/Tkaronto (TAL-TO). TAL-TO is a volunteer-run collective working to improve the current state of...
By Heather Breeze, Mona Dai, and Samuel Ganton -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 065, Cities for Youth
Urban designers and placemakers often struggle to create cities that work for everyone, including youth. But the youth themselves are often left out of...
By Spacing Radio -
LORINC: NIMBYs vs Garden Suites, Season 2
Here’s an odd little mystery about a freshly filed appeal by a residents association coalition of council’s new “garden suites”...
By John Lorinc -
Reconnecting with the Waterfront: Bentway Design Competition Winners
Two major intersections on Lake Shore Boulevard under the Gardiner Expressway will be looking quite different very soon, as the Bentway’s Waterfront...
By Allison Zhao -
LORINC: In praise of low-tech crowd control to thwart the trucker convoy
Like many angry and aghast Canadians, I felt deep satisfaction this past weekend watching the images of ordinary Ottawa residents blocking the route of a...
By John Lorinc -
Corner Commons: Creative placemaking on a suburban scale
Clara Stewart-Robertson is Manager of Community Planning and Development, Jane/Finch Centre; Ernestine Aying is Community Design Coordinator, Jane/Finch...
By Clara Stewart-Robertson, Ernestine Aying, & Eunice Wong