{"id":49404,"date":"2014-08-08T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2014-08-08T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=49404"},"modified":"2014-08-06T13:51:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T17:51:48","slug":"nxt-city-prize-calvin-brook-transforming-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2014\/08\/08\/nxt-city-prize-calvin-brook-transforming-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"NXT City Prize: Transforming streets with Calvin Brook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"feature-nxt-city-new\"<\/a>The\u00a0NXT CITY PRIZE<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is all about vision to reimagine Toronto\u2019s public spaces and inject a sense of energy, dynamism and reflexivity. With a focus on ideas coming from the next generation of city builders, The\u00a0NXT CITY PRIZE<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is an open invitation for all young people connected to Toronto to improve on the design of our city’s open spaces. The\u00a0NXT CITY PRIZE<\/span><\/a>\u00a0will be announced in mid-August, and the deadline for submissions is July 31st.\u00a0Spacing<\/em>\u00a0has teamed up with the\u00a0NXT CITY PRIZE<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to provide our readers with a series of Q&As with local and national city builders in the lead up to the announcement of the winning design.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"LINE-600-GREY\"<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

TODAY: CALVIN BROOK, urban designer and planner<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

What public space improvements have you made?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Because we are a multi-disciplinary practice our contributions are both through built projects as well as developing policies and guidelines that facilitate public space transformation. These projects include downtown waterfront transformations in Toronto, Thunder Bay, Burlington, Mississauga, Windsor and Tivat, Montenegro. We have also prepared major planning initiatives that are transforming our main streets and mobility\u00a0 infrastructure including EglintonConnects, the Mid-Rise Buildings and Avenues Project, five Toronto Avenue studies and several Metrolinx Mobility Hub projects.<\/p>\n

What public space improvements would you like to see in Toronto?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We need to address the fact that municipal government, because of its budget and mandate limitations, is unable to address the need to supply and maintain the smaller multi-functional public spaces that are essential to a great city. There is a huge inventory of publicly owned land that should be made available and transformed through community-action and small-scale private enterprise. These spaces include the river valleys especially the Don, beneath the Gardiner, within the TTC, along streets and laneways that are under-utilized and neglected.<\/p>\n

What sorts of places are solid examples of public space improvement in other cities around the world?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

My favourite five:<\/p>\n