Clik here to view.
Eight simple ways to cool a city
It continues to get hotter in Toronto, with summer temperatures in the high 30s becoming common. We must make immediate changes to our city if we want to combat this scorching trend. A place that is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Protecting Ontario Place’s pebble beaches
Downtown Toronto’s only beaches adjoin Ontario Place, where we swim year-round, even in winter. The most magical of these is Teachbeach, a sandless (sandfree) pebble beach with crystal-clear waters...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ELECTION: The next term of council is a time to mobilize
As Toronto’s fall elections begin to take form in the mid-summer heat, the message from a chorus of departing councillors couldn’t be clearer: take this job because we don’t love it. Nearly a third of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neighbourhood tour: the beginnings of Afro-Caribbean food culture in Toronto
This weekend, starting at King St. and Church St. in front of St. James Cathedral, the Hungry for Comfort Neighborhood Tour will highlight Toronto’s Afro-Caribbean food culture. The free but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LORINC: The slow boats to Centre Island
After the dock collision on the weekend that injured more than a dozen people and has reduced ferry service to the Toronto Islands for the rest of the summer, I found myself thinking about which other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Overhead: Breaking the addiction to high home values
Spacing and the Balanced Supply of Housing research node proudly present The Overhead: Understanding Canada’s Affordable Housing Crisis, a special podcast series. THIS EPISODE: Breaking the addiction...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kensington is funky and non-conventional. Its streets should be too
Kensington Market is one of Toronto’s most charismatic and iconic neighbourhoods, distinguished for its cultural impact. Putting your finger on what makes Kensington special is tricky – it’s chaotic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LORINC: Who will solve the rental crisis? Not John Tory
For decades, about half of Torontonians have lived in rented dwellings, and despite this rather amazing statistic, they are systematically un- or at best under-represented when it comes to the policy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 067, Toronto Election: the case against a strong mayor...
Another election, another surprise announcement from Premier Doug Ford that throws it all into disarray. Ford’s proposal for “Strong Mayor” powers for Toronto and Ottawa’s next mayors have left many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ELECTION: Open wards and the power of incumbency
As part of Spacing Toronto’s coverage of the 2022 municipal election, cartographer Sean Marshall is creating maps revealing some of the underlying patterns shaping the election. On Friday, August 19 at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An imbalance of power: population disparities between Toronto’s 25 wards
In July 2018, in the middle of Toronto’s last municipal election, the newly elected Progressive Conservative provincial government, headed by former Toronto city councillor and mayoral candidate Doug...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Book Review: Modern Heritage – Reuse, Renovation, Restoration
Edited by Ana Tostões, Docomomo International & Birkhäuser Publishers, 2022 Modernism was the defining architectural expression of the 20th century – a movement that transformed built environments...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transit transformation, part 2: the importance of Scarborough’s community spaces
With Mahira Khan, Alexander Nazarov, Anastasiia Ostrovskaia, and Mikayla Sinclair In this “Transit Transformation” series, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) City Studies students lead an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ontario Place re-development: Paving over paradise
Looking out to Lake Ontario in late March, when the ground is still thawing from winter, a daring aerialist deftly skims the water’s surface, its deep-blue iridescent feathers gleaming in the cold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LORINC: Clear-cutting Michael Hough’s landscaping at Ontario Place
Toronto, arguably, is in the midst of what the city may look back on as a golden age of landscape architecture and design. In the past 15 years, Waterfront Toronto has made increasingly bold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ELECTION: Mapping municipal election voter turnout
As Torontonians head to the polls for the ninth municipal election since amalgamation, how many voters will actually cast a ballot? With mail-in ballots available to all eligible voters for the first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ELECTION: 2022 Toronto Election from a Cycling Perspective
Torontonians will be off to the polls on Monday, October 24 in an election that will see significant turnover, with seven councillors not seeking re-election. This is a great opportunity for road...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rewind/Forward: ArtworxTO’s new exhibit celebrating Jamaican and bass music...
When we think about Toronto’s diversity, the idea of multiculturalism comes to the forefront. But how did we come to enjoy these different cultures in one city and what are their roots? Alanna Stuart’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shifting power in parks: Lessons from the 2022 Canadian City Parks Report
City parks are built on relationships. They are where we go to feel more connected to nature, to ourselves, and to others in our community. All of this requires us to negotiate how we share space,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ELECTION: If not housing now, when?
This column has been updated since it was originally published. A debate will be held on Oct. 17th. Is Housing Now dead? In case you missed seasons 1 to 3, city council in January, 2019, approved John...
View Article