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The Sociability of Running
Running is often thought of as a solitary sport, a haven for those who enjoy being alone. Like walking and cycling, we typically think of it as a tool to escape the confines of the city and alleviate...
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OP-ED: Waterfront Toronto continues its Kafka-esque Quayside saga, but why?
Thorben Wieditz is an urban geographer who works at the intersection of labour, community and big tech. He helped establish regulatory frameworks for companies like AirBnB in Toronto, Vancouver and...
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Book Review – Compression
Author: Steven Holl (Princeton Architectural Press, 2019) Compression of human habitat should be a concern of all global citizens living on this fragile planet. In my junior year at the University of...
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Reclaiming Scarborough’s Stories in Zines
Co-written by Niyosha Keyzad and Armi de Francia Scarborough is subject to many stereotypes, and the mainstream local media is complicit in perpetuating them. Scarborough is, at best, cited as the most...
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LORINC: Understanding what resilience means in era of COVID-19
“Resilience” in recent years has emerged as the sexiest new addition to the lexicon of urbanist jargon — a word that denotes a kind of core strength, what we all hope we have in times of crisis, but...
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Domestic violence, social distancing, and the closure of public spaces
The recent social distancing protocols that have resulted in the closures of public places have reminded me of the hidden risks for women and children living in domestic violence. I was once that...
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LORINC: We are about to learn what civic resilience truly is in face of...
In this space last week, I argued that Torontonians, and their elected officials, need to have a far more serious debate about what resiliency actually means if we hope to create a city capable of...
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Hey Presto! The strange history and modest potential of the soon-to-be closed...
The future arrived in Toronto in 1948, but it was hidden away from view, in a 19th century transit garage on Sherbourne St. Six years before the long-dreamed of Yonge subway system finally opened,...
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Staying at home during a pandemic and what it means for the planet
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asks Canadians to “stay home if you can,” I start to ponder how and when this notion became so foreign to us. When did we become so mobile that we barely spent any...
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PODCAST: Spacing Radio 044, Corona and the distant city
In this episode, we try to gain some perspective on the Covid-19 virus from the safety of our own apartments. We talk to Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow about his experience in self-isolation, as...
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KidScore: Children telling planners what they value in public space
In the world of city planning and design, there are tools for measuring everything from the number of vehicles passing through an intersection to the walkability of a location. These tools are...
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In face of Covid-19, what if Canada’s health system looked like our housing...
Covid-19 is making everyday life feel like dystopian fiction. But imagine an even more apocalyptic scenario: what if Canada’s health system looked like our housing system? In this terrifying alternate...
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LORINC: Paying rent in a pandemic
It’s the first of the month, which means, for many Toronto tenants, that rent’s due – a perennial transaction that was already imbued with stress, and which now includes all manner of pandemic...
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MARSHALL: Mapping TTC crowding during a pandemic
Sean Marshall is a Toronto planner, transit advocate, and long-time Spacing contributor. This is cross-posted from his personal web site. While most people are urged to stay home as much as possible...
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MARY ROWE: Fostering Covid-19 resilience in Canada’s cities
This is a guest column by Mary W. Rowe, CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute Over 80% of Canadians live in cities, making us one of the most urbanized countries in the world — compelling statistic in a...
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KidScore: Towards a more child-friendly, post-pandemic city
For many of us, one of the nagging questions added to our pile of brand-new worries in recent weeks concerns the physical and mental well-being of children who experience an extended period of staying...
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Observing urban change through the window of a GO train
I wrote this piece last year, long before Covid 19 kept almost everyone at home and before riding transit was something to be avoided for all but the most necessary journeys. While most of us are...
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LORINC: Ford Nation’s phony construction shut-down during pandemic
If you’d tuned in to the Ontario government’s daily press briefing last Friday, you would have seen a grim-faced Doug Ford presenting the sobering projections of the pandemic’s potential impact, based...
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Skateboards, Rollerblades, Scooters: The Orphans of Active Transportation
When we think of active transportation, we typically refer to the traditional modes of walking and cycling. But is it time we direct attention to less-considered forms of human-powered travel?...
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KELCEY: Cities are mostly forgotten in pandemic policy decisions
Outside our locked-down doors, Canadian mayors are wielding emergency powers. City bus drivers are literally risking their lives to help travellers get from A to B. With or without protective gear,...
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