Civic Impact

A new month-long initiative from Toronto's City Planning Division is bringing city planers to public spaces across the city.

The project, aptly called Planners in Public Spaces (PIPS), involves setting up "pop-up" planning booths at 15 separate locations across Toronto. It begins tomorrow (August 15th) at the Scarborough Town Center and runs until September 20th (full schedule here).

"The goal is to get out there and engage the community and turn the planning department inside out," says Giulio Cescato, the PIPS project lead and community planner with the City.  "We want to really engage people about planning in their community, to hear what they think the issues are. It is also a good opportunity for us to maybe teach people about what we do. I think  planning is sometimes misunderstood as a profession and I don't know if everyone understands that we have many different types of disciplines of planners working in the city."

Each planning booth will be staffed by at least two planners. But, as Cescato, emphasizes,  "When we say planners it's a broad brush that applies to lots of different things that people do. We have urban designers that deal with architecture and landscape architecture and consult on the design. We have community planners that do development reviews. We also have transportation planners, we have heritage professionals."

In order to get the word out, Cescato and his teamed up with the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre to launch an interactive event at Nathan Phillips Square. Next Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., master builder Graeme Dymond and his "junior construction team" will construct an interactive lego city model outside of City Hall (see Yonge Street's feature on Dymond here) .

"We wanted to do a launch event to say to the city we're coming to a community near you and we wanted it to be interesting and fun and interactive," says Cescato. "I think it's going to be fantastic. [The team will be building] and city planners will be there explaining 'this is what we look for when a tall building appears in a neighbourhood', 'this is what we look for when a mid rise building is being erected'."

While the Nathan Phillips Square launch is an event on its own, PIPS booths will also appear all across the city at strategic locations--including subway stations and farmers markets--to engage members of the public who might not have been aware of the initiative in the first place. 

"Each district is a little bit different," says Cescato. "Scarbourgh is different, Etobicoke is different from North York. The old city of Toronto is blessed with public spaces, but other-times we had to be more creative. Each event is slightly different and catered to the needs of that community."

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Giulio Cescato, City of Toronto

A nondescript grey tower in Toronto's St.James neighbourhood is in the process of being transformed into Toronto's newest landmark.

And all it took was a few coats of paint.

200 Wellesly Street E, the city's tallest Toronto Community Housing building, will soon feature a massive exterior mural. Once complete, the mural, coming in at about 250-feet, will be among the largest of its kind in the world.

The project is the culmination of year-long initiative facilitated by Toronto art and public space nonprofit STEPS Initiative. In the summer of 2012, STEPs teamed up with local St. James Town non-profit the St. James Town Community Corner to offer STEPS' Emerging ARTivist program -- a youth capacity program that STEPs brings to different neighbourhoods across the city.

"Through the program we work with young people and expose them to different art forms and help them use art to think about urban design" says Alexis Kane-Speer, STEP Initiative Director. "We provide them with a platform to develop their own public art interventions."

Beginning in the summer of last year, STEPS and the St. James Town Community Corner hosted urban design workshops for children in the neighbourhood. Each workshop was co-facilitated by a lead artist and a teenager from the neighbourhood. 

"Through those workshops we talked about different urban design challenges that St. James Town has" explains Kane-Speer. "The youth really latched on to this idea that St. James Town is really dense and really grey and very concrete. They felt it was really lacking in colour and they felt strongly that they wanted to change that."

After the culmination of the workshops, the youth facilitators brainstormed ways to give St. James Town some much-needed colour.

"They decided they wanted to paint a mural in the same building as we'd been meeting: the home of the St. James Community Corner," says Kane-Speer. " For one problem, the people working at the Corner often complain that no one can ever find them."

"Building the mural there speaks to where the project was built but also lets the Corner (which occupies the main floor of the building) become more of a landmark that people can find."

After getting permission from Toronto Community Housing--owners of the building where the Corner is located--STEPS applied to the Toronto Street Art Program for funding.

Once the proposal was accepted the teen facilitators consulted with community members and an artist facilitator--well-know Canadian artist Sean Martindale--to come up with a design.

The top half of the mural will feature a soaring phoenix and the bottom half a mosaic of vignettes representing stories of neighbour residents.

"The bird represents the rising of St. James Town, the rising above of the stigma that is sometimes attached to the community," says Kane-Speer. "It's about the power of pride in the neighbourhood."

The almost-complete bottom half of the mural was painted by the teen designers and other St. James community members; the top half is being completed by professional mural artists working from suspended platforms hung from the top of the building. 

Kane-Speer anticipates the mural will be completed by early September, after which STEPS and the St. James Corner will host an official unveiling.

"There's so many grey tower communities that are lacking in public art…Now when people look up at this building they will see their own community reflected in it."

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Alexis Kane-Speer, STEPS Initiative 

When Toronto was hit with historic rainfall earlier this month, it seemed the city was caught by surprise: subways shutdown, cars were left abandoned, and hundreds of GO Train passengers were stranded for hours before being rescued by officers of the Toronto Marine Unit.

But at Evergreen Brick Works, the community environmental centre located right in the Don River flood plain, staff were ready and waiting. Located adjacent to the Lower Don River, Evergreen Brick Works which opened to the public in 2010, was built with the inevitability of flooding in mind.

"[The flood] didn't take us by surprise," says David Stonehouse, Evergreen Brick Works' general manager. "We always watch the precipitation radar on the Environment Canada website, so we knew something was coming. We have [an] evacuation plan when we think there is a chance that the site might flood. And, in this case, we closed the site proactively."

"Most people wouldn't have been able to build on this site," says Stonehouse. "We were allowed to build by the Toronto Region and Conservation Authority because the Authority made a decision that the heritage of the site was worth protecting….you wouldn't do something like this under normal circumstance."

Among other flood-proofing measures, Evergreen Brick Works keeps all expensive electric and mechanical equipment on the second floor or higher of all its buildings. So, while water did enter the buildings after the July flood, no expensive equipment was damaged.

"We also used a lot of very durable material," adds Stonehouse. "We used masonry and have a lot of concrete floors. We didn't use carpet or dry wall. We used materials that were basically able to be power washed and cleaned. So we could clean and quickly reopen."

Evergreen Brick Works also boasts an elaborate system of greenways (rows of shrubs that trap groundwater) that are designed to get water out of the site quickly into a storm water management pond and eventually out to the Don River.

The flood on July 8th was the second major flooding the Brick Works experienced this year (the first was in May). Water entered the buildings in both cases, the first time in the organization's three-year history.

"We've flooded previously, but in our time it hasn't actually entered the buildings," says Stonehouse. "When the water doesn't enter the buildings, cleanup is a much more straight forward enterprise."

"In both [the May and July] situations, the water entered all of our buildings and that meant we had to dry out buildings, drain out the water, clean out residual water, dry and disinfect…"

But, despite the additional clean up effort involved, the Brick Works was able to re-open to tenants within 24-hours of the site evacuation, and to the public within just 48.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Daivd Stonehouse, General Manager, Evergreen Brick Works

A new Toronto-themed alphabet book celebrated its official launch in style with a three-hour event this past Saturday at the Ontario Science Centre.

ABC of Toronto, the work of author-illustrator Per-Henrik Gürth and published by Kids Can Press, celebrates Toronto by linking every letter of the alphabet to a Toronto landmark. So, for example, A for is AGO, B is for Beach[es], Y is for Yonge Street, and so on, all the way until Z for Zoo. Each letter and landmark get their own page, complete with a Gurth illustration of happy anthropomorphized animal enjoying the site.

This Saturday's book launch, held in the Science Centre's Great Hall, featured a reading by Gürth, a book signing, and a morning of activities for children and their parents. 

"The drawing of the "O for Ontario Science Centre" happened to be a neat little doodle of animals enjoying the electricity demonstration," says Kira Webb,  KidSpark coordinator  at the Science Centre. "So we put on a special demonstration for the launch…we have a portable electric static generator that we brought up to the Great Hall and we did a kind of on-the-road electricity demonstration for visitors."

And, because the book featured animals, the Science Centre also brought attendees a collection of animal pelts of common Toronto animals.

"We had pelts of deers, racoons, coyotes, beaver, rabbits, river otters, and more" says Webb. " It started a conversation among visitors about all the animals they've seen this summer."

The activities were capped off, of course, by an author reading of the book itself. 

"It was very well attended and the kids were fascinated. A lot of families that came had no idea that this event was going on," says Webb. "They just came to the Science Centre and were surprised and excited that this event was happening."

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Kira Webb, KidSpark Coordinator, Ontario Science Center 

A new report provides a comprehensive update on the changes to Toronto's waterfront, from 2001 (the year the Waterfront Toronto corporation was launched) to December 2012.

The document, entitled The Waterfront Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report, comes courtesy of Waterfront Toronto, the corporation created by the federal, provincial, and municipal government to lead the 20-year, $1.5 billion "revitalization" of Toronto's waterfront.

"From developing green building requirements and minimizing construction waste, to building and protecting aquatic habitat, Waterfront Toronto has worked with a considerable number of stakeholders--developers, contractors, governments, sustainability experts and the public--to ensure that our work considers economic, environmental and social impacts," says John Campbell, CEO of Waterfront Toronto. "Our report provides a first-hand look at the efforts we're making to ensure the sustainable stewardship of the revitalization of Toronto's waterfront."

Coming in at just over 100-pages, the report, which has its own mircosite, highlights, among other things, Waterfront Toronto's work providing affordable housing, protecting the environment, and building several LEED® Gold buildings. 

Given that Waterfront Toronto has been tasked with delivering over 40,000 new residences, 40,000 new jobs, and 300 hectares of public parks (and the fact that Toronto's waterfront is undergoing near-constant construction) the report provides a much-needed benchmark for industry, government, and citizens interested in the corporation's progress. 

In addition to highlighting the challenges and successes throughout the construction process (measured, for example, in terms of carbon emissions and protection of aquatic habitat) the report provides a clear summary of what the corporation has accomplished so far (i.e.. the completion of the Sherbourne Common Pavilion and Sugar Beach) and what is still to come (i.e the Don River Park in the West Donlands and the Union Station second platform). The infographic on page 100 is particularly helpful in categorizing completed and ongoing projects. 

"By covering issues of land, infrastructure, water management, public space and buildings, Waterfront Toronto's Report sets a new standard for responsibility reporting in the real estate sector. But the Report also accomplishes more than just tracking achievements," stated Jamie James,  president of Tower Labs with MaRS, in a press release.

"It provides a living document for builders and building owners to use to attract a new generation of residents, businesses, and visitors to one of the most dynamic urban revitalization programs in all of North America.  There should be a hard copy or link to this report in every marketing brochure for every property in the district."

Writer: Katia Snukal 
Source: John Campbell, CEO of Waterfront Toronto

The York Region Arts Council has teamed up with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection to offer a mentorship program for emerging artists.

The newly created Arts Mentorship Project provides relatively inexperienced artists with a rare opportunity: the chance to collaborate on an artwork with an established professional.

It will work like this: the two artists, the mentor and the mentee, will meet at the McMichael Gallery over the summer and the fall for three two-day sessions. Over the course of those sessions, they will work together on an art project while also discussing both the craft, as well as the business, of art.

The participants for the project's inaugural term have already been selected, and are scheduled to have their first formal meeting at the gallery on Thursday July 11th. The inaugural mentor is Canadian landscape painter David McEown; the mentee, Ben Barak, a Newmarket resident and recent graduate of Nipissing University BFA program.

"The Art Mentorship Project represents an invaluable opportunity for emerging artists to receive technical assistance and engage in productive discussion with established members of Canada's rich artistic community," says Anna Stanisz, assistant curator of education and programs at the McMichael. "It embodies the McMichael's current vision, which defines the institution as an extraordinary place to experience the connection between art and nature."

The work created by McEown and Barak will be displayed at Vaughan's McMichael gallery from December 20, 2013 to March 2, 2014.

And not only will the artists' finished product be made available to the public, so too will their process. McMichael visitors will have the opportunity to observe mentor and mentee working on the gallery grounds, and, on September 29, McEown and Barak are scheduled to give a panel talk about their work as part of Doors Open Vaughan.

Applications for the project’s second session will be accepted from January 3 to February 29, 2014.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Anna Stanisz, Assistant Curator, Education and Programs, McMichael

A York Region initiative is encouraging residents to do just that.

Last week, the Regional Municipality of York released the 2013 Farm Fresh Map. The new resource not only lists the region's farmers' markets, but also lists the farms (along with hours of operation and list of products) that residents can visit directly. 

The map, available as a downloadable pdf on the York Scene website, lists more than 20 farms selling a range of products, including fresh fruit, vegetables, and baked goods.

"Visiting our local farms is a great way to experience farm-to-table food while supporting Regional businesses," said Town of Newmarket Regional Councillor John Taylor in press release. "About 80 cents of every dollar spent at a farmers' market stays within the local economy."

The Farm Fresh guide also highlights the many agricultural events scheduled for the York Pumpkin Pie Trail Tour, a one-day event which will take place on Saturday, September 21.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: York Region Communications 

At a City Hall press conference this past Monday, the City of Toronto, in partnership with Toronto Community Housing (TCH) announced the launch of a new social housing advocacy campaign: Close the Housing Gap.

The aim of new campaign, explained Councilor Ana Bailão--Ward 18, Davenport, and Close the Housing Gap co-chair--is to press the federal and provincial governments to continue to support social housing in Toronto.

"The City is working hard with its partner Toronto Community Housing to put people first by fixing social housing," said  Councilor Bailão. "But there is still a housing gap which can only be closed through new and ongoing funding from Ottawa and Queen's Park. Raising property taxes is not the answer."

In September 2012, a City of Toronto Special Housing Working Group released "Putting People First: Transforming Toronto Community Housing," a report that laid out a five-year capital plan to maintain and expand social housing in the city. The launch of Close the Housing Gap is one of the recommended actions in Putting People First, which was adopted by City Council in November, 2012.

But, without additional funding, says Baileo (who also chaired the working group), the Toronto Housing Corporation--the City of Toronto's non-profit housing corporation that manages social housing--will not be able to keep up with repairs or acquire much-needed new properties. 

"By implementing recommendations in the Putting People First report, we already have plans in place to generate $156 million in revenue to help pay for repairs and there's more to come," said Bud Purves, Bailão's co-chair and chair of the Toronto Community Housing Board. "But, with our aging buildings, the repair backlog will continue to grow in the coming years unless the federal and provincial governments step up."

Close the Housing Gap is being launched in direct opposition to continued withdrawal of federal funds from social housing across the country. In 2012, the City of Toronto received approximately $161.3 million from the federal government towards social housing, by 2017 that that number is expected to be closer to $128 million (a decline of $33.4 million) and will reach zero by 2031.

In order to draw attention to the need for continued support for social housing, Close the Housing Gap will employ, among other methods, bus shelter posters, buttons, pamphlets, postcards and public events.

The goal is to encourage Torontonains to organize events in support of the campaign and to contact their federal and provincial representatives to urge them to "close the housing gap" by continuing to fund housing at existing levels and to provide new, long-term funding for social housing capital repairs.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: City of Toronto 

Woodbridges's Earth Rangers Centre (ERC), the LEED-platinum-certified headquarters of environmental non-profit Earth Rangers, has received a $40,000 grant from the RBC Blue Water Project.

The Blue Water Project (an RBC fund earmarked to support fresh water projects) will be used to help the Earth Rangers Centre better track its water usage.

Located in Woodbridge, Ontario, the ERC is already a highly equipped sustainable building. Since its completion in 2006, the building has combined a number of technologies--energy metering systems, solar generation, a green roof, geothermal heating and cooling, and on-site water treatment---to work towards a goal of net-zero energy consumption (using only the energy the building itself generates).

The RBC grant will go towards new tracking systems for the ERC's most ambitious project, its off-the-grid water treatment program. 

"We don't have city water and we don't have a sewer," explains Andy Schonberger, director of the Earth Rangers Centre."We have a small well and use that water, treated of course, for drinking water or other hygienic purposes."

The potable water that the Centre gets from the well then ends up going down drains, where it's joined by raw sewage. That water is processed on site and is, in turn, re-used throughout the the building.

"We have or own water treatment on-site. So all of that treated water, water that's clean but just below what you're allowed to drink, we'll use that to flush toilets and urinals or to irrigate out green roof, and we also keep it for firefighting purposes," says Schonberger. "And topping off the water tank, we're collecting all the water off our green roof and white roof [a sunlight reflective roof that captures rainwater] and using that water in the building as well."

Currently, says Schonberger, the Centre has six water meters that track consumption and re-use of water in the building, but it still lacks a way to track the water coming in from the flat roof surfaces or how much non-potable water is used to irrigate the green roof.

The RBC grant means that this already highly efficient building will be able to purchase and install four additional meters. Once the new meters are up-and-running--Schonberger anticipates the installation will be complete by this September--no drop of water in the ERC will be unaccounted for. 

"We already do really well with managing water. These new meters will help us do even better and track our progress, and will hopefully be an inspiration to others in the building community."

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Andy Schonberger, Director, Earth Rangers Centre