What does family-friendly city look like? How do you plan it? Build it? Foster it?
And what does it all mean for the future of Toronto?
These were some of the broad and hefty issues recently on discussion in a crowded committee room at Toronto City Hall.
The event, which took place late last month, was the year’s first (and the seventh to-date)
Chief Planner Roundtable. The topic: Planning Cities for Families.
"There needs to be intention when we think about children and the role of children and how children can thrive in urban environments…" said chief planner Jenneifer Keesmaat, in her introduction to the Rountable. "We know we’re going through a substantive transition in terms of where we see growth in our city… [and] thinking about how children thrive is a critical part of the work we need to do"
Like past Roundtables, April’s session began with a short presentation by invited panelists followed by a discussion moderated by Keesmaat.
While the speakers came from different sectors—ranging from the public library’s chief librarian Jane Pyper to Sybil Wa, associate with Diamond + Schmitt Architects—they spoke on a common theme: accommodating families in a city of condominiums and high-rises.
As city planning manager and roundtable speaker Lynda MacDonald put it, the future of Toronto is "vertical neighbourhoods."
The challenge is to figure how those vertical neighborhoods can accommodate family-life.
Among other topics, panelists spoke on designing more family friendly condominiums, creating accessible playspaces, and leveraging the community-building potential of public schools and public libraries.
The Roundtable presentations, highlights and video are available through the
City of Toronto website.
Launched in 2013, the Chief Planner Roundtable is billed as "a public forum for Torontonians to discuss key city-building challenges, and to identify innovative ‘drivers for change’."
Torontonians can participate in all Roundtables conversations (which are always live-streamed) either by attending in-person or through twitter, comment cards, or e-mail.
Writer: Katia Snukal