Ground 49 – Spring 2020 – Access

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Landscape Architect Quarterly

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Round Table Beyond Barriers Features Landscapes for Longterm Care

Walking in Brampton

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Gender Diversity in a Changing Climate

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Publication # 40026106

Spring 2020 Issue 49

Masthead

OALA

OALA

­About­

About the OALA

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and provides an open forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the profession of landscape architecture. Letters to the editor, article proposals, and feedback are encouraged. For submission guidelines, contact Ground at magazine@oala.ca.

Ground reserves the right to edit all submissions.

The views expressed in the magazine are those of the writers and not necessarily the views of the OALA and its Governing Council.

The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects works to promote and advance the profession of landscape architecture and maintain standards of professional practice consistent with the public interest. The OALA promotes public understanding of the profession and the advancement of the practice of landscape architecture. In support of the improvement and/or conservation of the natural, cultural, social and built environments, the OALA undertakes activities including promotion to governments, professionals and developers of the standards and benefits of landscape architecture.

Councillors Cynthia Graham Cameron Smith Justin Whalen

Upcoming Issues of Ground Ground 50 (Summer) Flow

Associate Councillor—Senior Mark Hillmer

Ground 51 (Fall) Pattern Deadline for advertising space reservations: July 15, 2020

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Editor Glyn Bowerman

2019–2020 OALA Governing Council

Photo Editor Jasper Flores

President Jane Welsh

OALA Editorial Board Kanwal Aftab Shannon Baker Trish Clarke Jasper Flores Eric Gordon Eric Klaver (chair) Phaedra Maicantis Nadja Pausch Katie Strang Sarah Turkenicz Andrew Taylor

Vice President Kendall Flower

Web Editor Jennifer Foden Social Media Manager Jennifer Foden Art Direction/Design Noël Nanton/typotherapy www.typotherapy.com Advertising Inquiries advertising@oala.ca 416.231.4181 Cover Charles G. Williams Park in 2019.

Photograph by Eric Gordon.

See page 14.

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published four times a year by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects 3 Church Street, Suite 506 Toronto, Ontario M5E 1M2 416.231.4181 www.oala.ca oala@oala.ca Copyright © 2020 by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Contributors retain copyright of their work. All rights reserved.

ISSN: 0847-3080 Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 40026106 See www.groundmag.ca to download articles and share content on social media.

Treasurer Steve Barnhart Secretary Stefan Fediuk Past President Doris Chee

Associate Councillor—Junior Leah Lanteigne Lay Councillor Peter Hersics Appointed Councillor Liat Margolis

Deadline for editorial proposals: May 11, 2020

Appointed Educator University of Guelph Brendan Stewart Appointed Educator University of Toronto TBC University of Guelph Student Representative Devon Kleinjan University of Toronto Student Representative Morgan Quinn OALA Staff Executive Director Aina Budrevics Registrar Ingrid Little Coordinator Sarah Manteuffel

See www.groundmag.ca for a digital, searchable, archival database, listing all articles, authors, subjects, key words, etc. published in Ground over the years.

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO GROUND ARTICLES, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

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Advisory Panel

Andrew B. Anderson, OALA – Inactive Member, BLA, MSc. World Heritage Management Landscape & Heritage Expert, Oman Botanic Garden John Danahy, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto George Dark, OALA, FCSLA, ASLA, Principal, Urban Strategies Inc., Toronto Real Eguchi, OALA, Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects, Toronto Donna Hinde, OALA, FCSLA, Partner, The Planning Partnership, Toronto Ryan James, OALA, Senior Landscape Architect, Novatech, Ottawa Alissa North, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Peter North, OALA, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Nathan Perkins, MLA, PhD, ASLA, Associate Professor, University of Guelph Victoria Taylor, OALA, Principal, Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect, Toronto Jim Vafiades, OALA, FCSLA, Senior Landscape Architect, Stantec, Toronto

Contents

Up Front Information on the ground

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Access: Landscapes for Longterm Care

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President’s Message

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

Access, as a concept and practice, is something landscape architects think about often: how humans move through space, and about the design clues and triggers that keep people safe. Our designs evoke surprise, delight, and respect, and make connections that allow people to access to a deeper part of themselves.

This edition of Ground gives some insight into issues of access and landscape. This message is being written from a makeshift home office, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis—a small 8x10 space with one window.

This, along with the rest of the house, will be the physical boundary of my world for the next few weeks. My wife suffers from an auto-immune disease, and the condition requires that any outside venturing is only if absolutely necessary. This reality gives a glimpse into how small a world can become when barriers are in place that limit participation in everyday life. Without access to the outside world, to social and community spaces, we aren’t able to fully participate in life, down to the basics we all take for granted every time we use a set of stairs, a door, or conduct a transaction at a counter in a corner store. An acute feeling for nearly everyone who is social distancing right now, lack of access contributes to social isolation and alienation. Accessibility isn’t just a physical need but also a psychological one.

TEXT BY KAREN SHLEMKEVICH

Round Table Beyond Barriers MODERATED BY SARAH MANTEUFFEL 14/

Walking in Brampton

Adaptation Canada 2020, Vancouver Collectively, OALA Council and our amazing volunteers are making the landscape architecture profession more visible and accessible to the public: reminding decision makers about our role in addressing the big issues.

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TEXT BY KAARI KITAWI, OALA

Gender Diversity in a Changing Climate

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TEXT BY ALI GREEY AND PHAEDRA MAICANTIS

plazaPOPS Accessing the urban suburban

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TEXT BY BRENDAN STEWART, OALA DANIEL ROTSZTAIN AND KAREN LANDMAN

Letter From... New York City Revealing New York Narratives TEXT BY QUINN HOWARD 26/

Notes A miscellany of news and events

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Artifact Toronto Biennial TEXT BY SHANNON BAKER, OALA 42/

One of the issues we are well-placed to address is climate change adaptation, and I was fortunate to represent the CSLA at the Adaptation Canada 2020 conference in February.

Increasing Capacity: Awareness, Rules and Resources Landscape architects understand the capacity of the land and the dynamic forces of nature.

There are two important ingredients for deeper capacity within the profession: raising awareness and setting out new rules and regulations for climate adaption. Professional awareness is being led by IFLA, our international body, which has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency.

Public awareness is being driven by the worldwide, youthled climate strikes. One example of developed capacity is the Toronto Green Standard, which requires sustainable performance measures on all site plans.

The CSLA, as our national body, provides web-based resources, its Committee on Climate Adaptation has prepared a position paper, and the Municipal Roundtable of landscape architects working in Canadian municipalities is committed to sharing information and resources.

World Wide Pandemic Our April 30-May 2 Conference and AGM 20/20 Vision Improvement and Clarity in London, ON was not held in person this year. The South West Chapter of the OALA is to be commended for their hard work. Chapter Chair Andrew Wilson says “as landscape architects, who hasn’t prepared a plan, design, or document, only to have circumstances change resulting in the plan being shelved? While the conference will not materialize as we had envisioned, the consolation was the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse, creative, and, yes, visionary group of landscape architects and OALA administrators.”

Spring 2020 Issue 49

Editorial Board Message

I hope everyone has been able to stay healthy and take the opportunity to be outside and connect with nature, while observing the recommended health and safety precautions.

JANE WELSH, OALA, FCSLA OALA PRESIDENT PRESIDENT@OALA.CA

Accessibility comes with understanding the perspective of the lived experience of the needs of the differently abled. The ambition of the Access issue is to explore this physical and psychological space. The experts and professional contributors within offer perspectives from regulatory and design frameworks, as well as lived experience. In landscape, accessible accommodations are often viewed in opposition to the project’s concept and ambitions—“backing in” regulatory parameters, rather than “baking in” accessibility principles. AODA requirements (whose demands will only increase in the profession in the coming years) ensure a minimum accommodation, and while these regulations impact and dictate design parameters, in their application they are mute on design itself. Design, especially good design, can’t be legislated, though it is informed by the lives of those who will experience it. Perhaps starting with the perspective of accessibility can preclude the need to design for it.

ERIC KLAVER, OALA CHAIR, EDITORIAL BOARD MAGAZINE@OALA.CA

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Up Front

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GARDENS

from lawns to lettuce If you happen to meander around Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, you may notice something unusual. The predictable sequence of manicured front lawns that meet the sidewalk are being converted into robust veggie gardens, bursting with forests of kale and tomato vineyards.

These micro-farm sites, spread throughout the neighbourhood, are part of a larger initiative called City Beet Farm—a multi-site urban farm, born out of a commitment between two young farmers and a community of homeowners.

Elanna Evans and Maddy Clerk currently run City Beet farm. They trade vegetables in exchange for land with homeowners, and sell the majority of the produce back to the community through weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes. This past year, they had 18 plots of land, and sold weekly veggie boxes to more than 80 members.

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Although not all crops are suitable for this model of farming, they are able to grow about 30 different varieties of vegetables, including carrots, beets, tomatoes, leafy greens, leeks, onions, garlic, squash, cabbage, potatoes, and peppers.

This model of growing, exchanging, and eating food, all within the same few blocks, literally brings the food system to people’s doorstep.

“It’s really special to connect with people and grow food for people in this

Up Front: Information on the Ground

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neighbourhood,” Maddy explains, “kids come through and they get to plant kale with me, and then they’re coming to our CSA pickup a few days later and eating the food that they’ve seen grow.”

A similar model is transforming the Parkdale/ Roncesvalles neighbourhoods of Toronto. Forests of flowers are popping up on what is typically a front lawn. Sarah Nixon’s flower business, My Luscious Backyard, grows and harvests fresh-cut flowers, utilizing the front and back yards of homes within her neighbourhood. This symbiotic relationship provides Sarah with free land to grow on, and provides

homeowners with a free, pollinator-friendly garden, without any of the work.

Sarah first started her business out of her backyard, but as her business grew, she was seeking space elsewhere. With the expensive cost of land in the city, she had to get creative. She saw potential in the 01-03/

Sarah Nixon and the My Luscious Backyard project

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Jeremie Dupont

Up Front

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Sarah Nixon and the My Luscious Backyard project

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Jeremie Dupont

neglected gardens and underutilized landscapes in her neighbourhood and managed to convince some people to rip up their lawn and replace it with dahlias, foxgloves, and cosmos.

Over the years, her micro-site urban farm has expanded to include over a dozen yards within biking distance. She grows over 60 varieties of flowers, which she harvests and sells through CSA floral subscriptions, weddings and special events, and at local farmers markets.

A lot of the work on small urban plots involves regenerative agriculture practices.

It can take an enormous amount of time and effort to regenerate soil and allow it to be healthy, fertile, and productive.

Maddy explains, “when we started some of our sites had gravel and fill and sort of lifeless soil, and through our three years of applying these regenerative agriculture practices, I have now seen, first-hand, how lush and full of life the soil has become. I mean, its crawling with worms, and even the surrounding areas have become so much more full of life.”

These businesses also have to be very adaptable, as they are growing on other people’s land. They can convert new sites and transport crops if they have to, but the work and investment into the soil cannot be moved.

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“A lot of our sites are in the Cambie Corridor and are very vulnerable to development pressures,” Maddy says. “I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t be heartbreaking when that work is inevitably going to be lost to development pressure in Vancouver.”

Whether it’s a carpet of lettuce, or a pasture of peonies, these provocative, unconventional uses of space stand out, and they are gaining traction. Passers-by are challenged to rethink the way we use space in urban cities. “Frankly, lawns are dumb,” Maddy says, “there’s a real power in taking back the land for our community.”

TEXT BY KAITLYN PELLETIER WHO IS WORKING AS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER IN VANCOUVER.

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Up Front

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When the meeting ended in a stand-off, Waldorf parent Janerae Causyn realized she needed to help parents understand the health risks associated with artificial grass.

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Rubber shockpad under artificial grass

HEALTH

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Soft Surfaces Ltd / Flickr

toxic turf

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Back Campus Fields, University of Toronto

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US Embassy Canada / Flickr

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Eugene Melnyk Sports Field, St. Michaels College School Lacrosse Team

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Colin Jang / Flickr

Recently, climate strikes have given a voice to young people across Canada. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) even made accommodations so students could attend the strikes.

But, are these institutions willing to join in meaningful solidarity by placing a moratorium on the use of artificial turf on school property?

Da Vinci School is a public elementary, Waldorf-based school, occupying the third floor of Lord Lansdowne Public School (LLPS), near College and Spadina. The rest of the building houses a French immersion

According to Causyn, “we don’t know all of the health risks, because the research isn’t there yet. It’s ludicrous to test new products on children’s playing fields without reviewed research based on longitudinal studies.”

Fake grass is a hazardous choice for many reasons, including the fact that children who fall or slide on this turf can suffer thermal burns and abrasions, and those can become infected.

Artificial turf may also contribute to the “heat island effect”: an urban phenomenon where energy, materials, and lack of vegetation can markedly increase the temperature in certain areas. Installing artificial instead of real turf reduces the combined cooling effect of plants’ natural evapotranspiration, and the synthetic material itself has heatretaining properties. And because children are less able to regulate body temperature, are closer to the ground, and breath faster than adults, they’re more susceptible to dehydration, and prone to heatstroke.

elementary school.

A developer recently agreed to pay a $1-million restitution to LLPS for the shadow his building would cast over the children’s playground. However, Waldorf parents were dumbfounded when the TDSB promoted using fake turf on that same playground.

At a meeting in February of last year, the TDSB’s sustainability officer presented the merits of artificial turf over natural grass.

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Infill used between the blades of grass to cushion impact eventually breaks down, leaving a hazardously hard surface which can result in concussions.

The TDSB chose ‘natural’ infill of silica pellets, coated with acrylic polymers for LLPS. The pellets eventually disintegrate into silica dust that can cause lung damage, and is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

Up Front

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as a carcinogen. Combined with the disintegrating acrylic polymers, it forms plastic dust and micro-debris.

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Allenby Junior Public School Field, Toronto

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Allenby Parents Association

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Play area artificial turf

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Jon Bell / Flickr

Artificial turf doesn’t stay sterile. Sweat, blood, spit, bird and animal droppings require routine spraying with toxic chemicals that can be inhaled, absorbed through skin, contaminate clothing, shoes and pets, and be carried into schools, cars, and homes.

The off-gassing chemicals from the turf mix, combined with the cleaning chemicals, could create a toxic soup for children to play on.

The impermeable carpet base contributes to increased runoff and flooding that carries plastic particles into the streets, sewers, and our water system. However, if drainage is done correctly, which TDSB was planning, absorption is better.

Toronto Public Health’s list of precautions include supervising small children, not eating on the field, regular monitoring of contaminants, preventing tracking of infill, and hand washing.

The 400 students attending LLPS would need to shake out their hair, clothes and shoes, and wash their hands after playing in the

morning, lunch, and after both recesses— pretty much an administrative nightmare.

Causyn’s extensive research and outreach helped parents and teachers vote overwhelmingly against artificial turf at a March 2019 meeting. The victory sent a strong message about protecting our environment and our children.

Rochelle Rubinstein, an anti-artificial turf activist in Toronto, wants people to know that, despite her efforts, “the TDSB refuses to acknowledge any health concerns. The TDSB continues to replace school fields and playgrounds with artificial turf, without heeding its mandate to protect the health and safety of its students. This is especially heinous in elementary schools, as younger children are particularly vulnerable to heatrelated illnesses, and to ingesting, inhaling and dermally absorbing toxins from the infill.”

Rubinstein’s message to both boards is “take a stand now, before we have mountains of evidence in the form of sick kids, against something that clearly is not good for either our environment or our children.”

TEXT BY DOREEN NICOLL, WHO IS A FREELANCE WRITER LIVING IN BURLINGTON.

Up Front

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15 ECOLOGY

on ‘plant life’ Studying landscape architecture, I’m often told the profession deals with formation, rather than fixed forms. In practice, however, we often refer to plants as material: static, lifeless objects, instead of dynamic, sentient organisms.

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Italian Stone pine cone display, Pinus picea exhibit at the American Academy in Rome, 2018

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

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Twig samples display, Live Matter exhibit at the Radcliffe Byerly Hall, Harvard University, 2015

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

While these attitudes aren’t universal, I believe designers can benefit from added perspectives on plants’ living existence from academics, practitioners of landscape architecture and related disciplines, as well as from Indigenous perspectives that can deepen a designer’s relationship with these lifeforms. Recent works like Planting: A New Perspective by Noel Kingsbury and Piet Oudolf, Planting in a Post-Wild World

by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, and Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, have all focused on the dynamism of plants.

Up Front

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Similarly, landscape architect and academic Rosetta S. Elkin has done a lot to shift our relationship to plants. Her works include the book Tiny Taxonomy, and essays like Plant Life: The Practice of “Working Together” and Live Matter: Towards a Theory of Plant Life. I asked Elkin about her relationship with what she calls ‘plant life,’ and design lessons we can gain by recognizing their lively existence.

AT: How do you describe plants and your relationship with them in your work?

RE: I prefer to use ‘plant life,’ rather than just plants or vegetation, because it helps remind designers that we are working with living, breathing organisms. Plants are a collection of slowly dividing cells. Plant life is a swarm, representing the intersection of life and matter. They are a physical force of nature, altering circumstances in such a way that their growth and mobility actually modify the environments in which they exist. Designers often work against the grain: they try to predict, control, or outline plant life. I prefer to consider how we can work with plant life. Plants adapt and evolve—they change as the climate changes and migrate. We are an entirely plant-dependent species, yet few

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people care to see the cues. Our work as designers can only be comprehensive if it includes a consideration of plants in space, which demands a modification in our perspective of designing with plant life.

AT: What significant gaps do you still see in landscape architecture’s understanding and interaction with plants?

RE: I recently read this quote by Erle Ellis: “Nature is gone. You are living on a used planet. If this bothers you, get over it.” It was

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Tiny Taxonomy garden, Jardins de Métis et Festival International de Jardins, 2010-2016

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

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Forest floor species raised on reflective plinths, Tiny Taxonomy garden, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2013

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

Up Front

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AT: What design lessons can landscape architects take away when recognizing this perspective and relationship with plants?

RE: Landscape architecture has inherited a discourse of terrestrial ecology, and a tendency towards generalization and oversimplification. We are taught plants are one of many contributing factors to ecology, which reduces the plant to a unit. Units are easy to count and tend to be associated with form. But as designers, is form really a fundamental attribute of plants? Plants are formation, they are process. If plants are always in motion, then the design challenge lies in the appreciation of how plants grow, not what plants look like.

Embrace the beauty of change.

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a reminder that our words no longer have to be over-intellectualized, and our lexicon does not have to alienate anyone. In fact, we are making our profession less relevant whenever we slip into over-specialization.

When we reiterate the same discourse, our professions and our pedagogy contribute to climate denial. The fact is that the ground in which we work has been worked before and will be worked again.

We are designing on a used planet, with hotter ecology and stolen materials. As our resources mingle, and environmental

migration unfolds, why do we insist that plant life will stay the same? (I am alluding to the insistence on return to ‘native’ species). Thus, the gap I wish to close has to do with two main considerations: how the interests of conservation often hold back progressive adaptation and earthly transformation, and how the potential of landscape as a profession is limited by diminutive commercial stock, native species lists, and static construction details.

Taken together, these two issues are the gap that confines our work.

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Hanging root system display, Live Matter exhibit at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 2016

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

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Pinus picea exhibit at the American Academy in Rome, 2018

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Courtesy of Rosetta S. Elkin

TEXT BY ANDREW TAYLOR, A MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AND A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD ROSETTA S. ELKIN IS PRINCIPAL OF RSE LANDSCAPE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN, AND FACULTY ASSOCIATE AT HARVARD ARNOLD ARBORETUM. HER RESEARCH AND TEACHING CONSIDER LIVING ENVIRONMENTS WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON PLANT MORPHOLOGY, BEHAVIOUR, AND INTELLIGENCE.

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Landscapes for Longterm Care

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Schneider Healing Garden at University Hospitals, Virginia Burt Designs Inc. Landscape Architects.

Person in Wheelchair on carefully chosen colours of paving in Accessible healing garden (Black and purple porphyry and bluestone) also achieved LEED paving credit for Albedo levels while maintaining awareness of human and patient light sensitivity to reflective surfaces.

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Brad Feinknopf

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Schneider Healing Garden at University Hospitals, Virginia Burt Designs Inc. Landscape Architects.

These gardens are for family and staff as much as patients. Benches are recessed off the accessible path.

Indirect LED lighting reduces glare.

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Brad Feinknopf

TEXT BY KAREN SHLEMKEVICH

I worked in various healthcare facilities for 10 years before deciding to pursue a Master’s degree in landscape architecture.

During those years, I provided recreation therapy to people who had suffered spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and strokes.

I spent a couple years working in a day hospital that provided care to people who were in the early, middle, and late stages of dementia. Additionally, I provided life enrichment activities to seniors living in long term care facilities (LTC) and retirement homes. In each of those roles, I helped people access the outdoors as a form of therapy, escape from regular routine, or to just get some fresh air.

The one thing all the people I provided care for had in common was that their condition, or current physical or cognitive state, caused them to experience their external environment differently from the average, able-bodied person. I realized how important accessibility is to outdoor spaces, but I also began to see another important truth: outdoor spaces need to do more than just meet the Accessibility

for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility standards.

Now, as landscape designers and architects, we are aware that both acts provide standards for designing accessible indoor and outdoor spaces, but true accessibility is so much more, especially when designing for compromised people such as those in LTCs, hospitals, or other such specialized facilities. And I hope to provide some insight, through my healthcare experience, to assist others in improving outdoor design, and to address more than the general accessibility standards.

There are three key areas of functioning that large numbers of people living in LTC and retirement homes, or accessing care in the hospital system show decline in. These areas are vision loss and vision perception changes, hearing loss, and mobility. When creating outdoor spaces for such specialized environments and their populations, these three areas should guide design decisions.

Landscapes for Longterm Care

Many medical conditions can affect vision.

Not all vision loss occurs to the same extent for everyone, or in the same way. When designing for people who may have vision impairment, keep in mind that sensitivity to bright light can occur frequently in elderly populations. Concrete pathways can reflect large amounts of glare, which can be very hard on people with light sensitivity, causing an outdoor space to be avoided by these users. Concrete, however, is an ideal path surface, as it is smooth, making travel with walkers and wheelchairs easy and fluid. Consider orienting seating in such a way so that the sun’s glare off the surface will not be an issue, or consider using a coloured concrete to lessen glare intensity.

Very light coloured walls can also cause glare. Plant material can be used to block light coloured walls, and reduce refraction.

Another common vision problem that occurs with age, or as a result of a brain injury, is the loss of colour definition: objects lose their colour intensity, and contrast between colours decreases for people. Signage should consist of bright colours and use great contrast between light and dark to ensure better readability. If people using an outdoor space are concerned they will not be able to find their way back because of unreadable signage paired with cognition deficits, they will simply avoid using the space.

Blurred vision, or partial and complete loss of sight can be a terrifying reality for some people in these specialized facilities. As mentioned above, if people are afraid that they won’t be able to make their way back to the building, they won’t venture outside to enjoy the amenity space. Ensure at least one seating area is very near to the door to provide a safe, outdoor relaxation area, without the fear of having to navigate a long walk back.

The tonal contrast between grass and asphalt walkways may be negligible to someone with vision loss. Unfortunately, if the delineation between the hard path and the soft grass is undefined, a path user runs the risk of veering onto the grass unknowingly, and risking a fall as a result.

To ensure safety, a subtle ‘rumble strip’ along the edge of the paved walkway

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could be incorporated to physically cue the user. A painted, raised curb, or painted edging in a contrasting colour or tone could also be incorporated.

As well, since the sense of touch may be relied on more by people suffering partial or full loss of sight, ensure that plants within arm’s reach are ‘tactile friendly.’ Do not consider any plants with sharp or pointy leaves such as barberry, ivy, roses, or yucca.

Lastly, vision perception issues can occur when there has been a brain injury, or if there is brain deterioration, such as with Alzheimer’s Disease. In this case, eyesight is not the problem, but instead how the brain is interpreting the visual information. People who have perception issues may not be able to accurately interpret drastic colour or tonal changes in ground surfaces. For example, horizontal banding in a walkway created through the use of different coloured pavers may read as long holes or breaks in the path to someone with perception issues.

The person may get to that point on the path and turn around because they don’t think they can cross the gap. Other people may try to step over the banding to avoid falling into the ‘hole.’ Either way, this desire to create visual interest by a designer may inadvertently lead to lack of use, due to the user’s fear of the path.

People who have had a stroke or brain injury sometimes develop one-sided inattention, also known as visual inattention or hemispatial neglect. This phenomenon occurs as a result of where the stroke or injury has occurred to the brain. The brain no longer acknowledges the person’s field of vision on one side—generally the left. Essentially, the person doesn’t realize that anything exists or is happening in the environment on that side.

People with one-sided inattention must be cued, or relearn to look to their affected side routinely. I have witnessed someone who had this neglect almost fall off a sidewalk into traffic because he was not aware that anything existed on that side.

For added safety, and to assist in cueing individuals to the sides of walkways adjacent to traffic, a banding or painted line running along the path edge could be beneficial.

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Hearing loss can typically start to occur in people over 50 years old. Many factors contribute to this such as the aging process, changes in the brain areas that perceive sound, and a lifestyle filled with loud sounds or music and lack of proper ear protection.

In LTC institutions and hospitals where the likelihood of finding people suffering from hearing loss is greater, design considerations should be made to increase the usability of outdoor spaces for these individuals.

When deciding on placing areas for gathering or quiet reflection, ensure that there are no loud sources of noise such as the facility HVAC system or venting. I worked at one LTC facility that located the resident garden and sitting area right beside the facility laundry room. The industrial dryers vented right out to the seating area, which made it quite loud when they were operating. On a side note, the excessive heat made the area unbearable in the summer and caused ice (and safety) issues in the winter. Residents with hearing loss found this area to be too unpleasant to access during long periods of the day.

As we know, sound travels as waves in straight lines. With this in mind, it can be beneficial to have some seats oriented away from sound, so that the user has their back to the noise source. Architecture incorporating interior courtyards would be ideal for creating quiet, outdoor areas for residents or patients. As landscape architects and designers, we often do not have a say in the design of the building.

We can, however, emulate walls in the outdoor environment to help block sound and mitigate noise. Glass partitions may reflect some sound waves, and vegetation may assist with breaking up sound.

Mobility issues are quite common for many people of all ages. Accessibility standards outline ways to ensure accessible paths of travel for wheelchair and walker users.

When designing for people using mobility devices, there is more than just path slope and surface material to consider. Many of the healthcare facilities I worked at incorporated benches with path systems in their landscapes. Unfortunately, the designers often failed to consider the

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Norma’s Garden at The Gathering Place, Cleveland Ohio. Virginia Burt Designs, Inc. Use of benches in “eddies“ of a gentle swirling ramp (less than 5%) through The Green Rooms - an area for quiet contemplation in this one of 11 different rooms of this garden. Note the paving is exposed aggregate with integral colour to reduce glare and create easily non slip surface texture. Higher plantings create contrast in height and texture for visually challenged. This also allows touch by those in wheelchairs and young children.

Richard Mandelkorn

special situations inherent to wheelchair and walker use with regard to the benches and paths.

First, wheelchair users who are with a companion prefer to be placed beside their companion who is on the bench, and not left in the middle of the path—thus blocking other path users. When siting a bench on a concrete pad, ensure that the pad is wider than the bench so there is additional room to one side for the wheelchair user to park. Wheelchairs do not navigate well on grass or gravel, and this is even more of an issue when grass is wet and the soil is not firm.

Second, ensure that the space is also deep enough so that the wheelchair user’s legs are not blocking path traffic.

Understandably, no one wants to sit beside a garbage bin, so make sure that this wheelchair-accessible space is not hemmed in by a garbage receptacle. In the end, if the overall experience of being outside is not pleasant, people will refrain from using the area.

People who use walkers to assist with balance while walking prefer to sit on a firm bench, rather than their walker’s built-in seat. These people require arms on benches to assist with safe transfer from using their walker to sitting on the bench, and vice versa. Additionally, they require space beside the bench to ‘park’ their walker, so they don’t feel like they are blocking the path and inconveniencing others with their mobility device.

In short, when designing for healthcare related facilities, remember that you are also designing for special populations. The people using these institutions may have different types of vision loss, perception issues, hearing loss, and mobility issues. Think about the user, their potential limitations, and their perception of the space when making all design decisions. The AODA legislation lays out standards for accessible design, but true accessibility incorporates so much more.

BIO/

KAREN SHLEMKEVICH IS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, WORKING AT A FIRM IN BARRIE, ONTARIO. SHE RECENTLY COMPLETED A MASTER’S IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. BEFORE THAT, SHE HAD A CAREER IN HEALTH CARE.

Round Table

The challenge and opportunity of inclusive design.

MODERATED BY SARAH MANTEUFFEL

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Charles G. Williams Park in 2019.

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Eric Gordon

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Luke Anderson overseeing a StopGap ramp installation.

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StopGap Foundation

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LUKE ANDERSON, PEng, MSM, IS THE EPITOME OF A SOCIAL INNOVATOR. AS AN ACCOMPLISHED SPEAKER AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE STOPGAP FOUNDATION, HIS WORK HELPS SHIFT PERSPECTIVES BY DELIVERING KEY MESSAGES THAT ENSURE OUR SOCIETY’S COLLECTIVE UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION CONTINUES TO ADVANCE AND GROW. JENNIFER HISELER IS AN ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST AT HUMAN SPACE, A DIVISION OF QUADRANGLE. HER LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH DISABILITY AND HER BACKGROUND IN PROSTHETICS, ORTHOTICS, AND HIGH-TECHNOLOGY WHEELCHAIRS HAVE GIVEN HER KEEN INSIGHT INTO HOW THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT CAN IMPACT THE LIVES OF PEOPLE USING MOBILITY EQUIPMENT. THROUGH HUMAN SPACE, SHE PROVIDES TRAINING AND CONSULTATION. SHE ALSO SITS ON THE BOARD OF THE ARCH DISABILITY LAW CENTER AND IS AN ORGANIZER WITH #A11YTO, ACCESSIBILITY TORONTO. ROBERT MAYS, OALA, IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER WITH THE CITY OF TORONTO, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DIVISION. WITH OVER 18 YEARS OF EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE, ROBERT HAS BECOME A SPECIALIST IN STREETSCAPE DESIGN. HE HAS BEEN THE LEAD ON THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NUMEROUS ENVIRONMENTAL, PEDESTRIAN AMENITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND COMPLETE STREET PROJECTS. ROBERT IS CURRENTLY INTERESTED IN HOW THE DESIGN PROCESS CAN HELP MINIMIZE CONSTRUCTION DISTURBANCE, REDUCE PROJECT COSTS, AND REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. TATIANA ZAKHAROVA IS A PLAYGROUND DESIGNER AT EARTHSCAPE PLAY. SHE RECEIVED HER MLA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH AND IS CURRENTLY PURSUING HER DOCTORATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION AT WESTERN UNIVERSITY. SARAH MANTEUFFEL IS THE COORDINATOR FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING AT THE OALA, AND AN ACCESSIBILITY ADVOCATE. SHE HAS A BACHELOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN SPECIALIZING IN INTERIOR ENVIRONMENTS FROM THE THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA. SHE IS A MEMBER OF SEVERAL DWARFISM ASSOCIATIONS AND RECENTLY PRESENTED ON “DWARFISM AND DESIGN” AT THE #A11YIRL CONFERENCE IN TORONTO.

Sarah Manteuffel: In the past several years, accessibility has come to the forefront in design discussions. However, there’s still a long way to go before implementation becomes commonplace. With the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) vision of creating a fully accessible Ontario by 2025, and the new Accessible Canada Act’s goal of barrier-free Canada by 2040, what are the key issues we face in terms of landscape architecture, and who is still excluded from our current efforts?

Luke Anderson: In my work, I’ve noticed a real disconnect between the AODA mandate of a barrier-free province by 2025, and some of the municipal encroachment bylaws that I’m most familiar with that are holding us back from removing barriers to accessing spaces.

It’s a bit of a challenge. Flower planters, sandwich boards, and café furniture aren’t allowed in the public right of way for good reason: we want to make sure it’s free of barriers, and there’s adequate space for pedestrians to enjoy the public realm. But the bylaws prevent ramps as well, like the ones we’re building with StopGap and inviting business owners to use, to make it easier for customers, and to help us raise awareness.

Because those ramps are doing two things: removing barriers, and getting accessibility on

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people’s radar. But existing municipal bylaws are making it challenging for building owners to provide easy access. We’ve bumped into this since we started our project in 2011. We get it: bylaws are important, they protect the public, and are there to make sure that public safety is paramount. And I’ve been invited to City Hall to talk with Robert’s colleagues, councillors, and legal teams. But the process of digging into the bylaws is a really arduous task, and involves testing potential solutions.

That fuels my fire. I’m interested in working with everybody here at the table, or reading this publication, to come up with great ideas that can maintain public safety and make accessibility affordable and easy.

Jennifer Hiseler: There’s no obligation under the AODA to go back and remove barriers. The best it can do is prevent more barriers being created. When we think about all the little restaurants on College Street with the single steps, we have to rely on solutions like StopGap ramps because there’s no obligation to go back and remove the single steps. And people are excited about the Accessible Canada Act, which is a step in the right direction, but it only governs things under federal jurisdiction. It has zero impact on that restaurant on College Street. The obligations in front of landscape architects are still quite low, in terms of meeting the AODA. There’s a disconnect between what we’re being asked to do, or what we’re obligated to do, and actually removing barriers.

Robert Mays: With many streetscape improvement projects at the City of Toronto, it comes down to a battle for space, and everyone’s fighting for their own few inches of space within the public right of way. Traffic engineers want minimum lane widths, there’s minimum pedestrian clearway widths, we have to provide room for street trees and furnishing zones, utilities, and everyone else. We end up having heated discussions about 10 centimeters of space when we’re redesigning a street. And of course, in the public sector, we’re restricted to working up to the property line in many cases.

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To Luke’s point, we’re interested in consistency in the pedestrian clearway: predictable movements and directions.

So, part of our concerns with the StopGap ramps in the past were encroachment in the clearway. But if we can accommodate those ramps with other furniture or planters within a consistent furnishing zone, then perhaps there’s a solution.

In terms of overall challenges and opportunities for landscape architects, I think with all of the legislation that’s available and its interpretation, there’s room for specialists in this realm. We have landscape architects that specialize in trees or vegetation, parks and playgrounds, and I think there’s opportunity for others—whether within a large firm or as independent consultants—to provide accessibility oversight on projects.

SM: Is there a lack of education in this realm from the start? When I went to school for interior design, we only touched on accessibility in a few workshops and studio projects that included ramps and accessible washrooms. I became involved because I live with a disability, and because it’s something I’m interested in. But I see a gap in many people’s education. Is that part of the problem? Is it changing?

Tatiana Zakharova: I have been a student for much of the past five years and, from what I have seen, we are definitely learning.

But we’re not able to offer some education yet, because we haven’t built enough knowledge around it. I’m optimistic because most of our clients, who are provinces, municipalities, school boards, and so forth, place accessibility and inclusivity at the top of conversation. Yes, in play design, we use terms like risk, excitement, destination, and desire. But accessibility and inclusivity are right there, never an afterthought. We see that from manufacturers in our field as well. So, as we’re building this vocabulary, and understanding some of those goals, I think the education and specialization will come. But your previous question about who is excluded is, for us, a very big, worrisome one. It comes back to that phrase “nothing about us, without us”. As a designer, I always want to hear from people who are users of our spaces, who

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understand designs from playing and living through them, who might not speak about legislation, but who can talk about lived experiences in spaces we are creating.

Of all the opportunities to learn, that’s the greatest, and I think pushing for that engagement level and trying to bring many different parties to the table will definitely help with education and making sure the consideration for inclusivity starts early in the design process.

LA: I think it begins in grade school. We have a school program, and I see how antiquated and disempowering language is being perpetuated. And that’s through educators not being up-to-date on language we should be using to remove barriers.

Unfortunately, we’re not educating this younger generation and empowering them with language they can use to help make serious changes. That perpetual issue moves its way into design schools where there isn’t standard curriculum in accessibility and universal, inclusive design.

Then we’re sending new grads into the workforce, unprepared.

RM: I did some courses in the school of landscape architecture at the University of Toronto over 20 years ago. I recall having assignments where we were assigned a disability of some sort, and everything we did was monitored and assessed in terms of that perspective. It was a role-playing exercise. The missing component, for me, was diving into the actual legislation and requirements, and the interpretation of it.

Maybe that’s on purpose, because you need very specialized knowledge of the local guidelines, bylaws and acts (provincial or federal), to implement them in projects.

But there’s an opportunity for continuing education in the interpretation, analysis, and implementation of those guidelines.

JH: There’s a lot of interest in education about accessibility. It’s happening through independent conferences, meet ups, and networking. Most often, we’ll find one person that’s passionate about accessibility, or they’re just tasked with that responsibility as a human resources compliance, and they become the local expert and start reaching out to others. But at the same time, we have

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clients coming to us asking for structured learning opportunities. I think there’s more than enough expertise to package into every curriculum that touches on design—to have students go through the basics before they graduate, so when they’re out in the field, doing all the creative problem-solving, with the steep learning curve that happens in the real world, they’re learning from people with lived experience, or they’re learning more creative solutions that go beyond just the codes and standards. But there’s a lot of basic stuff that can be imparted before graduation that isn’t.

RM: Landscape architects want to do the right thing. At conferences, the topics on accessibility are very well attended. There’s a thirst for that knowledge. The right solutions don’t necessarily need to be expensive or complicated. Luke’s demonstrating that

this can be a relatively simple response.

But it can also be a very expensive and complicated proposition to provide accessibility in some cases. One example is Theater Passe Muraille. They were trying to become accessible. There wasn’t enough sidewalk space to enable that accessibility to happen within the existing sidewalk environment, but we worked with them. It ended up being a partnership project—the theater and our unit—and we actually narrowed the roadway and expanded the boulevard and sidewalk environment to create the required space. In doing that, there were added benefits as well: we were able to implement green infrastructure and stormwater management elements into that project. So it was a win/win solution.

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New, accessible pedestrian space outside Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto.

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City of Toronto

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on the streets than there were cars, and there wasn’t enough room on the sidewalks to accommodate everyone. So we had to start making new provisions for pedestrians to address the situation. One of the slogans we used was “everybody is a pedestrian.”

That seems obvious, but it was a powerful statement: even if you’re driving to work or the store, you’re still, at some point, going to be a pedestrian. Just as we’re all likely to be dealing with a disability at some point. That kind of awareness is needed.

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JH: We need people creating good, strong legislation, but that comes out of years and thousands of hours of grassroots action— people asking for it, and people doing studies to determine what the appetite is that current legislation isn’t meeting. I think we’ll 05

SM: What do you want to happen in the next five to 10 years? What’s going to cause the most change in that time?

LA: There’s a lot of ignorance around disability. I wasn’t familiar with the world of disability until I acquired one. The stuff we’re talking about was the farthest thing from my mind until it became my everyday. Had I not entered that world, I would probably still be using antiquated language. I wouldn’t know a lot about some of the topics we’re discussing. It’s a foundational piece that is causing the issues we face today, and in order to move forward, we need a societal shift in terms of awareness and an understanding of the different ways we can show up.

We’re all going to experience a form of disability or shift in the way that we move around at some point in our lives— becoming parents, or through the natural aging process. It’s in our best interest to understand.

TZ: We fear disability, right? I think we all can confess to saying ‘if something happens, I just hope I don’t end up with a disability.’ We can spend our lives as people, as designers, fearing that, or (this is my hope and perhaps a prediction), we can try to build a future where we don’t have to fear, and disability is not the worst thing that can happen to you. I hope, in the coming years, people will understand you are not guaranteed health, you cannot avoid being different, or having a friend or family member who is “different” in some way.

We can all contribute to a world that thinks differently. I remain positive that we’re just seeing the beginning of a shift towards that, and then we’ll see more progress, starting with legislation, but it will take more of a grassroots movement involving everyone.

RM: When we were making this shift from an emphasis on cars and parking to pedestrians within streetscape design, some suggested it was a war on the car. But we were responding to a need. We ran the numbers, and there were more pedestrians

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New, active accessibility icon.

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StopGap Foundation

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Brightly coloured StopGap ramps.

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StopGap Foundation

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Inaccessible design at St. Clair subway station.

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Cara Chellew, courtesy of DefensiveTO A Hydro pole creating an inaccessible “pinch point” in the pedestrian clearway.

City of Toronto Careless placement of garbage and recycling bins creating a preventable barrier.

City of Toronto

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see a lot of change from people recognizing that they do have impact, and they can take responsibility for accessibility, within their scope of expertise and interest. Everyone chipping away at it from various angles, contributing how they can, and including people—while understanding there’s always someone else to include. The codes and standards that we work with right now are heavily based around small wheelchair users. There’s very little about sight, a little bit about people who are deaf and hard of hearing. But there’s whole areas of design around neuro-diversity, scent allergies, or the like that aren’t touched on at all. We always have to be aware that the job is never done. That’s the challenge. There’s always going to be unmet needs.

SM: Is there anything else still being overlooked? As an example, I’m someone who often requires the use of a bench, and there’s a lot of defensive designs still being put in place, largely to deter homeless people—benches that are difficult, high, or uncomfortable, so you don’t sit in them long. Do you still see commonplace things like that in landscape architecture that need to be changed? Conversely, are there things you’ve seen recently or worked on that give you hope?

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JH: I have a whole camera roll full of bad accessibility photos. In terms of good examples, the best for me is when you work with somebody on an accessibility project, taught them or consulted them, and you find out they’ve implemented those ideas later on in a different scenario.

That’s the best thing you could hope for.

only, as opposed to taking on an entire block reconstruction. Another sidewalk challenge is, if Toronto Hydro is upgrading their utility poles, they’re often using larger-scale poles and wider posts, and the setback length from the curb has increased. So suddenly a sidewalk that was accessible now has a new hydro pole sitting right in the middle of it.

LA: We’re seeing that with our community ramp projects. We’re essentially creating ambassadors and empowering people with the tools they need to share knowledge.

The work we’ve been doing here in Toronto is slowly being adopted in other cities across Canada and beyond. This movement is having a ripple effect. But it takes years of the grassroots-type approach. It’s a disruptive measure: shaking up the status quo and creating an awakening.

JH: You also mentioned taking advantage of other projects where there’s opportunity for overlapping initiatives. Disability and aging aren’t the same thing, but there’s overlap. An aging population will really drive forward accessibility. My parents’ generation is used to being a big consumer driving force and they still expect to do things. So that will provide incentive in terms of providing access to services and nice spaces. We can take advantage of those opportunities when needs overlap.

RM: In Toronto, one of our challenges is streets that don’t have a sidewalk that need one. There just aren’t available resources to implement all the missing sidewalks and accessible environments we need. We go where we can, but often it’s just where there’s a development frontage or scheduled road reconstruction. In some cases, we’re forced to implement sections of sidewalks we secured through a local development,

TZ: What we’ve seen, unfortunately, are spaces for play where accessibility requirements were met, but the play experiences were segregated, with the equipment for children with disabilities off to one side. It’s been wonderful to see that change. People are more comfortable with the idea of integrating peers of all abilities.

One thing I wish people did a bit more is follow-up research—post-occupancy evaluation, gauging user experience, and talking to people. Are the places functioning the way you’ve designed them to? I’m hopeful that will become more common.

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THANKS TO ANDREW TAYLOR AND SARAH TURKENICZ FOR HELP COORDINATING THIS ROUNDTABLE.

Walking in Brampton

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well as numerous north-south regional and local roads. It has a robust transit system that is linked, citywide and regionally, by buses and trains. However, Brampton’s planning policies of segregated land uses has fostered a car-centric suburb, contributing to a sedentary lifestyle.

TEXT BY KAARI KITAWI

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Early last fall, the Region of Peel had a Walk Friendly Neighbourhood Exhibition for six weeks, at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA), in downtown Brampton.

The free exhibition invited the residents to walk “while exploring the connection between community design and health.” The entire exhibition was outdoors, in the front yard-adjacent Main Street, and had coloured footsteps along the sidewalk that guided visitors through the exhibit, with various facts about walking, including health benefits, and the plans the Region was making to make neighbourhoods more walkable.

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Recent studies on the health of Peel residents are alarming. The number of residents with a chronic disease such as diabetes is 40 per cent higher than the Ontario average. Carcentric neighbourhoods have been identified as encouraging sedentary lifestyles, with studies showing that out of the 2.5 million trips made a day in Peel, only six per cent are by walking or biking. The Region of Peel is encouraging residents to incorporate active lifestyle choices, and is even going further to reverse past poor development trends, to ensure new neighbourhoods are designed to encourage walking and biking. Dr. Jessica Hopkins, medical officer of health for the Region of Peel, rightfully points out that “community design can be re-imagined to better support physical activity by making it safe, easy and fun to walk, bicycle and play outside.”

Interestingly, despite these land use policies, Brampton has an extensive pedestrian network consisting of sidewalks, multi-use trails, and recreational trails, that weaves through the city, connecting natural features, parks, schools, transit, recreation centres, neighbourhoods, and commercial centres.

So why are many residents choosing to drive and not walk? Jeff Speck, in his book Walkable City, asserts that for a city to be walkable, the walk must be simultaneously useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting.

The scenic recreation trails in Brampton are well-used, it is the sidewalks along major and minor arterial roads that are not used as much as they should. The pedestrian environment along the major arterial roads is harsh, the roads are eight lanes wide, with concrete medians, and tall street lights, and the edges have struggling street trees.

Allan B. Jacobs, in his seminal book Great Streets says “good streets… make a journey comfortable, safe, pleasing and even enlightening in terms of the experience they offer of the city.” One of few major roads in the city that exemplifies some of these characters is Williams Parkway, particularly between McLaughlin and Airport Road. It is a four-lane road, approximately 15 kilometres long, with intermittent landscaped medians, that runs east to west of Brampton. The

Brampton is part of the Region of Peel, and is Ontario’s third largest city, with a population of 600,000 people. It’s currently growing at 2.5 times the national average.

The city has a well-connected road network, with three major east-west regional roads running through it: Steeles Avenue, Queen Street (Highway 7), and Bovaird Drive, as 02

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Walking in Brampton

landform adjacent to the parkway varies from undulating to fairly flat, while the edges alternate from mature trees, dense shrubbery, low transparent chainlink fences, no fences, and opaque wood fences. Directly abutting the parkway are eight schools, 10 parks, and several natural heritage features, including an ecological park and Etobicoke Creek, and numerous houses. Williams Parkway’s dynamic character serves as a type of “wayfinding,” providing natural landmarks to residents as they move through it.

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Unfortunately, the character of Williams Parkway changed drastically over the last year, when the City began installation of a noise attenuation fence between McLaughlin Road and North Park. The fence was part of the City’s Transportation Master Plan to widen Williams Parkway to six lanes.

The estimated budget for the fence was $10.8 million. The construction began in 06

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PAMA Get Walking exhibit.

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Kaari Kitawi

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North Park in Brampton after construction, and before.

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Kaari Kitawi and Google Streetview

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November 2018, and was scheduled to be completed by October 2019. The construction works obliterated the unique street character of Williams Parkway, as numerous mature trees, large shrubs, and private fences were erased and replaced with an unsightly, monotonous, blue and grey concrete noise attenuation fence. The transparent privacy fences, which provided “eyes on the street” and a sense of place, are no more. The new, monolithic fence provides no visual cues on location, is disorienting, and an eyesore.

It was only after numerous complaints from the residents that council passed a motion on October 23, 2019 to stop construction works, saying the works contradicted

Brampton’s Vision 2040 and the Active Transportation Master Plan. Regrettably, the decision came too late, as the damage had been done, and the street character had been completely altered.

There is some hope on the horizon as the City is undergoing a major paradigm shift, and is tapping into the best urban planners and thinkers in the North America to help transform Brampton into an “urban suburb.” In 2017, the City commissioned Larry Beasley, the internationally renowned urban planner and former chief planner for Vancouver, and the urban design firm CIVITAS Studio, to develop Brampton Vision 2040 to guide the city’s growth for the next two decades. Brampton Vision 2040 was endorsed by council in May 2018, and in April 2019 the City hired a new urban design manager, Yvonne Yeung, OALA, to spearhead the transformation. Yvonne has marshalled a team of talented staff and engaged Ken Greenberg, renowned urban designer and the former director of architecture and urban design for the City of Toronto, as the urban design strategic advisor to advance Brampton Vision 2040.

As part of the Active Mobility Charter, Brampton Vision 2040 promises to revamp most streets to be complete streets, increase street trees and integrate “other landscape interventions, ecological feature and local touches.” This is guaranteed to transform Brampton streets to be safe, sustainable, comfortable, and walkable.

No doubt, there may be some missteps as the City’s departments synchronize their vision and working relationship. However, it is the hope of residents that the City will take bold steps to reverse any “damage” caused by previous practices and poor internal coordination, as it endeavours to be more walkable.

BIO/

KAARI KITAWI, OALA, HAS A BACKGROUND IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND IS AN URBAN DESIGNER FOR THE CITY OF TORONTO, AND A BRAMPTON RESIDENT.

Gender Diversity in a Changing Climate

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TEXT BY ALI GREEY AND PHAEDRA MAICANTIS

It is no surprise to the profession of landscape architecture that design decisions are not neutral, but impact who can access public space, and who is excluded. How can the design of public facilities such as parks, public pools, beaches changing rooms, etc., reflect the responsibility to create safe, inclusive, and accessible public spaces for people of all genders?

The design and access of public spaces, such as parks and their facilities, including public bathrooms and locker rooms, has a direct impact on transgender and gender non-binary (trans) people and their participation in the public realm. From the way open public space and parks are delineated, to the existence and quality of their facilities, design attributes can often inadvertently contribute to gendering practices that exclude, rather than include.

For trans people, spaces like binarygendered (men’s/women’s) locker rooms and restrooms are frequently spaces of harassment, social alienation, and physical violence. It’s no wonder, then, that many trans people report avoiding these facilities whenever possible. The imperative to

avoid these spaces, however, has a negative impact on trans people’s ability to participate in the public sphere. Access to public restrooms, for instance, is necessary for sustained participation in public space.

There are biological imperatives no one can avoid. Not surprisingly, empirical evidence suggests that disproportionate numbers of trans people report trying to “hold it” because of the physical violence and social alienation they experience in public restrooms. These attempts to avoid using binary-gendered facilities not only give rise to chronic adverse health impacts, but also reduced involvement in the public sphere.

As far as public locker rooms go, being nude in the company of strangers is an experience that many of us would rather avoid. But for trans people, these spaces, often necessary for physical activity, marked “men’s” and “women’s,” can often be a barrier.

Binary-gendered facilities implicitly perpetuate widespread assumptions about sex and gender, as a category with only two discrete options. Scientific evidence, like the work of biology professor Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, suggests not

only that gender is a socially fluid category, but also that biological sex exists on a continuum consisting of myriad sexes, not only two. Binary-gendered facilities, which require users to sort themselves into one of two gendered categories, quietly reinforce ideas that binary gender is natural and the only way to be normal.

What stands before landscape architects, those responsible for designing our public spaces, is an architectural puzzle. Abolishing binary gender spaces might advance inclusivity for some, but it could also operate to exclude others. Ali’s research suggests that trans people might not necessarily find universal facilities more accessible spaces than binary-gendered facilities, they may simply face different types of barriers.

Offering a third space, however, as an alternative to men’s and women’s facilities, can help make public space and physical activity more accessible to trans people.

Landscape architecture can play an influential and relevant role in shaping and designing spaces to create greater inclusion with the intent of examining and challenging binary design assumptions

Gender Diversity in a Changing Climate

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about how spaces are perceived and navigated according to gender. The presence of trans people in the planning process would certainly increase accessibility and safety if their needs, values, and preferences are considered in the design, development, and implementation. However, trans people need not be present to make these design decisions. Landscape architects of all genders can choose to anticipate the presence of trans people in the spaces they design, making design decisions that welcome all people, irrespective of gender, to participate.

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Inclusive signage.

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Dr. Claire Carter

BIOS/ ALI GREEY IS A TRANS DOCTORAL STUDENT

IN SOCIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO.

THEIR PUBLISHED WORK HAS APPEARED IN

PEER-REVIEWED ACADEMIC JOURNALS SUCH

AS LEISURE STUDIES, AND THEIR WORK HAS

BEEN INCLUDED IN EDITED VOLUMES SUCH AS

THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF ATHLETE

WELFARE. ALI IS ALSO A RETIRED CANADIAN

NATIONAL TEAM BOXER.

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PHAEDRA MAICANTIS HAS A MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH, WITH RESEARCH THAT FOCUSED ON GENDER, ACCESS AND PUBLIC SPACES.

plazaPOPS

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Accessing the urban suburban TEXT BY BRENDAN STEWART, OALA, DANIEL ROTSZTAIN, AND KAREN LANDMAN

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term strategy, enhancing the public realm today with the goal of informing the longerterm evolution of the neighbourhood, as densification continues.

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plazaPOPS is a design research initiative that started as an MLA thesis project, and developed into a grant-funded pilot called WexPOPS, installed for six weeks during the summer of 2019. Situated in the parking lots of vibrant commercial strip-malls in Toronto’s inner suburbs, the big idea is to develop a new type of community gathering space that creates multiple benefits for the local community, and the business and propertyowners who host the installation. plazaPOPS explores concepts of access by inviting more complex uses into typically less-accessible, privately-owned space, and within the installation itself, setting the stage for greater access to ourselves and to each other.

A new type of POPS Most POPS (privately-owned public spaces) are permanent, built by developers on private property and negotiated as a public benefit through the planning approvals process—think of a publicly accessible parkette at a street corner on the site of a new condominium building. plazaPOPS are also on private property, but they are community initiated and temporary, popping up during the warmer months.

They are imagined as a short- to medium-

plazaPOPS invites the public to spend time in a parking lot the way they might in a traditional public space: to linger and people watch, to smell the flowers and admire a butterfly, to meet a friend for a coffee or take in a programmed event, or to rest comfortably for a few minutes, while waiting for the bus. Uniquely, all of this takes place under the dynamic lights of strip-mall signage, surrounded by parked cars, in a neighbourhood filled with a truly international assortment of restaurants and shops. There is no cost to enter and everyone is welcome.

For the concept to work, people need to perceive the space as welcoming and open to them. A major lesson learned from our 2019 pilot was that some initially assumed that the space was a place of commerce, perhaps a new patio space for an adjacent restaurant, or—and we took this as a compliment—a nursery business selling plants! Curiosity and time cleared this up for most people who regularly travelled by the space, but future iterations should include

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larger and simpler signage, scaled to be legible from fast moving cars and busses, and clarifying the free and welcoming nature of the space. We learned that, to compete for attention in the land of big and vibrant signs, it’s best to do as the locals do.

Equally important, the landowner and business community needs to see the project as a sound business strategy, and worth the loss of valuable parking— ten stalls, in the case of WexPOPS. Our partners at the Wexford Heights Business Improvement Area saw potential in the project as a new type of BIA strategy, tailored to the conditions of sprawling suburban main streets—something beyond conventional hanging basket programs, and different from complex and expensive street festivals, and recognizing that most of the public realm in these parts is privately owned. They saw a creative model that would give back to the community, while creating business opportunities.The many local restaurants, for instance, might benefit from new customers visiting the strip, drawn in by WexPOPS. Currently, not all strip-mall parking lots have parking spaces to spare; in these instances,

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plazaPOPS

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this broader sense, one can rightly critique some high-density development as anti or weakly urban, and looking elsewhere, can observe a robust urbanity in the suburbs. plazaPOPS is inspired by the rich vitality of community life that exists inside the walls of the inner suburban strip-mall, and motivated to allow this existing urbanity a chance to spread beyond the buildings and business hours. To give the various communities in the neighbourhood a chance to meet and get to know each other under the sky. In this way, plazaPOPS tries to enhance the ‘urban’ already in the suburban. land and business owners understandably see plazaPOPS as a non-starter. Our analysis suggests, though, that many lots have under-utilized and leftover space that can be reclaimed and occupied, or, as in the case of our pilot site, an over-supply of stalls.

Ultimately, we entered into a land access and licence agreement with the landowner and secured all of the necessary permissions and insurances to cover liabilities, but the important part was the process of building reciprocal, trustbased relationships, developed through an 18-month, community-driven planning and design process. Community projects require an immense amount of time, and even more, it turns out, especially when you have to negotiate expanded access to private property. WexPOPS relied on the local networks and capacity of the BIA. Partnerships with local organizations will be essential to facilitate the design process and manage the site in future iterations.

Finding an open-minded and communityoriented landowner for our pilot was pivotal, as was partnering with an imaginative BIA with capacity. Local politicians, City of Toronto staff in the BIA office, and

Transportation Services championed and supported the project in many ways, legitimizing our efforts and making it easier for project partners to say ‘yes.’

A place for the community to meet itself In the 1960s, the French Marxist philosopher and urban theorist Henri Lefebvre began writing about ‘le droit à la ville’ or ‘the right to the city’—an idea formed in response to his perceptions of the environmental and social destructiveness of capitalist urbanization processes.

Lefebvre was concerned that the prioritization of landowner rights (its ‘exchange value’) over the role that land plays in meeting the needs of inhabitants (its ‘use value’) would lead to the erosion of ‘the urban.’ Arguing the contemporary relevance of these ideas, democracy scholar Mark Purcell defines Levebvre’s vision of ‘the urban’ as spaces that connect inhabitants in a meaningful way, and engage them in “the meaning and future of the city.”

Pared down, the idea of ‘the right to the city’ might be described as a right for individuals and communities to access the psychological, social, and economic benefits associated with ‘the urban’: to develop and benefit from what contemporary sociologists would call ‘social capital,’ and the right to be engaged in the making and evolution of their environment.

There is little doubt that higher population densities create more potential for the urban condition to emerge, but, defined in

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WexPOPS was hosted by the Kiriakou family, owners of the Wexford Restaurant and was funded by Ken and Eti Greenberg and the Balsam Foundation through Park People’s Public Space Incubator grant, as well as the City of Toronto’s BIA Kickstarter Fund and support from the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. The team is writing up the findings of the data collected during our 2019 pilot, and focussing on a policy analysis and regional mapping project to identify candidate sites for future plazaPOPS. You can reach the team at plazapops@gmail.com.

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Inspired by the surroundings, LED strip lighting was used to create evening ambiance.

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plazaPOPS team

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The owners of the Wexford Restaurant, the landowners and hosts of WexPOPS, using the space to catch up with one of their regulars.

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Kat Rizza

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Highlights from a summer of programming at WexPOPS.

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Kat Rizza

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Temporary speed bumps were used to protect power cords and irrigation and to signal pedestrian access points to the space.

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Triple Point Media

BIOS/ BRENDAN STEWART, OALA, IS AN ASSISTANT

PROFESSOR IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH’S SCHOOL OF

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN & RURAL DEVELOPMENT.

HIS RESEARCH AND CREATIVE PRACTICE FOCUSES

ON THE ROLE OF DESIGN IN THE EVOLUTION OF

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES.

DANIEL ROTSZTAIN IS THE URBAN GEOGRAPHER, AN ARTIST, WRITER, AND CARTOGRAPHER WHOSE WORK EXAMINES OUR RELATIONSHIPS TO THE PLACES WE INHABIT. THROUGH WALKING TOURS, RESIDENCIES, AND LANDSCAPE INTERVENTIONS, DANIEL’S PROJECTS SEEK TO UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT THE DIVERSE SETTINGS OF THE CITY’S SOCIAL LIFE.

KAREN LANDMAN IS A PROFESSOR IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH’S SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN & RURAL DEVELOPMENT.

Letter From... New York City

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TEXT BY QUINN HOWARD

Studying landscape architecture is a bit like developing a new set of eyes. Over time, you can read the language of the built environment, the stories of place and powers that shaped them. As my fluency in landscape improves, I like to engage these new ‘eyes’ in critical theory, to reveal different narratives.

Last fall, I had the opportunity to explore the story-rich landscape of New York City. Eight Guelph University students toured a series of sites, to analyze the urban fabric of the city on a specific theme. As I review my sketch book, a few experiences stick out which engage the ‘why’ of our built landscapes.

Letter From... New York City

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The Vessel: A Rose Coloured Reflection of the 1% Neighbourhood: Hudson Yards Lens: Capitalism, Park Equity, Gentrification Rising 16 flights above the Hudson Yards neighbourhood, the interlocking stair structure temporarily known as ‘The Vessel’ was built as part of a public-private partnership (P3). The public naming campaign provides a stark description of the structure, with submissions such as Ableism: The Building, Meat Tornado, and Chalice of the Privileged, pulling no punches about citizen sentiment towards New York’s newest ‘public space.’

In the reflection of The Vessel, a beacon of gentrification, I am barely visible myself.

As a white, middle class, university attendee, I cannot begin to image how the economically disadvantaged or minorities appear in this mirror, if they even appear at all. As we endure the financial squeeze of rising costs and failing infrastructure, a precautionary principle should guide public and private ventures, ensuring all sides bring their best intentions to the table. In the discipline of landscape architecture, we spend a lot of time talking up ‘good public space’ and designing ‘cities for all.’ As contractors negotiating private interests in public space, living up to those ideals may prove a challenge.

If we, as a profession, are committed to building a future for the 99 per cent, it may mean questioning who things are being made for and why.

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Vessel, NYC, 2019

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Evan Wrigley

Letter From... New York City

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Pier 35: Your Grandmother’s Porch and a Communal Back Yard Neighbourhood: Lower East Side/China Town Lens: Urbanization, Waterfront Revitalization, Greenwashing Designed by SHoP Architects and Ken Smith Studio, Pier 35 is a much awaited addition to the East River Waterfront Esplanade. The park was packed with residents from the Lower East Side. The communal backyard/front porch charm is hard to ignore, especially as you walk through the dense, tall towers in adjacent neighbourhoods, with nary a tree in sight. As the pressures of urbanization and densification compound, this will likely be the reality for many of us: smaller and smaller private spaces, in dense urban centres, with previously private activities (backyard vegetable plot, outdoor eating space) happening in communal or unexpected places. The incorporation of mussel habitat contributes to the pier’s ecological narrative, and is an important nod to past life of the Hudson River. Unfortunately, due to strong tidal shifts, or tricky reproduction cycles,

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establishing a successful mussel community has proved difficult. These nods to the ecological life of the Hudson River are one strategy for reconnecting New Yorkers to the watershed in which they reside. In the context of Pier 35, the design might have been better served with fish habitat. Unlike many New Yorkers, the predominately Chinese community has not forgotten the life the river holds. During my short time there, Striped Bass and American Shad were pulled up to everyone’s delight, before being unceremoniously gutted on the newly installed hardwood decking, christening Pier 35 as once again working.

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Peir 35, NYC

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Evan Wrigley

Letter From... New York City

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R.Clemente Park, NYC, 2019

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Evan Wrigley

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R.Clemente Plaza, NYC, 2019

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Evan Wrigley

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R.Clemente BBQ Grove, NYC, 2019

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Evan Wrigley

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Roberto Clemente State Park: Embedded Value Neighbourhood: Morris Heights, The Bronx Eyes: Racial and Social Inequality, Resilient Design, Ecological Design I did not belong here. I was welcome, but this was not a place for me. Rock your hipster self on a long walk out to the Bronx and you’ll draw some side-eye. New York is home to some of the starkest income inequality in the United States, and the tide of gentrification from Manhattan to the outer boroughs has proved nearly impossible to hold back. In a public statement about investments into Roberto Clemente, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the connection between the park and gentrifiers clear: “this is not just a park, it’s a symbol of the new Bronx. For many years progress happened but the Bronx was left behind. Not anymore.” Whether a signal to a higher tax base, or genuine investment in the Bronx, Roberto Clemente State Park is a symbol, not only of a new Bronx, but of a post-Hurricane

Sandy New York. That storm’s flooding along the East River completely inundated Roberto Clemente State Park, and was ultimately the catalyst for its revitalization.

While the trauma of Superstorm Sandy has largely been scrubbed from view, it lives on in the recently approved changes to the New York City building code. In flood-prone neighbourhoods, buildings in the flood plain will be required to raise their lowest habitable floor from 0.9 metres above grade to 1.5 – 2.7 metres, irrevocably changing the pedestrian experience of these streets.

In the Saturday sunset, the community barbecue grove was alive, with original Platanus × acerfolia trees casting a shady canopy over the residents of Morris Heights. Looking out toward the water, the plaza blends seamlessly into the East River. The interactive intertidal pools are the visible component of a larger storm and tidal water attenuation system within the park. Beneath the plaza, two systems are at work: the first attenuating storm water captured on the upper and lower plaza before it enters the Hudson, the second slowing and filtering water before it re-enters the river. The soft scape along the river acts as a storm break, softening impacts and absorbing water as it moves

on the lower plaza. These interventions by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects are, to me, the height of great design—original features, blended with green infrastructure additions, interdependent socio-ecological value, and programming that goes beyond the physical to build social capital.

Understanding the ‘why’ of built landscape is a learned skill—a muscle that must be flexed in order to grow. Design is as much influenced by the design thinking of the day as the social and political forces in which it is embedded. When these forces are not apparent, we curious students, teachers, and travellers can take it upon ourselves to dig up the context. New York has sharpened my eyesight, examining key parks not just for their beauty, but by taking a critical eye to the structures just below the surface.

BIO/

QUINN HOWARD IS A UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE. SHE HAS SPENT THE LAST YEAR INVESTIGATING THE INTERSECTION OF ECOLOGICAL GRIEF AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. MOVING FORWARD, SHE HOPES TO ENGAGE HER NEWLY MINTED EYES IN SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS, ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE, ADVENTUROUS DESIGN.

Notes

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Notes: A Miscellany of News and Events letter to the editor

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Once again Ground Quarterly has published an excellent and informative publication, looking forward and embracing the newest and most important work in Landscape Architecture. Ground 48 is a valuable contribution to the profession and to the world at large.

I was very pleased to read the article “Growing Grit”. Throughout most of my life, I have advocated the use of sands & gravels in many plantings. My interest in this began as a young child in northern England, continued through my college years in Scotland and the summers as an Interpretive Naturalist at Point Pelee National Park. I promoted this unusual gardening method throughout my career as a design/build Landscape Architect, and will continue to do so.

Sand and gravel based gardens offer excellent opportunities to respond in a meaningful way to the climate disaster and mass species loss that we presently face.

They need very little water and provide perfect habitat for threatened flora and fauna. This method is also the basis of green roofs and crevice gardens. I have built a number of these gardens over the years, but my favourites are the Vertical Crevice Garden at Toronto’s Gardiner Ceramic Museum and the the sunken boulder and gravel garden at Hedgerow Farm. Images of these and other “grit gardens” are on our website hedgerow.ca TEXT BY NEIL TURNBULL, OALA, CSLA

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rail path forward The beginning of the year saw a massive public consultation event about the City of Toronto’s plans to expand the West Toronto Railpath from Dundas Street West at Sterling Road, to Abell Street at Sudbury, adjacent to the Kitchener GO Rail Corridor.

According to the City, 263 people filled the Museum of Contemporary Art, Feb. 26, to view the a presentation about the planned expansion, and public feedback was open to March 12.

Currently, the Railpath is a mix-used trail, and beloved by those walking or cycling through Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood.

To extend the path, and connect the north and south of the City, will mean a huge leap in active transportation options, as well as provide added linear park space.

Construction is meant to begin next year.

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Rail Path today and tomorrow.

Courtesy of the City of Toronto

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new members The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new members to the Association: Kamila Grigo * Cameron Maybee * Julia Taucer *

Asterisk (*) denotes Full Members without the use of professional seal.

Defaulted and Resigned Full Members for 2019 Four former members defaulted in 2019: 05

Linda Constable

William Patek

Jacov Yaki Miodovnik

Jonathon Reeves

Fifteen Full Members resigned in 2019: Walter Bone

Erin McCown Foster

Arthur Bourdeau

Julie Mulligan

William Coxhead

Erik Mustonen

Britta Hild

Justin Neufeld

Gregory Hill

James Sampa

Raphael Justewicz

Leila Todd

awards

Shannon Lee

Uwe Wittkugel

The eighth annual Grow Op exhibition of environmental, landscape design, and contemporary art was hosted last March at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. Each year, the OALA presents the Ground Award to one of the participants. This year’s winner was artist and interior designer Carolina DelgadoDuruflé’s Unfamiliar Weather. The piece asks “whether facing unfamiliar weather in a time of climate emergency can bring us to empathize more with one another.”

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Streetscape solidarity.

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The winning entry.

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corona virus The global COVID-19 pandemic is on everyone’s minds, as various levels of government do their best to advise people about how to protect themselves, and minimize the spread of the disease.

It’s a constantly developing issue. OALA staff is taking precautions: working from home, and moving meetings to a virtual platform.

Nevertheless, the Association is still operating and available to support members. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

For all updates on the OALA’s response to COVID-19, please see: www.oala.ca/news/ oala-covid-19-updates/

agm/conference Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, the 2020 OALA Annual General Meeting & Conference in London, Ontario has been cancelled. Full refunds have been provided to anyone who submitted payment.

Stay tuned to OALA updates for opportunities to participate in online education sessions. Council is currently looking options for a virtual AGM.

Yihong Liao

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IMAGE/

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Shawn Micallef

Gabby Frank The artist with board member Phaedra Miacantis.

Courtesy of Carolina Delgado-Duruflé

Notes

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Artifact

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TEXT BY SHANNON BAKER, OALA

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artist and performer from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, who produced an accompanying document entitled the “Toronto Indigenous Context Brief.”

03

The ever-changing Lake Ontario waterfront was again transformed last fall, from Etobicoke Creek, to Ashbridges Bay. The Toronto Biennial of Art unfolded along the shoreline, representing 72 days of art that ranged from installations to performances, and talks that engaged with place in both its past and present forms. The Biennial’s curatorial framework, developed by Deputy Director & Director of Programming Ilana Shamoon, sought to tell some of the lesser known stories about the shoreline of this Great Lake—a place that has been inhabited by many different Nations for years. Shamoon worked with Ange Loft, a multi-disciplinary

In many of its pieces, the Biennial asks us what it means to be in relation. Many of the pieces, from A.A. Bronson’s multi-year project, “A Public Apology to Siksika Nation,” which deals with European genocide, to Luis Jacob’s “The View from Here,” an installation that explored varied representations of the complex and layered place that is now known as Toronto. As Ange Loft says, “being in relation takes time, energy, and investment to learn what is in between—what holds us up and what keeps us together. Those in-between things are not only roads and buildings, but the foundational understandings that have allowed Toronto to be here.” It is a question we need to keep asking ourselves again and again, in whatever territory we find ourselves in.

BIO/ SHANNON BAKER, OALA, IS A LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECT AT WATERFRONT TORONTO AND A

MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD.

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Luis Jacob, The View from Here (Library), 2019 Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy the Toronto Biennial of Art AA Bronson, A Public Apology to Siksika Nation; and Adrian Stimson, Iini Sookumapii: Guess who’s coming to dinner?

Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy the Toronto Biennial of Art Jumblies Theatre & Arts with Ange Loft, Talking Treaties, 2019 Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy the Toronto Biennial of Art

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