Ground 62 – Summer 2023 – Democracy

Editor Glyn Bowerman

Photo Editor Jasper Flores

OALA Editorial Board

Saira Abdulrehman

Greg Baskin

Chris Canning

Tracy Cook

Everett DeJong

Ryan De Jong

Mark Hillmer

Helene Iardas

Brad Keeler

Matthew Lundstrom

Sarah MacLean

Sarah Manteuffel

Shahrzad Nezefati

Nadja Pausch

Carol Pietka

Dalia Todary-Michael

Natasha Varga

Jennifer Wan

Web Editor

Jennifer Foden

Social Media Manager

Jennifer Foden

Art Direction/Design Noël Nanton/typotherapy www.typotherapy.com

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416.231.4181

Cover Kennsington Market community mural project. Courtesy of Shahryar Nowzari. See page 03.

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

2023-2024 OALA

Governing Council

President

Stefan Fediuk

Vice President

Aaron Hirota

Treasurer

Cameron Smith

Secretary

Justin Whalen

Past President

Steve Barnhart

Councillors

Matthew Campbell

Matt Perotto

Shawn Watters

Associate Councillor—Senior

Layal Bitar

Associate Councillor—Junior

Sujana Devabhaktuni

Lay Councillor

Karen Liu

Appointed Educator

University of Guelph

Nadia Amoroso

Appointed Educator

University of Toronto

Elise Shelley

University of Guelph

Student Representative

Allison Neuhauser

University of Toronto

Student Representative

Emiley Switzer-Martell

OALA Staff

Executive Director

Aina Budrevics

Registrar

Ingrid Little

Coordinator

Sherry Bagnato

Membership Services Administrator

Angie Anselmo

About

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published by 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 OALA and its Governing Council.

Upcoming Issues of Ground Ground 63 (Fall)

Messy

Ground 64 (Winter)

Seen/Unseen

Deadline for editorial proposals

Now seeking submissions at magazine@oala.ca

Deadline for advertising space reservations: October 16, 2023

Erratum

In Ground 61, the cover photo was incorrectly attributed. It was taken by Jennifer Wan. As well, on page 22 of that issue, photos attributed to “Jennifer Qian” should be attributed to Jennifer Wan. We regret the error.

About OALA

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. 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, OALA undertakes activities including promotion to governments, professionals and developers of the standards and benefits of landscape architecture.

Needs You

Ground relies on OALA members, people from related professions, and those simply passionate about landscapes.

If you would like to contribute in any form, whether it’s writing, photography, or participating as a member of our Editorial Board, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at magazine@oala.ca

Ground Magazine represents the work of many passionate volunteers. If that sounds like you, come join the team!

You do not need to be an OALA member or landscape architect to contribute to either the Editorial Board or the magazine, and anyone who expresses interest will be seriously considered.

MODERATED BY GLYN BOWERMAN

President’s Message

It is with great pride I write my first President’s message for Ground Magazine with the theme of “Democracy”. The process to become the new OALA President is demonstrative of that theme. First, I want to give thanks to Past Presidents Steve Barnhart and Jane Welsh, who together paved the way for a great term for my presidency.

Editor’s Message

In this issue, we bring you a round table and two features on the theme of “Democracy.”

TEXT BY MATT LUNDSTROM

But a president is only as strong as the people they work with. The OALA has elected a terrific Council, and I look forward to working with them, as well as OALA staff, and you, fellow members. We want to build on the work achieved over past years, including raising the profile of the profession and bringing the Practice Act to fruition.

TEXT BY MARK HILLMER, OALA

The Practice Legislation Committee (PLC) have made strides over the last few months towards an OALA Practice Act. Headed by Glenn O’Connor, and our Government Relations consulting group of Brown & Cohen, the team are demonstrating how democracy functions, with regular meetings with your Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP). Democracy only functions if all members work together. And so, I ask that our members continue to reach out to MPPs and work with the PLC and OALA staff, to help get across that Practice Legislation is important for everyone from a health and safety, accessibility, and environmental sustainability perspective.

For the round table, we wrestle with the question of whether an open space or park can be inherently democratic by design. Naturally, consultation in design is essential to the democracy of a place: who’s at the table, how are the consultations structured, what is the format, and at what stage are various stakeholder brought into the project. But are there design elements that either promote or prevent the expression of democracy, in its many forms? I had the pleasure of moderating the conversation, and I think our guests yielded some fascinating responses.

In “Are Public Spaces Ever Truly Public? A Queer Perspective,” Ground editorial board member Mark Hillmer explains how the LGBTQ+ community, as well as other marginalized people, experience things like parks through a different lens than, say, a straight, white person might, and provides some positive examples of “truly public” spaces across the globe. And Ground editorial board member Matt Lundstrom shows us how a “Friends Of...” organization in a downtown Toronto park can help steward a place for every park user, including the unhoused who are living there.

TEXT BY GLYN BOWERMAN

In my career, I have always felt a sense of community in landscape architecture. It is what drew me away from building architecture: the way landscape architects collaborated with each other, and the acceptance public consultation is a requisite to good design. It’s that open level of consultation between public and private practice that makes landscape architecture extremely democratic. In my 30 years in the profession, I have found this to be the case. I have noticed this throughout the province with colleagues I collaborate with, and the OALA council. It is truly what gives me pride to be a member of the OALA and to serve as your new President.

As I look forward to meeting association members over my tenure as President, I want to hear about your needs, and desires. But I need your help. If we work together and embrace a spirit of democratic pursuits to share our ideas with the public and policy makers, we can achieve our goals and provide solutions to the challenges facing Ontarians. Over the days and months ahead, I look forward to connecting with our members, stakeholders, and likeminded professionals, to representatively forge a positive direction for the OALA.

STEFAN FEDIUK OALA PRESIDENT PRESIDENT@OALA.CA

Finally, we always reserve space in our summer issue to celebrate OALA members and projects who have earned CSLA and OALA awards for their contributions to the profession. I know you’ll find plenty of inspiration in those pages.

Please enjoy! And, if you want to participate in the creation of your OALA magazine, always feel free to reach me at the address below.

GLYN BOWERMAN EDITOR MAGAZINE@OALA.CA

engagement pop-up event Kensington Market.

Shahryar Nowzari members were asked to favourite design option why.

Shahryar Nowzari was facilitated by engagement experts from DIALOG languages.

Shahryar Nowzari

Up

Front:

Information on the Ground

COMMUNITY kensington mural

As rapid urbanization continues to pose a significant threat to the well-being of people, Creative Placemaking has emerged as an evolving field of practice, driving a broader agenda for positive change, especially in blighted areas of cities. Leveraging lessons learned from a recently completed project called “Art Enlivens,” I have explored the impacts of low-cost, creative placemaking strategies in enhancing the public realm by bringing diverse people together and creating a strong sense of community

04/ The mural during installation.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Shahryar Nowzari

05/ Artists painting the west side of the property.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of FOTOGRAFIA INC.

06/ Artists were painting the wall following the design chosen by the community.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of FOTOGRAFIA INC.

07/ The owner of African Drums Store painting the wall together with the community members.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Ben Dickey

08/ Community members painting the south side of the property with supervision from the artist.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Ben Dickey

in the bustling neighbourhood of Kensington Market in Toronto.

Creative placemaking is a relatively new concept in the field of landscape architecture and urban design that seeks to integrate arts and cultural activities into the design and development of the public realm. At its core, creative placemaking focuses on creating spaces that are functional, authentic, and reflective of the community in which they exist. Therefore, in-depth and broad community engagement is an essential component of all creative placemaking projects, as it allows residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to have a voice in the design and development of their community.

Another important aspect of creative placemaking is providing opportunities for communities to engage with each other and their environment in new and meaningful ways. It helps strengthen a sense of community and belonging, leading to stronger social networks, increased civic engagement, and improved quality of life for residents.

Last year, in collaboration with Torontobased visual artist Yasaman Mehrsa, I led a project called “Art Enlivens”—primarily funded by an internal DIALOG scholarship called the Iris Prize, which I received in 2021. Driven by a lifelong love of art and a passion for improving urban life through placemaking, I sought a prominent yet

09/ Paints and other materials were provided by the City through StreetARToronto’s Support Mural Program.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Ben Dickey

10/ A Ride to Joy, community-engaged mural after completion.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Shahryar Nowzari

underappreciated site where a new placemaking project could make a noticeable public impact. The west wall of 620 Dundas Street West fit the bill perfectly. My main goal for the project was to inspire more urbanists to see the value of creative placemaking in bringing diverse people together, engaging them in meaningful conversations, amplifying their voices, and, in doing so, triggering social, political, environmental, and economic change in Toronto’s public realm.

Situated at the intersection of Dundas Street and Denison Avenue, the two-story wall, which was previously heavily vandalized, has been completely transformed into a vibrant and lively community showcase. For over a year, I worked closely with the artist, local property owners, and community members to create an artwork that meaningfully reflects and celebrates local culture and civic identity. After consulting with key stakeholders, I hosted a series of public consultations in nearby Bellevue Square Park, allowing neighbours and community members to voice their priorities and provide feedback on conceptual design schemes. The engagement of the

community, through in-person and online channels, fostered a sense of inclusivity among individuals and organizations associated with the neighbourhood. This resulted in their active participation and willingness to collaborate with me towards influencing the outcome of the mural.

The chosen design? Quintessential Kensington. Dubbed “A Joy to Ride,” a winged figure riding a bicycle sits at the heart of the mural, framed by the eclectic, colourful row houses and majestic trees that characterize the neighbourhood. Musical motifs also accent the eclectic mural, with the bicycle’s back wheel enlivened by a drum and gour—a nod to neighbouring business (and Kensington Market staple) the African Drums and Arts Crafts store. “The African drum and its rhythms that are vibrating reflect our identity,” says owner Saikou Saho.

True to the project’s spirit, the installation of the mural was itself a collaborative endeavour, with colleagues, friends, and community members joining me to reinvent the wall. The result is a mural that celebrates the neighbourhood and extolls the spirit of inclusivity, diversity, and artistic expression that makes Kensington Market a civic landmark.

The mural has been embraced by neighbours, starting with Maclean Frey, a Kensington Market resident whose front door forms part of the artwork. “I am obsessed with the splashes of colour onto my door,” says Frey. It’s a sentiment echoed by Noah Pillay, operations manager at neighbouring Kensington Automotive. “One of the coolest things about this mural is that it does a really

good job of painting a picture of what people in this neighbourhood are like,” says Pillay. And the placemaking gesture is a boon for business. “We love the fact that we are now known as the mechanic shop with the mural. It’s out of the ordinary for us,” adds Pillay’s colleague Yifan Feng. “Everyone I know in the neighbourhood is thrilled with the result,” says Su Alexanian, chair of the Kensington Market Action Committee community group.

The main lesson that I learned from this project is landscape architects should be proactive in employing creative placemaking in our everyday work by thinking beyond traditional design elements and considering the social, cultural, and environmental impact of our designs. This can be achieved by:

a. Engaging the community in the design process: landscape architects can leverage the power of arts and culture in engaging community members in the design process through interactive workshops, pop-ups and other outreach efforts. This can help ensure the final design reflects the needs and desires of the community, while also building trust and ownership among stakeholders.

b. Incorporating art into the design of the public realm: landscape architects can work with artists and community members to incorporate public art installations, murals, and other cultural elements into their project designs.

These elements can help create a sense of place and identity within a community, while also promoting social interaction and cultural exchange.

c. Promoting art-driven community programs: landscape architects can promote arts-related community programs and events, such as festivals, farmers' markets, and other cultural activities, that encourage residents to engage with the public space and each other.

The Art Enlivens project provided me with a unique opportunity to practice creative placemaking during a critical time in our history. The pandemic and protests for racial justice enabled creative placemakers to draw attention to injustice, amplify diverse voices, and create new opportunities for socially-distanced community gatherings and engagement. The pandemic also increased our appreciation for the outdoors and emphasized the importance of investing in public spaces. To me, the project was more than just another mural in Toronto; it was a chance to establish lasting relationships and contribute to a stronger sense of community. The lessons and experiences from this project will stay with me for a lifetime.

TEXT/ KHATEREH BAHARIKHOOB IS A SENIOR URBAN AND LANDSCAPE DESIGNER WHO HAS WORKED ON NUMEROUS NEIGHBOURHOOD AND MASTER PLANS, PARKS, AND PUBLIC REALM PROJECTS WHICH INTEGRATE URBAN DESIGN, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, AND PLACEMAKING STRATEGIES.

How a park stewardship group makes space

Allan Gardens

TEXT BY MATT LUNDSTROM

The “Friends of” phenomenon is a community-led initiative to steward public or heritage sites with the help of organized volunteers. “Friends of” organizations include the High Line in New York City, or Toronto’s Leslie Street Spit wilderness habitat. Community members band together to ensure these landscapes serve community and ecological needs. They dedicate their time and effort to maintain and develop these sites, often through organizing events, fundraising activities, and community engagement programs. These volunteers play a vital role in evolving the public space for future generations.

To dig into this subject, I started by visiting my friend Matt Canaran, project manager and volunteer co-ordinator at The Friends of Allan Gardens. My friend and photographer Ryan de Jong accompanied me from Guelph to Toronto.

Allan Gardens is an urban park with a botanical conservatory that dates back to George William Allan’s donation of the land to the Toronto Horticultural Society in 1858. He acquired the land 30 years after the Toronto Purchase in 1790. Before then, and recognized now, the land was part of the “Dish With One Spoon” Territory, a shared landscape. Since its donation, the urban park has been a public square for the community to gather, and even protest. All we knew at the time was our peer, a fellow MLA from the University of Guelph, was involved in managing the programs at the conservatory. I half expected it to be like most botanical gardens: a collection of plant specimens from across the world on display.

First glance at Allan Gardens, we were both focused on the homeless encampments. Neither of us were used to seeing this reality up close. As we walked through, we observed each of the scattered tents, including a tipi, all under a canopy of beautifully matured trees. One tent had a tarp with Toronto’s skyline spray painted on it. Shifting attention, we turned to the other side of the path to see a more familiar lifestyle: an off-leash dog park full of dogs and owners enjoying the daylight. There was a lot of circulation on the paths as people were making their way home. The park was alive.

01/ Botanical Garden cared for by Toronto Municipality gardeners. IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

Matt Canaran greeted us at the Children’s Conservatory, both a greenhouse and home base for their programming operations. Matt’s role at the Friends of Allan Gardens is to engage the community by bringing people together and sharing a sense of place. By collaborating with volunteers, governments, and surrounding organizations, Matt and the team at Friends of Allan Gardens are strengthening the community one relationship at a time. Matt is building relationships with the local Indigenous communities, new immigrants, families, students, social workers, the homeless—or park residents—and any passerby. Matt’s ability to recognize the power of connection in this complex cultural landscape is inspiring.

We asked him about the encampments. While homelessness is a humanitarian crisis, Matt does what he can to include people living in the park in programs and beautification efforts. Matt does not refer to people living in the parks as “homeless,” he refers to them as “park residents,” a term that offers due respect. Matt says he is collaborating with community partners to provide opportunities for unhoused people living in and around the park, such as supporting low-barrier work and training opportunities to build artistic bike racks. Raylah Moonais, an Anishinaabe artist, has designed three beautiful bike-racks that Phil Sarazen, a park resident and experienced fabricator, plans to create with others interested in acquiring welding and related skills.

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

03/ Planting pots at the Conservatory.

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

04-05/ The greenhouse.

IMAGES/ Ryan de Jong

Matt says Friends of Allan Gardens horticulture and community programs also serve park residents. “When we run an event, the door is open. Whether it’s a gardening session, litter pick-up, or seasonal activity like pumpkin carving or holiday crafts, everybody in the park is welcome, including people living in the park.” Matt also worked with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Office of Social Innovation to put on a concert series called Sounds Like A Park in Allan Gardens. “We’re doing this for everybody that loves and cares for Allan Gardens,” says Matt.

Toronto Parks does a fantastic job maintaining the grounds, and the gardeners in the botanical garden have maintained a magnificent collection of cacti and succulents. Unfortunately, that’s as much as we were able to see while the 112-year-old Palm House building is under reconstruction.

02/ The Allan Gardens Conservatory greenhouse.

On our tour of the nursery, Matt took us all over the world, across many cultures, explaining why he sourced, grew, and cared for the collection of plants. In the nursery, you can find native, tropical, and cultural plants getting a protected start before their introduction to the big city. “Cultural plants?” I asked, and Matt’s response brought a smile to our faces. Cultural plants are those that evoke nostalgia or tradition for the globally diverse people that call Toronto home. Plants like papaya, Cuban oregano, dragon fruit, yuzu, and curry trees were all growing happily next to each other. It was a perfect metaphor for Toronto’s incredible diversity. It was also a sensory experience. We bruised leaves between our fingers and smelled their uniqueness, even tasting leaves I had never experienced. It was delightful. These plants are grown out to be sold to the community in fundraising attempts, and in hopes the plants can bring familiarity, or a sense of adventure.

A nursery is a place for life to start and develop. It is no wonder the community has valued the Allan Gardens and kept it in shape to this day. As the Friends continue to support their growing community, let's think about how our own communities can get together to do wonderful things.

Community led, community driven, and community supported. That is the power of the “Friends of” model. The Friends of Allan Gardens is growing, as they look to continue benefiting the community. Stay tuned for their events and consider hosting an event of your own at Allan Gardens. They offer a “pay what you can” event structure to make the site as accessible as possible to all interest groups. To stay up to date with Allan Gardens, you can follow them on Instagram (@foallangardens) and visit their website www.friendsofallangardens.ca to learn more, donate, and get involved.

06/ Starting seeds for the Friends of Allan Garden plant sale.

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

07/ Matt Canaran getting a close look at a “cultural plant.”

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

08/ A tipi in Allan Gardens park.

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

09/ An encampment shelter in Allan Gardens park.

IMAGE/ Ryan de Jong

BIO/ MATTHEW LUNDSTROM IS AN MLA STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH, AND GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER.

How Can Landscape Foster Equity

MODERATED BY GLYN BOWERMAN

BIOS/ CHRIS POMMER IS A FOUNDING PARTNER IN PLANT ARCHITECT INC., AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FIRM BRANCHING INTO THE DOMAINS OF ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE, ECOLOGY, ART, AND GRAPHICS. SOME OF PLANT’S PROJECTS INCLUDE: THE NATHAN PHILIPS SQUARE REVITALIZATION, THE DUBLIN GROUNDS OF REMEMBRANCE, THE CANADIAN FIREFIGHTERS MEMORIAL IN OTTAWA, AND ONGOING WORK ON MULOCK PARK IN NEWMARKET. CHRIS HAS TAUGHT AND LECTURED AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF TORONTO, WATERLOO, AND MANITOBA, AND AT IIT IN CHICAGO, AND CURRENTLY SITS ON THE TORONTO PUBLIC ART COMMISSION.

JAY WALL, RGD, IS THE PRINCIPAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT BRITEWEB, A CREATIVE AGENCY DEDICATED TO SOCIAL CHANGE. HE ALSO TEACHES AT THE GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE SCHOOL OF DESIGN. WITH A BACKGROUND IN GRAPHIC DESIGN, JAY ADVOCATES FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATIONS TO PROMOTE PARTICIPATION IN SHAPING OUR CITIES AND PUBLIC SPACES.

ZANNAH MAE MATSON’S RESEARCH AND DESIGN WORK FOCUSES ON THE HISTORIES AND CONTEMPORARY REINTERPRETATIONS OF LANDSCAPES THROUGHOUT PROCESSES OF COLONIZATION, VIOLENCE, AND STATE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. HER CURRENT RESEARCH TRACES THE AFTERLIVES OF COLONIALITY THROUGH HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN COLOMBIA’S EASTERN PIEDMONT LANDSCAPES TO THINK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, EXTRACTIVE ECONOMIES, AND VISUAL REPRESENTATION IN LATIN AMERICAN LANDSCAPES MORE GENERALLY. ZANNAH IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER AND AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE BEYOND EXTRACTION COLLECTIVE, A SCHOLAR-ACTIVIST-LED COLLECTIVE THAT MOBILIZES COUNTER-EXTRACTIVE KNOWLEDGES.

GLYN BOWERMAN IS THE EDITOR OF GROUND. HE IS A TORONTO-BASED JOURNALIST AND HOSTS THE MONTHLY SPACING RADIO PODCAST.

Glyn Bowerman: We’re here to discuss the expression of democracy in our physical world. Often democracy is spoken about as an intangible principle or ideal. We are curious about a spatial democracy, as in places to gather that are universally accessible and promote wellbeing, freedom, and equity. So, can landscapes, public spaces, or institutional infrastructure be democratic?

Christopher Pommer: Yes is the short answer. It strikes me, having worked on Nathan Phillips Square (Toronto City Hall), that spatial democracy relies on actual democracy. The political democracy has to be active and supported in order for those spaces to receive people equitably and provide them space for gathering, protest, celebration, and sadness. All of those things. One of the challenges we’ve seen at Toronto City Hall is budget. And this really goes for all the public realm in Toronto. You need to be able to maintain these places to allow them to be accessible. I’ll give you a very clear example at Toronto City Hall:

because of a lack of available resources, things can’t get maintained, barricades go up to prevent people from using the space because they’re not properly maintained, and therefore access is cut off. This is a huge problem. We need to collectively be willing and eager to support our public spaces in a way that, presently in Canada, we’re not doing a great job.

Zannah Matson: In thinking about spatial democracy, or democracy in landscape, we must understand the vibrant and healthy democracy that we need to support it. Democratic landscapes, like any landscape with a porous boundary, are impacted by what’s happening around them. So often embedded within how we define democracy is this idea of ‘one person, one vote,’ or, in other words, true and complete equality. But the difference between equality and equity is really important in thinking about what democracy in landscape looks like.

I’m more familiar with the concept of spatial justice and thinking through how you’re explicitly advancing it through an equity framework, creating public spaces that aren’t just universally accessible in a level playing field sort of way, but are actively trying to promote equity and lifting up folks that have been historically marginalized within public spaces. Doing this means increasing access specifically for them—and not just access as in ‘there’s a door, anybody can come through it’—but specifically reaching out

and thinking through how to invite people into spaces they have been systemically marginalized from.

Democracy comes down to people’s ability to participate in, and have agency within, their surroundings, their government, their cities. So, to answer your question, of course landscape can be democratic, but it needs huge investment in thinking through more than just access, it means thinking about agency and the ability to fully participate in an equity-minded framework.

01-03/ Remembering Jack Layton at Nathan Phillips Square. IMAGES/ Jackman Chiu / Flickr

Jay Wall: Democracy sounds like a wonderful ideal, but we attach this concept of equality to it. Equality isn’t necessarily what we need, because, as it’s been well established and increasingly understood more widely in the last few years, not everyone experiences public space in the same way. So we can’t just say, ‘Here’s a beautiful public space. You’re welcome to use it just like anyone else,’ because it might not be designed for you. Even if it’s designed for you in a physical sense, there may be invisible barriers, other forces like policing for example, that impact your experience of that space. So, we can have a wonderfully designed space, maybe even designed democratically, but if there’s not a broader system of true inclusion and equity-driven policies that surround it, it’s going to fall short.

I also love the idea of the right to the city: not just to accessing and experiencing the city, but to co-creating it. How can folks have agency in designing their cities and public spaces, but also bring them to life and program them in different ways? For example, I’ve spent two weeks as a resident

of Black Rock City, Nevada, which many people know as Burning Man. One of the main principles is that it’s a city you don’t visit like you might go to a music festival to consume an experience. You are welcomed there to co-create an experience for yourself and for everyone else, to intentionally contribute to it. I’m not suggesting that Black Rock City is the perfect city or that it’s accessible to all, but in my experiences there, I’ve been deeply inspired by the idea of creating democracy with your hands: you arrive in the desert and build things. You create soft infrastructure, you create hard infrastructure, and you do that collectively as 80,000 residents of a temporary city. It’s explicitly stated as an invitation to action and participation. But most cities don’t have that as a default.

I like to ask, how do we make design processes more inclusive? How do we make policy decisions and community engagement more participatory? One way to do that is with thoughtful communications, through design that is visually impactful and makes the content accessible and

approachable to folks who aren’t experts in urban design or landscape architecture.

GB: That leads into the next question: how can design or design processes contribute to democracy? What are some ways democracy can influence the creation, facilitation, and programming of our public spaces? Are there literal, physical ways a place can be more or less democratic?

CP: The key clause in your question is “design processes,” because there’s the design work that we all do—the nuts and bolts aspects of it, accessibility and things like that—that are a given for public projects. But with the design process, to Jay’s point, there can be challenges in how those are undertaken, especially by larger organizations where they become a checkbox—you have to have a public meeting, so they have a public meeting, but it’s not necessarily as fruitful as it could be because it’s a pro forma thing, as opposed to structuring the public process in a way you can actually get meaningful feedback.

04/ Black Rock City in Nevada IMAGE/ Wikimedia Commons

The word “democracy” is a Eurocentric idea. And, as we know, democracy was not democratic in Athens, Greece, either. A very small percentage of the population had that control. Sadly, we’re not that far away from that. We’ve drifted back towards land-owning, wealthy, powerful people being the ones who actually exercise or wield that power in our cities.

But one of the things that I’ve found encouraging is the degree to which people are eager to participate in these public processes. We’ve worked on parks and other public spaces for a long time and we’ve always had public consultations, but, unless you were in a neighbourhood that was super motivated, or you had a residents’ group, people often didn’t have a sense of how to push their ideas forward or talk about it, and it took work to draw that out. But, in the last few years, people are much more willing to come to a public meeting and say, ‘This is what we need in our neighbourhood.’ And it’s up to us as designers to encourage our clients to listen to those people.

JW: There’s the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach, and I’ve worked in both directions. Some of what I do in this field with my creative agency Briteweb is on consultant teams for municipal governments. We often help to promote participation in urban planning processes. The project could be the development of a city-wide planning policy, a regional parks and recreation plan, or something more site-specific. But, regardless of the scale or geographic reach, I believe in being really intentional about the communication and engagement process. I often ask: What has already been decided

by those who hold the most power? What’s on the table for influence? We can design processes around distributing power back to residents and then being extra mindful to ensure there’s a diversity of perspectives and—back to the point of spatial justice— ensuring we’re connecting with those who may not have the privilege of time, money, or academic credentials to participate in these processes. It’s important to make sure it’s truly accessible in many different ways.

From a communications design perspective, a lot of this comes down to how we frame the narrative. Talking to someone about a park or a playground design may be more straightforward because it feels tangible. When you’re talking about something more abstract like a city-wide official plan, they’re not going to see the immediate impacts. An official plan is zoomed out, up at the policy level. But it’s really important because it’s far-reaching. It can impact the decisions we make around things like housing affordability, climate action, Indigenous planning perspectives, inclusion, accessibility, and economics—all these dimensions. In those cases especially, it’s important to take the technical content and present it in a way that’s going to resonate with the public. Often we do that through creative messaging, paired with good graphic design. That opens the door for people to get involved in the process.

CP: Another challenge is, when that consultation takes place. Often it happens way too late in the process, to the point where there’s no way for the concerns of people to have any impact. It should be the first thing that happens.

JW: I hear you. For the last three years, I’ve been working on Our Plan Toronto, which is the City of Toronto’s process to review and update its Official Plan. I can’t speak on behalf of them, but kudos to our project partners at Dillon Consulting and the team at the City. They looked upstream in the process itself. There was engagement on how people wanted to be engaged, including proactive outreach to Indigenous communities. It wasn’t just about consulting those communities on the content but instead first asking, ‘How

and when do you want to be included in the process? How can we incorporate your views into all aspects of the plan?’

This ties back to my point about bottomup approaches. Instead of the invitation to participate only coming top-down from the City, we equipped a group of community leaders to go to their respective communities and invite them to participate in the planning process.

To close the loop, those who hold formal power need to create space for grassroots participation and engagement to happen.

ZM: One of the things I think about is what’s the role of the technocrat within democracy? Reflecting on that and therefore the role landscape architects, or design professionals, play in creating democratic spaces is a really important one. So, in thinking about how design processes can contribute to more democratic spaces, for me it’s understanding that professionals like landscape architects aren’t experts, or shouldn’t portray themselves as experts within this space. Consulting on when people want to be consulted, as Jay was just mentioning, reflects a certain amount of humility: I don’t actually have the answer on when people want to be consulted, so why don’t we just ask them? Because they’re the experts on what they would like.

One of the things I love about spatial practice is that everybody has spatial practice. Everybody makes life in space. They live their life in space, and they create things they live within. If given that ability, people will constantly be creating a life for themselves that has a spatial imprint. How do we, as professionals, allow people to be experts of their own spatial practice? Just because there’s schooling and tests and accreditation means very little when it comes to how people actually live in space.

GB: We’ve talked a lot about process, but are there certain aspects of physical design, landscapes, or best practices that are more inherently democratic? Chris, you mentioned state of good repair. That is a physical thing: when you let it slip, spaces become less welcoming, not as accessible.

05/ Guerrilla bench in Berlin. IMAGE/ Chris Pommer

CP: There are pretty simple things we can do that will make spaces more democratic. I was recently in Berlin, which is a city that spends a lot of money on their public realm, and it’s immaculate. Compared to Toronto, the urban realm is taken such good care of. However, there are very few places to sit there. You would think, in a city like that, they would make lots of places to sit. And it may be that when you hit a certain threshold of tourists, you have to deal with it in different ways. But what we did notice is, they have tons of trees along streets—shady and green—and around all of the bases of the trees are benches, and they’re all guerrilla, built by neighbourhood people. The people just build things and provide places to sit. And as soon as you have places for people to sit, you have society, essentially. You have places where people sit and have a conversation. And conversation is the beginning of any culture and democratic impulse.

ZM: One thing I feel strongly about is the importance of big spaces for huge, collective gatherings, like protest spaces and the importance of that within our city. Sometimes we look at those spaces as empty when there isn’t a protest happening within them. Boston City Hall Plaza being the prime example: it looks like a big, empty space a lot of the time, but it is a place that a large number of people can collectively gather and protest. It’s so important that we don’t lose track of the fact that sometimes we need big spaces to collectively come together and make our voice heard.

And of course that can happen in the street, and I’m very supportive of it spilling over the square that it’s supposed to happen in, but if we continue to eat into those spaces for other uses, we lose sight of the fact that we need these purpose-built civic spaces for expressing ourselves.

JW: I’m totally on board for designing spaces to accommodate protest and expression of dissent. That was actually what catapulted me into public space activism, after the police wrongfully arrested me on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto during the G20 Summit in 2010. But I’m curious: let’s picture something like the convoy in Ottawa last year. We heard

about protests spilling out from the main spaces into the streets and trucks taking over the city. Personally, I’m not politically aligned with what the convoy participants were advocating, but how, as spatial designers, do you all feel about how space should be designed to accommodate—or not accommodate—these things?

Democracy is messy and it’s good for everyone to have their voice. But, going back to our point about spatial equity, who feels safe there? Who feels unsafe? What are the potential harms of the politics or the perspectives being voiced there? I don’t have the answer, I’m just wondering.

CP: I’m not a “free speech absolutist,” but do believe that people that I disagree with have just as much right to protest in the public square as I do. With something like the truckers protest, first of all there isn’t really a big public square in Ottawa to gather. The only big public space is Parliament Hill, and that is very tightly controlled. There was no way they were going to be able to occupy that. But there is no way for any of us to anticipate the ingenuity of someone who is determined to do something.

Whoever organized the trucker protest looked at what they could do to cause maximum chaos. They realized they have these machines that can’t be easily moved. It was brilliant as a protest idea. So none of us is ever going to design around someone coming up with an ingenious way of disrupting lives. That being said, to Zannah’s point, we need big public squares. We need them and we need more than one. It’s great to have one central one and to continue being vigilant against the cluttering up of those spaces. A big part of our project at Nathan Phillips Square was to clear out the stuff that had been added over time and reopen the square.

The counterexample is Mel Lastman Square: it’s a big public space, but it was designed coming out of the Vietnam War-era protests, where the philosophy was to make a big public space, but make sure no group larger than 20 can comfortably gather there. It’s all broken up. I often hear from people that we should have planted trees all over Nathan

Phillips Square for shade. Open space sometimes makes people uncomfortable. But when you see something like the spontaneous memorial when Jack Layton died, that gathering there was incredibly moving, in part because people understood ‘this is our space to take over,’ and they did.

GB: This all brings up something interesting about balancing different people’s freedoms—freedom to, freedom from—and also the idea of safety. People like to say safety should be a right and it’s essential. That freedom comes with an expectation of personal safety. But “safety” is also a coded word for policing, cracking down on people, and sometimes silencing them. So, in terms of equity, how do we design spaces to balance those two things?

CP: I was born in the ‘60s and grew up with Vietnam and draft dodgers lodging at our house and stuff like that. There has been a concerted effort, beginning with the Ronald Reagan era in the ‘80s, where the forces of that kind of mean-spirited conservatism have patiently chipped away at all of the things that allow for the equitable use of our world.

And if we are going to combat it, we have to be willing to play the same kind of long game. We have to slowly build to get things changed, one bit at a time, in order to turn the tide, make things go back the other direction, and allow for people to have

access to things they deserve. I don’t think any of us is going to solve it through design. It’s ultimately a political question. Obviously, design can be political, and there are things we can do, but they’re incremental.

ZM: There’s a real need to emphasize that safety or being unsafe is not a question of inconvenience—those aren’t the same thing. Frequently, policing in public spaces is responding to inconvenience, and not actual safety concerns. Somewhere along the line, those have been conflated. To be annoyed by somebody else in public space is not a crime.

In fact, if you aren’t just a little bit annoyed with people frequently within the day, I don’t think you’re living life right. You’re not around people you disagree with enough. There’s a level of inconvenience and annoyance that happens when you live

in truly democratic spaces, when you are around people that think differently, have different needs, or express themselves differently from you. Understanding that about public space is fundamental. And, regarding policing, we could reduce that so much if we started understanding what truly makes us safe, as opposed to responding to what makes us uncomfortable within public space. If we started to address safety on a deep level, that would look a lot more like public investment in communities and programming to make sure folks are fed and housed.

JW: When I think about public space and urban planning, one of the biggest things that comes to mind is our roads and streets. These spaces are often very car-centric, especially in North American cities. We know the many problems that come with that, from people dying on the roads due to collisions, to pollution, to public health and climate impacts. And communities who are more marginalized and vulnerable experience these symptoms the most. So, you might be relatively safe inside your SUV—if it’s the biggest vehicle on the road, you’re more likely to survive a crash—but are you then more likely to be making

someone else unsafe? Some people get upset when cities build bike lanes. It may feel inconvenient for some who are driving cars. However, it can improve safety for other people who we consider vulnerable road users, whether they’re on a bike, wheelchair, walking, pushing a stroller, or whatever it might be. So we need to think about true safety, versus convenience.

GB: I wanted to ask each of you for a landscape or public space, anywhere in the world, you think exemplifies equity.

ZM: For me, the Unist’ot’en Camp that’s protesting the Coastal GasLink pipeline is the embodiment of what design and spatial practice can do as a way of reclaiming space and using design and construction to defend land, water, and our lives that rely on them. The policing and militarized response to the camp, as well as the willingness of the state to protect corporate interests over those of people standing in solidarity with the earth, also holds up a pretty revealing mirror for the challenges we face in creating truly democratic landscapes.

CP: There’s a particular neighbourhood plaza in Barcelona called Plaça de Sant Pere. And, as part of their buildout of the urban realm, they’ve used chairs in the public spaces as opposed to benches. There are clusters of four chairs, and there was something about the alignment, spacing, and casualness of them that was so perfect. You could have four people gathered and talking, or you could have two groups of two people and they wouldn’t feel like they were impinging on each other. I got a tape measure and drew the whole thing up, then got back and did a 3D model of the thing and posted it on the wall in the studio so everyone would have a reference when we’re doing park projects: this is what we need to aim for. It’s the simplest thing on earth, but it’s the recognition that people want to be close to people, but you also need to be able to have separate

08/ Unist'ot'en Camp building with banner IMAGE/ Wikimedia Commons 09/ Plaça de Sant Pere, Barcelona. IMAGE/ Chris Pommer

conversations. The calibration of that was the most perfect thing.

JW: I’m really interested in liminal spaces and what happens around the edges, where people are re-imagining space and bringing it to life in new ways. In Montreal (Tio’tia:ke), in the Mile End neighbourhood, there’s a green space called Le Champs des Possibles (Field of Possibilities). It’s tucked between a large office building and some train tracks. It used to be a sort of industrial wasteland and residents have worked together to turn it into a wild natural space. They grow gardens, host small markets and concerts, and make art. It’s not conventionally Instagrammable, but it’s beautiful in its own way. I’m inspired by these smaller spaces where people are bringing love and creativity and challenging power dynamics.

CP: Can I ask a question for everybody?

The privatization of public space and the existence of so-called Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) and how they’re changing and becoming a default in the making of our cities. How does everyone feel about that?

GB: I’m trying to think of how appropriate it is for me to speak as the moderator. I think POPS are the illusion of public spaces without actually embodying them, and I think they are designed almost to push

people away, because the “privately owned” part means the owners are liable for what happens there, and they don’t want to take on that risk. So, oftentimes, you can walk by one and not even know it’s technically publicly accessible, or at least meant to be.

ZM: I was thinking about the big threats to designing more democratic outdoor spaces, and the first thing, which we talked about already, is the increase in

That said, I would much rather have fully public, fully accessible public spaces. But organizations like plazaPOPS are bridging that gap: they take spaces like innersuburban strip mall parking lots and work with local businesses and residents to turn those parking lots into POPS. We’ve talked about the challenges of car-centric infrastructure. PlazaPOPS repurposes these car-dominated places to celebrate local culture and draw people in. So, rather than just saying that POPS are bad, I can accept that, currently, a lot of space is privately owned. We can get creative with how to share power within those spaces.

CP: To me, POPS aren’t inherently evil. They’ve existed for a long time. We see examples for all over European cities in courtyards of apartment buildings. Those spaces are fine. The thing that does concern me is they are an ever-increasing part of negotiations between municipalities and property developers to provide spaces that cities should actually build themselves. If you want to have a plaza in front of your building and allow people, that’s great. You shouldn’t necessarily get three extra stories on your building for it. And creating POPS doesn’t mean the City then doesn’t have the obligation to build genuine public spaces in the neighbourhood as well, because we need places where everyone can go without fear of being chased away.

securitization, surveillance, and police. The second thing is real estate: we as people actually don’t have control over that much land within the city. The real estate industry, through its control over land, feels like one of the biggest threats to spatial democracy. POPS are in some ways just a manifestation of the threat of private land ownership that we can understand very viscerally as landscape practitioners. They reveal the operation of these larger systems of land control that don’t really leave that much space for us to live democratic and communal lives in spaces that we truly share and have agency over.

JW: I see POPS as a pragmatic offering in the context of a public space drought. If most everything else is carved out as private space, then POPS offer a practical way forward to enjoy some shared space.

It comes back to my hobbyhorse of funding and taxation and the fact that no politician is going to raise taxes willingly. But that’s what we need to do. I work hard and I like the money I earn, but, if I look at my property taxes in the City of Toronto and what I get in return, it’s crazy how little I pay. I’d be okay with having them go up now. But it seems like we are unwilling to pay for our public realm, and so we’re just letting it become privatized, and it’s really sad.

10-12/ Champ des Possibles, Montreal IMAGES/ Les Amis des Champ du Possibles / Flickr

THANKS TO JENNIFER WAN AND HELENE IARDAS, OALA FOR COORDINATING THIS ROUND TABLE.

A Queer Perspective

Our public spaces are intended to be open for all to use. They are stages upon which our collective histories unfold. As designers, we strive to create places that are safe and welcoming for all people—though that may oversimplify the diverse range of experiences individuals encounter walking our streets or visiting our parks. In fact, for many marginalized groups, our relationship with public space can be complicated.

A marginalized person carries emotional weight and an acute awareness of what “others” them from society. It can be their skin colour, their physical or mental disability, gender expression, or sexual orientation. When we walk through the street, sit in a park, have a picnic with friends, or share an intimate moment with a loved one, we are

simultaneously assessing the world around us for potential threats.

Marginalized communities maintain a close connection to our collective histories of struggle for acceptance and on-going fights for equality. Many of these historic events are shrouded in violence and occurred in public places.

Despite this, these same public spaces are often essential for many as places to connect, in lieu of having dedicated, safe spaces to gather. However, this can also result in clashes with majority users who do not understand the cultures of minority groups or feel a sense of ownership over public spaces, entitling them to define how they should be used.

01/ A rainbow-coloured bench in Toronto's Gay Village.

IMAGE/ Jennifer Wan

02/ The 519 community agency in Toronto's Gay Village on Church Street.

IMAGE/ Jennifer Wan

TEXT BY MARK HILLMER, OALA

The queer community is one such group, with methods of expression that can result in conflict in public spaces. For instance, simple public expressions of queer love, or gender expressions that do not conform to conventional male-female binaries can put people at risk of public attack. Cruising— the act of people discretely seeking and engaging in public sex—is another example of a cultural behaviour that deviates from accepted norms. This can lead to conflict between individuals, but can also be more directly targeted. In 2016, police cracked down on cruising in Marie Curtis Park in Toronto (“Project Marie”). This was particularly sensitive for the queer community because the act of cruising has deep roots in our history. After-hours and hidden areas of public spaces were among the only places

many queer men—both out and closeted— could engage with their true selves and authentic sexuality. Cruising continues to this day and morality raids like Project Marie have impacts far beyond the ticketing of approximately 75 men, as these high-stigma offences can lead to the break-up of families, depression, or other mental health issues.

While inequities remain, I suggest truly inclusionary spaces are an ideal that cannot exist without a fundamental shift in our societal attitudes towards marginalized people. I recognize we must ultimately confront things like our societal values system, rooted in colonial and Christian ideologies. Those ideologies inform our governance and planning systems, laws, and even the rules governing day-to-day use of our public

03-05/ Trillium Park in Toronto. IMAGES/ Jennifer Wan

spaces. These rules change and evolve over time, but, at the heart, there are limitations being placed that disproportionately impact certain user groups.

Our approach to engagement with community members throughout the planning and design process needs reconsideration. Too often public consultation is seen as a requirement instead of an opportunity to obtain valuable input from all community members. One overarching problem with the process is the needs of the majority too often overshadow those of minority groups. This can lead to ubiquitous public spaces with similar program elements and compound the feeling among marginalized communities that their needs are less valid. Additionally,

by holding meetings in large, open forums, minority groups may be uncomfortable sharing their thoughts for fear of backlash or dismissal from others. Instead, we should consider alternative and targeted methods of reaching out to different user groups, both in public and private settings, and offering opportunities for people to voice their opinions. When developing a public engagement plan, consider that some members of the public may not be able to access or navigate online virtual platforms, some may not be on social media, and may have language barriers.

Another way designers can make public spaces more inclusive is to stop relying on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) as a

Mel Lastman Square in Toronto.

Jennifer Wan

reliable design tool. Although the concepts behind CPTED may seem positive and make places safer from a policing perspective, the reality for minorities and marginalized groups can be quite the opposite. As an example, by encouraging surveillance of spaces by other members of the public, our societal biases and systemic racism can lead marginalized groups to feel uneasy because of general suspicion or distrust.

We also need to start creating more spaces designed for marginalized groups, or in commemoration of their histories. The phrase “representation matters” is not just applicable to media or business: our ability to see ourselves reflected in the design of public spaces assigns legitimacy to our existences. Further, it challenges a majority—

who may not wish to confront the attitudes and prejudices that continue to marginalize minority groups—to acknowledge our existence and our struggles. As an example, the Government of Canada recently ran a design competition for the creation of an LGBTQ2+ National Monument which acknowledges and pays tribute to members of the community who were discriminated against by the Government during the LGBT Purge. Landscapes like this give legitimacy to the damage caused by past discriminatory actions, help begin a healing process, and provide context for future generations to signal the importance of equity and inclusion.

But the acknowledgement or representation of marginalized groups does not have to be a grand gesture, it can take many forms,

09-12/ Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. IMAGES/ Jennifer Wan

like artwork in public spaces. For instance, the work of Hood Design Studio in projects like the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, and the John Robinson Jr. Town Square in Arlington, Virginia brings to life the histories of Black Americans through the integration of narrative public artwork.

Alternatively, we can consider subversive design work that breaks from traditional colonial and Christian-centric ideals to create diversity of spaces within public areas that support all manner of activities and groups of people. Take the work of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Hargreaves Jones in their design of Zaryadye Park in Moscow, Russia, for example. In their approach, the design team considered the park design as being

intended for the residents of the city, not the government. This was a simple but important shift in framing the project and offered a different lens through which to consider the design brief. The brief discouraged large open spaces as an effort to prevent public assemblies or protests. Hargreaves Jones as lead landscape architects therefore took the approach of reflecting various Russian natural landscapes throughout the park as a notion of national pride; but, in reality, they were subverting the traditional approach to public spaces in Russia, where access to softscape areas off of pathways and lingering were strictly discouraged. In this way, the Russian Government celebrated the design while, in practicality, the design team had managed to create a space the people could occupy and feel ownership over.

While the Russian example is an extreme case, I believe we can learn something from it. For instance, our public clients or elected officials may not always have the courage to break from tradition or put more emphasis on the needs of the few over the wants of the many; but, as designers, we can still consider ways of pushing for inclusivity. As designers of public space, we have a responsibility to underrepresented and marginalized communities to create spaces where they feel welcome, safe, and free to be themselves.

13-15/ The International African American Museum in Charleston, N.C.

IMAGES/ Mike Habat

BIO/ MARK HILLMER, OALA, IS

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

MEMBER OF THE

COMMUNITY

AND WORKING

16-18/ The John Robinson Jr. Town Square in Arlington, Virginia.

IMAGES/ David Ross

19-21/ Zaryadye Park in Moscow, Russia.

IMAGES/ Iwan Baan

CSLA AWARDS

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Awards of Excellence— Ontario Region

The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Awards of Excellence are given for outstanding accomplishment in landscape architecture. Congratulations to the following OALA members whose projects received awards.

Project Name: The Ring (Montréal, QC) Consultant:

CCxA (formerly Claude Cormier et Associés) Contact: Claude Cormier, OALA, AAPQ, FCSLA, and Sophie Beaudoin, AAPQ, FCSLA Category: Medium-Scale Public Landscapes

Project Description: 2023 Jury’s Award of Excellence and a National Award

Small-Scale

The Ring is a reflection of the symbolic importance of Place-Ville-Marie (PVM), the birthplace of Montreal’s architectural modernity. The 30-metre-diameter suspended metal ring is a site-specific installation, framing iconic views. It reinforces the architectural composition and timelessness of PVM. The project

team engaged now 83-year-old Franz Knoll, the engineer who worked on the original PVM design. The Ring commemorates the 60th anniversary of Montreal’s modernist transformation.

Public Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Name:

Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and Regional Park Projects (Richmond, BC)

Consultant: space2place design inc.

Contact:

Jeff Cutler, OALA, BCSLA, FCSLA, and Sarah Primeau, BCSLA, CSLA

Category: Planning and Analysis

Project Description:

The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (IIWWTP) occupies a site of intersecting human and ecological systems. Since the early 1900s, Fraser River Estuary infrastructure has impacted salmon and other species. The IIWWTP projects will upgrade the existing treatment plant, reconnect the river and sea, create habitats, grow freshwater wetlands, and restore habitats. The Conceptual Design for the IIWWTP Project was developed with input from Musqueam Indian Band and other stakeholders.

05-09/ Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and space2place design inc.

CSLA AWARDS

15

Project Name:

(Rainbow Park) (Vancouver, BC)

Consultant:

DIALOG

Contact:

Jill Robertson, OALA, APALA, AALA, BCSLA, CSLA

Category:

Small-scale public landscapes designed by a landscape architect

Project Description:

(Rainbow Park) is a gathering place in Downtown Vancouver. It brings action to reconciliation by reintroducing language to the land. The park’s name—meaning rainbow—was gifted by the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Today, water from the splash pad catches sun rays before being recirculated to plants carefully selected for their cultural significance and relation to local habitats. It serves 30,000 neighbours.

Rainbow Park IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and DIALOG

Project Name:

Peitree Yaoliang Eco Resort (Yaoliang Village, Houzhou Prefectural City, Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China)

Consultant:

PFS Studio

Contact:

Greg Smallenberg, OALA, CM, BCSLA, FCSLA, FASLA

Category:

Residential Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Description:

Peitree Resort is an eco-resort that offers guests a Zen-like relationship between landscape and built form, people and nature, history and modernity. Working with DDB Architects and BEING Studio, PFS Studio and its China-based affiliate Conglian have created a small-scale utopian retreat, offering respite from busy urban China by reconnecting them to natural surroundings and local culture. The project improves several degraded, on-site water courses, and revives abandoned agricultural fields.

16-20/ Peitree Yaoliang Eco Resort

IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and PFS Studio

CSLA AWARDS

Project Name: Copps Pier (Hamilton, ON)

Consultant: FORREC Ltd.

Contact: Scott Torrance, OALA, CSLA Category:

Medium-Scale Public Landscapes

Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Description:

Copps Pier celebrates industrial Hamilton’s past, present, and future. This revitalization of a disused pier adopts forms from “Hammer Town’s” industrial harbour, and transforms them into public space. Along the Boatworks Promenade, giant steel boat hulls create parkettes. In Hammer Harbour, Gantry Pavilion is a venue for city-scale events. And, at the Landing, the prow of a ship creates additional public art and performance space with spectacular views.

Project Name:

St. Andrew’s Playground Park (Toronto, ON)

Consultant: DTAH

Contact: James Roche, OALA, FCSLA

Category:

Medium-Scale Public Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Description:

The St. Andrew’s Playground Park revitalization is a newly renovated landscape providing green space, and social and recreational needs to the community. The first designated public playground in Toronto (1908), St. Andrew’s Playground Park has been transformed, with new seating, accessible paths, a central plaza, a playground, and an upgraded off-leash dog area, with catenary lighting above. Mature trees are maintained and supplemented with an urban forest succession planting plan.

26-31/ St. Andrew's Playground Park IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and DTAH

CSLA AWARDS

Project Name:

Edmonton’s Ribbon of Green (Edmonton, AB)

Consultant: 02 Planning & Design

Contact:

Matt Williams, OALA, AALA, CSLA

Category: Landscape Management

Project Description:

Edmonton’s Ribbon of Green provides a vision for the sustainable use and preservation of the North Saskatchewan River Valley and Ravine System. The project draws on ecological analysis, cultural assessment, stakeholder engagement, and state-of-the-art, location-based visitation mapping. This landscape provides natural habitat and wildlife connectivity for Edmonton’s biodiversity, and a recreational resource for residents. The project provides programming and ecological guidance, as well as research-specific visioning to guide subsequent finer-scale management and design decisions.

32-35/ Edmonton's Ribbon of Green IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and 02 Planning & Design

Project Name:

Parliament Hill Escarpment (Ottawa, ON)

Consultant:

Vlan paysages

Contact:

Micheline Clouard, AAPQ, CSLA, and Julie St-Arnault, OALA, AAPQ, CSLA

Category:

Large-Scale Public Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Description:

The Parliament Hill Escarpment Reforestation and Stabilization Project in Ottawa, a National Historic Site, is part of the Parliamentary Precinct, which attracts over 1.5 million visitors, annually. The escarpment along the Ottawa River is a heritage asset. The project was developed by Vlan, with collaboration from WSP, Nadeau Urban Forestry, and Biodiversity Consulting. The reforestation and slope stabilization was informed by Calvert Vaux’s 1870’s design, and the ecological value of the terrestrial community, representative of the river corridor vegetation.

36-40/ Parliament Hill Escarpment IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and Vlan paysages

CSLA AWARDS

Planning and Analysis

Project Description: Brampton’s Riverwalk Open Space and Urban Design Master Plan reintroduces Etobicoke Creek to the downtown. It’s a place for people to enjoy, highlights opportunities for an integrated landscape, and provides a framework for the city to imagine future growth. It’s a renewed physical and social relationship to the Etobicoke Creek through the creation of a series of new trails, look-outs, and connections,

41-45/ Brampton Riverwalk Open Space and Urban Design Master Plan IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and DTAH

Project Name:

Harbourfront Centre at York Quay (Toronto, ON)

Consultant:

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Contact:

Gullivar Shepard, OALA, CSLA

Category:

Medium-Scale Public Landscapes Designed by a Landscape Architect

Project Description:

Harbourfront Centre balances urban use and hyper-natural planting. The landscape architect-led team re-conceptualized Ontario Square and Canada Square. There are two landscaped squares and a series of locations for the development of small cultural and retail buildings. Ontario Square offers space for cultural events. An oculus connects those arriving by car to the plaza and welcomes visitors with a “Light Cascade.” At the water’s edge, Canada Square offers panoramic views of the lake.

46-50/ Harbourfront Centre at York Quay IMAGES/ Courtesy of the CSLA and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.

2023 OALA AWARDS

Congratulations to all those honoured with the 2023 OALA Recognition Awards, and special thank you to the OALA Honours, Awards and Protocol Committee (HAP) members: Jane Welsh (Chair), Steve Barnhart, James Melvin, Nelson Edwards, Ashley Hosker, and Stefan Fediuk. The awards were presented on June 8th at OALA Honours.

OALA AWARDS

This award acknowledges excellence by an OALA member and their exemplary overall body of professional work and accomplishments. The award promotes awareness of landscape architectural works and achievements among landscape architects, allied professionals, clients, and the public.

Honourary members are those who have contributed significantly to advancing the course of landscape architecture in Ontario.

Donna Hinde, OALA, FCSLA

Donna Hinde has a distinguished, 40-year career. After graduating from the landscape architecture program at the University of Guelph, Donna took a position at engineering firm MMM Dillon. Within two years, she was a division head. She gained a provincial reputation in community redevelopment and facilitated many successful community meetings.

In the early 90s, she co-founded what became The Planning Partnership where she remains an active partner, and where her work has garnered numerous awards.

She served as president of OALA from 1998-2000 and increased the visibility of the profession and ramped up the Association’s public voice to advocate for important environmental and social issues.

Tony DiGiovanni

Tony is the former Executive Director of Landscape Ontario. Throughout his 33year tenure there, he demonstrated a strong commitment to collaboration, and has been instrumental in bringing together diverse individuals and organizations. He advanced the priorities of Landscape Ontario members, and his work has had a significant impact on the profession.

Tony continues to inspire and support students pursuing post-secondary education in the horticulture field, and the Tony DiGiovanni Scholarship Fund was launched in 2003.

His work on the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute and involvement on the boards of Canadian Trees for Life and the Toronto Botanical Gardens are further examples of his dedication to the profession.

OALA PINNACLE AWARD FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE

OALA HONOURARY MEMBER AWARD

01/ Award winner, Tony DiGiovanni at OALA Honours of June 8, 2023 with Steve Barnhart (left) and Jane Welsh (right). IMAGE/ Courtesy of OALA

OALA RESEARCH & INNOVATION AWARD

This award recognizes scholarly activities and/or the development of innovative practices and the publication and dissemination of this knowledge for the betterment of the profession and the greater good. This may include: academic papers, research, publications, books, e-applications, or public presentations which contribute to the knowledge base that furthers the advancement of the art, science, and practice of landscape architecture.

There are two recipients this year.

Brendan Stewart, OALA, CSLA

Brendan Stewart has been a full-time professor at the University of Guelph since 2017. His teaching and research as a professor in the landscape architecture programs, undergraduate and master’s, focuses on cultural landscapes and community design.

Brendan is a leader of the plazaPOPS program, a community-led, high-impact, low-cost process that transforms parking lots into free and accessible gathering places. plazaPOPS seeks to support and enhance the vibrant communities and businesses that already characterize Toronto’s inner suburbs. In addition, Brendan has received several SSHRC grants to fund this program and was awarded $1 million by the federal government in June, 2021.

Fadi Masoud’s research as a professor in the Master of Landscape Architecture Program at the University of Toronto addresses critical issues like the global climate crisis, and social equity and justice. His work has resulted in numerous publications, exhibitions, and collaborative research design projects.

He built a new interdisciplinary research network, his work has secured over $500,000 in grants, and he has trained over 30 MLA students as research assistants.

Fadi’s founding of the Platform for Resilient Urbanism (PRU) lab in 2018, focusing on climate adaptation and resilient cities, is a testament to his commitment to advancing the role of landscape architects in fighting the climate crisis.

Fadi Masoud

02-03/ Renderings by Fadi Masoud IMAGES/ Courtesy of Fadi Masoud 04-05/ plazaPOPS

IMAGES/ Courtesy of Brendan Stewart

This public outreach award recognizes and encourages special or unusual contributions for culturally sensitive and inclusive, sustainable design solutions leading to the improvement of environmental health, community livability, and human interaction in the environment. The award may also recognize work that contributes to addressing climate change and supports nature-based solutions.

This award recognizes an OALA member who practices in an environmentally, socially, culturally, and economically sensitive and sustainable manner. Ecologically sound and sustainable design does not preclude aesthetically beautiful work, nor vice versa, and this award is intended to recognize such efforts.

She has received numerous awards and citations for her work throughout the GTA, most notably from BILD, CSLA, and various municipalities’ urban design awards. She has been a member of the Toronto Urban Design Review Committee and the Mississauga Urban Design Advisory Panel.

Plenty Canada

Plenty Canada is an Indigenous notfor-profit organization committed to reconciliation through the cross-cultural protection of nature. Their mission is to facilitate access to and share resources with Indigenous peoples and other community groups around the world in support of their environmental protection and sustainable development goals. Plenty Canada is dedicated to Indigenous cultural revitalization, and the building of cultural capacity within communities.

Recent environmental stewardship projects include the Greenbelt Plant Survey, a new role as the management organization for the UNESCO Biosphere Designation of the Niagara Escarpment, and the Reconciliation and Climate Change Planting partnership.

Sibylle von Knobloch, OALA, CSLA

In her 40-plus-year landscape architecture career, Sibylle von Knobloch has left her mark on the urban landscape of Toronto. As a Principal of NAK Design Group Inc., she led the design of numerous urban landscapes, public parks, and large, multi-use developments that promote sustainable design strategies and stewardship. Her work on Clover Hill Park and Gibson Park demonstrate her intent to maintain the site’s natural assets.

OALA AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

THE CARL BORGSTROM AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

This award recognizes the outstanding leadership and contribution of an associate member for going above and beyond to assist fellow associates.

Khatereh is a mentor, guest speaker, and review critic at the University of Guelph’s BLA Program. She provides ongoing mentorship to multiple students and new MLA graduates, encouraging them to attend OALA webinars and conferences and expand their networks.

Eric Conway, OALA, CSLA

For several years, Eric Conway has been an active member of OALA and the Southwest Chapter. He assisted in the organization and programming of both the 2020 conference (canceled due to COVID), and the joint conference with OPPI held in London in 2022.

At the Southwest Chapter, Eric is always looking for ways to engage with the London community and region.

He is also an active member of the CSLA Committee on Climate Adaptation Municipal Roundtable where he organized the 2022 session in London featuring London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.

Khatereh Baharikhoob

Khatereh Baharikhoob has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and commitment to the profession through her volunteerism within OALA. She is a pivotal member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Task Force. Her commitment to this project has been unwavering, from assisting in reviewing/drafting the RFP for a JEDIfocused consultancy, to participating in meaningful conversations with fellow Task Force members.

This prestigious award is named for an outstanding volunteer of the OALA, David Erb. His volunteer services to the Association furthered the goals of the OALA and set a high standard. This award recognizes a Full Member of the OALA who has shown outstanding volunteerism over the years, and contributed to furthering the goals and strategic plan of the OALA, while making a real difference to the association and its members.

There are two recipients this year.

Ryan James, OALA,

CSLA

Ryan James is a leader within OALA and the Landscape Architecture Ottawa (LAO) chapter. He volunteers to benefit not just the OALA, but the National Capital Region and various community groups.

He has been a member of the Social Committee since 2018, and is responsible for organizing key annual events such as the skating event at Rideau Hall, and the summer

THE JACK COPELAND AWARD FOR OALA ASSOCIATE LEADERSHIP AND CONTRIBUTION

THE DAVID ERB MEMORIAL AWARD

and holiday socials. As Chair of the LAO, he has been the first point of contact for local agencies and municipalities who need to communicate with local landscape architects and the Association. He also attends local events with government leaders to garner support for the Practice Act.

Executive Councillor - Secretary, Chairman of the Examination Board, Examination Board member, and on both the Communications and Tutorial committees. He is also the 2002 David Erb Award recipient.

This award is given in recognition of the contributions of an OALA Full member who supports and advances initiatives and actions of the Association and promotes the profession of landscape architecture in the province of Ontario.

This award acknowledges the outstanding leadership of a member of the profession in public service who promotes and enhances landscape architecture by working for improved understanding and appreciation of the work of landscape architects in both public and private practice. The award may be given to an individual in recognition of a specific project, for a body of work, or for exemplary leadership or advocacy.

There are two recipients this year.

Stephen’s extensive body of work, and his appreciation of Toronto’s cultural, architectural, archeological, and natural heritage has helped creat vibrant active amenities that balance functional design with operational requirements.

Jane Welsh, OALA, FCSLA

Jane Welsh has made significant contributions in her over-30-year career. President of the OALA for 3 years, Jane gave countless hours to advance landscape architecture in Ontario. She conducted in-person meetings with leaders at all levels of government, providing position papers and advocating for the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert Duguid, OALA, CSLA Robert Duguid is a skilled landscape architect who has shaped Toronto’s public realm for over 30 years in the realms of environmental sustainability, master planning, urban design, cultural landscapes, and waterfront revitalization.

Jane’s work includes the City of Toronto’s first ravine bylaw, the Green Roof bylaw, a world-class municipal green building standard, and the City of Toronto’s first Environmental Plan, and her current leadership role in the 2022 Municipal Comprehensive Review of environmental policies in the Official Plan.

Stephen O’Bright, OALA, CSLA

Stephen O’Bright is an accomplished landscape architect and certified engineering technologist. He has been involved with OALA for many years, serving in various roles, including liaison representative with the Ontario Parks Association, elected

His extensive portfolio includes projects all across Toronto, and his expertise, professionalism, and understated project management approach has influenced and touched many colleagues and professionals alike. His work showcases the integrity of his project delivery and his attention to detail speaks volumes for itself.

As chair of the CSLA Committee on Climate Adaptation, Jane is leading discussions on mitigating and adapting to environmental change.

09-10/ Renderings by DIALOG

IMAGES/ Courtesy of Khatereh Baharikhoob

11/ Social Committee outing

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Ryan James

12/ Sun deck rendering

IMAGE/ Courtesy of Stephen O'Bright

OALA PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Notes: A Miscellany of News and Events conservation

01/ Minister of the Environment,

Conservation and Parks David Piccini, and Mark Stabb, Program Director, Central Ontario-East, Nature

Conservancy of Canada, make friends

with monarch butterfly at the Monarch Point press announcement. Prince Edward County, ON.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of the Government of Ontario

02/ Minister David Piccini and friend play fetch at the Monarch Point press announcement.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of the Government of Ontario

video series

The OALA has been producing video interviews with various members, including Ground Magazine Editorial Board member Mark Hillmer and, most recently, new OALA President Stefan Fediuk:

“Stefan Fediuk explains how his career in landscape architecture evolved, his proudest projects, the importance of understanding municipality demographics, the evolution of spatial needs, and culture, and finally, his vision for OALA.”

The series is a great way to get to know members and their work, and you can find the video series on the Association’s official YouTube channel “OALA Official.”

Ontario has announced the first creation of a new conservation reserve in more than ten years, with The Monarch Point Conservation Reserve in Prince Edward County, on the Lake Ontario shoreline.

The area is meant to preserve over 4,000 acres of shore in a habitat frequented by at-risk monarch butterflies during their annual migration. The area is also home to migratory birds, reptiles, and plants—some of which are also at risk.

In a press release, County of Prince Edward Mayor Steve Ferguson said: “Creating Monarch Point Conservation Reserve is a critical development for protecting the many species that rely on this area and giving the community wonderful opportunities to responsibly enjoy this beautiful corner of our municipality.”

The site will be open for hiking, bird-watching, and general “nature-based tourism.”

According to the press release, this new conservation reserve is “the result of extensive consultation and collaboration with local stakeholders, Indigenous communities, residents and conservation groups such as the South Shore Joint Initiative, the Schad Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada towards a shared goal of protecting Ontario’s biodiversity and creating a more sustainable future for all.”

Prince

President,

and

Marysburgh,

Todd

Minister

the Environment, Conservation and Parks; Mark Stabb, Program Director,

Central Ontario-East, Nature

Conservancy of Canada; Mayor Brian

Ostrander, Brighton, at the Monarch

Point press announcement.

IMAGE/ Courtesy of the Government of Ontario

03/ From left to right: Mayor Steve Ferguson,

Edward County; John Hirsch,

South Shore Joint Initiative

Councillor, Ward 9, South

Prince Edward County;

Smith, MPP, Bay of Quinte;

David Piccini, Ministry of

in memoriam

Dennis Warenycia, OALA, CSLA

The OALA is saddened to announce the passing of Dennis Warenycia, on April 26, 2023. Dennis had been a full member of the OALA since March 1985. The Association was notified on May 5, 2023.

Below we share the obituary prepared by his family.

Dennis Paul Warenycia died peacefully at Sunnybrook Hospital, surrounded by his family, on April 26, 2023. He was the beloved husband and best friend of Shelagh, and very proud father of Natasha and Katrina.

He was also a loved son, brother, brother-in-law and uncle and a great friend to many.

Dennis was a graduate of The University of Toronto, Faculty of Landscape Architecture and he practiced as Principal of his firm for over 40 years. He will be remembered for his creativity and his unique perspective. Among his clients and colleagues, he forged many friendships over the years.

Anyone who knew Dennis knew how he loved to talk. He was interested in a wide variety of subjects and had strong opinions about each of them. He was also a great listener and always made a point of asking people about themselves and their families. Business calls were always prefaced with a lengthy personal chat.

Dennis was an accomplished golfer, and in the winter, he enjoyed spending weekends with his friends at Muskoka Ski Club.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Kidney Cancer Canada www. kidneycancercanada.ca/support-us/makea-donation/donations-in-honour-memory/ in his memory.

in memoriam

Stephen Rupert, OALA, CSLA

The OALA is saddened to announce the passing of Stephen Rupert, on May 16, 2023. Stephen graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto in 1981 and became a full member of the OALA in March 1985. The Association was notified on May 18, 2023.

Below we share the obituary prepared by his family.

Steve passed away suddenly in Toronto on May 16, 2023. He was the dear husband of Anna and loving father of Chloe and Mary. He is also survived by his brother Will, sister-in-law Renate, brothers-in-law Enzo and Joe, and numerous cousins and friends. Steve grew up in Peterborough and attended Adam Scott CVI and Fleming College before graduating from the landscape architecture school at the University of Toronto.

His entire career involved landscape architecture, first at Arbor Memorial

Gardens, then later at Toronto Community Housing Corporation. In his younger years in Peterborough, he was a superb baseball and hockey player. He loved architecture and design, volunteering, music, and motor racing, a passion that began at Mosport Park in the early 1970s. In recent years, he became an expert in designing and building miniature houses and other structures.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

new members

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new members to the Association:

Sharon Carlson

Scott Cunningham *

Lauren Gibbons

Mélanie Glorieux

Christopher Grosset *

Andrew Hooke

Lucas Horvath *

Sandrina Kramar *

Yvonne Lam

Leigh Lichtenberg *

Emeka Nnadi

Austin Naoum

Coleman Ney *

Anna Rosen

Daniel Rozanski

Nicola Spaziani *

Joel Sypkes *

Lauren White *

Sophie Xiao *

Nathan Zrini *

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

04/ Dennis Warenycia

IMAGE/ Courtesy of his family

05/ Stephen Rupert

IMAGE/ Courtesy of his family

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This summer, I spent a weekend at Craigleith Provincial Park on Georgian Bay, Ontario. Its shoreline is made of shale, a lot of which contains aquatic fossils dating back to about 450 million years ago, which you can find littered around park without even digging.

But another feature of this kind of geology is it breaks off in small slabs and stones that are easily stackable. I witnessed quite a lot of these creations at Craigleith. It even makes for some great imagery—in addition to the natural beauty.

When you see rocks like this, you’re likely at least tempted to stack them. In fact, these man-made formations are part of many cultures, and carry various meanings: spiritual, practical (as a signpost, for instance), or just to say “I was here.” And it’s fun, like building a sandcastle.

The problem is, this pastime can have various effects on the ecosystem. It can expose larvae important to the food chain to the elements before they have a chance to develop, exacerbate erosion, et cetera. It’s problem many park wardens and environmentalists bemoan. The Ontario Parks blog reminds us of the old camping adage to “leave no trace,” and recommends against rock stacking, leaving painted rocks, and building wood forts:

“When we protect park habitat, all visitors (and the many species that live in parks) can enjoy the views and experiences that are provided by healthy ecosystems. Which is the reason most of us want to spend time in nature in the first place!”

So, while it may be a creative, meditative way to spend a day on the beach, and it makes for good social media content, it’s best to leave these stones unturned.

TEXT BY GLYN BOWERMAN

01-03/ Rock Stacking at Craigleith Provincial Park on the Georgian Bay.

IMAGES/ Glyn Bowerman

The trouble with stacking stones and other outdoor pastimes