The Sandbox City: Takeaways from Toronto
The moment I arrived in Toronto, I could feel the energy. Almost immediately the buzz of the place just pulled me in, changed me, made me look a little deeper. The city made me want to know more – and I could tell I wasn’t alone in my thinking. As part of the Civic Commons Learning Network, we were invited to experience creative placemaking, explore inclusive spaces and converse with people driving meaningful change in Toronto. This trip allowed us to envision new possibilities. It gave us insight into alternate methods of practice and ideas to apply to our work in Memphis.
As we went around the room on the first day to summarize how we were feeling, some people were intrigued and excited and others were inspired and open — but most were simply curious. And, while each encounter deserves its own in-depth story, there were a few lessons that truly stood out. Here are a handful of insights from a first-time Toronto visitor.
Uplift the local voice and weave a strong story.
Our journey began with a presentation of Toronto 101 by Jennifer Keesmaat, former chief planner of the City of Toronto. As a group, we learned about Toronto’s Greenbelt design and its purpose to help focus population growth and build density in the urban core. Keesmaat also gave insight into Toronto’s building boom and shared a list of seven specific ways to advance great urbanism. One of these was to develop a community of people prepared to share your big picture story instead of only telling it yourself. This creates a common narrative that everyone can rally behind.
Sureya Ibrahim, community relation specialist at the Centre for Community Learning & Development, shared examples of how a chorus of local voices are making a difference in the Regent Park neighborhood. New businesses are prioritizing hiring people from the community, and there’s a new creative hub that showcases neighborhood success stories. It was clear that local role models have had a huge impact on the younger generations growing up in Regent Park.
Friendship is more valuable than the spectacle.
This was the message of Dufferin Grove Park, colorfully shared on our first day’s visit by Jutta Mason, the spark of the revitalization of the park and the founder of the Centre for Local Research into Public Space. I felt an echo of this sentiment in each of the places we visited in Toronto, but it was most apparent in Dufferin Grove with its enormous sandpit, community pizza oven and campfire circle.
The moment I stepped into Dufferin Grove, I felt like a kid again. I could imagine my kindergarten days of red rover and tag. Jutta was friendship.
“Get people to see each other. Not everyone wants to know each other.” — Jutta Mason, Dufferin Grove Park
At Thorncliffe Park, we again heard the theme of friendship and community. It was a beautiful park, mainly in its simplicity. It wasn’t overdone or overwhelming. It was sweet and kind. Sabina Ali, one of the founding members of Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, made sure the park felt like the heart of the neighborhood. This park was a place to share and celebrate and to come together as one community.
Create a social dividend.
As soon as we walked into Scadding Court Community Center, my curiosity spiked: What in the world was going on? To the left was a wellness nook next to a gym, an aquaponic lab was straight ahead, and on the far wall was a row of computers and a receptionist’s desk. But most impressively, the place was hopping with activity and people! Our hosts, Kevin Lee and Alina Chatterjee, both very strategic entrepreneurs, took pride in fostering the same kind of independence and sustainability in those who took part in their programs. The center’s overarching philosophy was centered around producing a resilient community.
We saw this at Thorncliffe Park as well: the idea that if the city wouldn’t take care of their park, the community would. That notion of stepping up and getting it done sometimes requires bending or breaking the rules, but it also provides an opportunity to more fully engage and create a sense of belonging for residents.
Connect city building past with city building future.
What we saw at Evergreen Brick Works was a bold step towards creating unique spaces that embrace their own history. Every nook and cranny was a surprise. Walking around you can read about how the building operated when it was creating bricks and then see the actual kilns. Today the kilns are canvases for graffiti and filled with art installations to give them new life. This unique environment has created a space to prototype models that could work in other parts of Toronto and other parts of the world.
“Teach children to be champions for nature.” — Marina Queirolo, Evergreen
The Bentway, a unique public space under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, also showed us how past can fold into the future. Ken Greenberg, a renowned architect and urban designer, and Ilana Altman, Director of Programming for The Bentway spoke about the process of building a space that was accessible, discoverable and catalytic to the community, while also telling the story of Fort York. Through smart design choices and programming, they have produced an incredible space that will continue to grow and change.
Unveil beautiful spaces.
I experienced beauty in many different and unexpected ways in Toronto. There was beauty in the flexible design and architecture of the Bentway project, beauty in every historic corner of the Evergreen Brick Works site — from tech camps to lily pads. There was beauty in watching balls of dough being thrown in a tandoor oven in the middle of Thorncliffe Park, and beauty in seeing children build a river together in Dufferin Grove.
There were delightful and powerful moments every place we went. I left Toronto with these memories now part of me. Because of this journey, I am now inspired to do more, to learn from the amazing teachers and connect their stories to the work we are doing in Memphis. Together, we have to build sandboxes that create friendship, uplift voices, connect with the past and spark pride in our shared spaces.
Ruby Zielinski is the Design Strategist for the Memphis River Parks Partnership.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration between The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and local partners.
