(Photo: Simon Carr, from the Toronto Standard Flickr pool)
There’s no doubt that communities are on guard at the moment–with slashes to library services and daycare centres possibly on the horizon, who would blame them?
The event Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) this Saturday aims to bring together community groups and politicians to exchange ideas on how to make Toronto more livable, and how best to effect change in the process.
YIMBY was founded five years ago by community activist, visual artist and Gladstone Hotel president Christina Zeidler, who saw the need to create an organization that promoted the role of neighbourhood groups as a positive force for change and disassociated them from the more negatively-inclined NIMBYism that flourishes from time to time in Toronto. As of this year, The Centre for City Ecology (CCE) is talking the reigns from Zeidler and hosting the event in the Urbanspace Gallery.
“YIMBY, like many CCE events and initiatives, will assist Torontonians to develop and articulate alternative visions for urban areas that address a myriad of overlapping, contradictory, and long-term challenges,” say CCE director Gillian Mason.
“When we are all better equipped to actively engage in town planning, urban design and land use issues in our own backyards, we will reach highly desirable outcomes–greater neighbourhoods, a just city–and YIMBY is one important part in creating that possibility.”
Some of the highlights of this year’s festival include a talk by Toronto Public Health on the Toronto Food Strategy, an innovative workshop by Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre entitled “Taking it to the Streets” and Mint Film Festival previews. Butterfly Communities, United Way Toronto, East Scarborough Storefront and People Plan Toronto are just to name but a few of the many organizations that will be in attendance on the day.
“It’s a fundamental building block in creating a city builders network, bringing together people from across Toronto who care about and are investing in the future of our city, whatever role they play,” says Mason.
YIMBY happens Saturday, October 22at the Urbanspace Gallery on 401 Richmond Street West from 11am – 4pm.
