Unless a city has a two-digit total population, its urban planning committee should involve more than a few autocratic brains. Residents, not bureaucracies, live in communities—and while this might be a surprise to some administrations—they usually like to be informed about, or better yet involved in creating, the evolving blueprints for their neighbourhoods.
Community-based planning is the focus of tomorrow’s Toronto City Builder Camp, an interactive workshop hosted by the Centre for City Ecology (CCE) and People Plan Toronto that encourages and empowers citizens to take charge of the city building progress in collaboration with expert urban planners and design professionals. Three communities—Mount Dennis, St. Jamestown, and Church/Wellesley—have been selected to present their local planning ideas and challenges to an experienced panel for review, feedback and advice.
“It’s encouraging that there are so many Torontonians interested in the quality, environment and development of their neighbourhoods,” says Mary Rowe, director of the CCE, commenting on the fact that the event is fully booked (fortunately, it will be filmed and made available on the CCE’s website).
The Jane Jacob-inspired organization frequently hosts events, but the City Builder Camp is both its most interactive and the first one to bring various communities together in order to learn from one another through the planning process.
While many communities were interested in participating, only some were ready to make pitches before the panel. “We want to continue to work with those that aren’t quite ready and give them support so they can get to that place. And once communities have pitched their plans we will continue to track them to see what is and is not working,” says Rowe.
Toronto City Builder Camp, Saturday, September 17, 9:15am, at the Weston Family Learning Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario. The event is fully booked but can be viewed at www.cityecology.net/
