Spacing Radio

We all know access to clean water is vital. We also know that water quality and access is jeopardized by things like pollution and drought. On the other hand, the growing frequency of powerful downpours causes stormwater issues. All that to say, the state of the water we rely on for so many thing is in constant flux. What we need is good, local data, about the bodies of water that sustain us. That's where Mary Kruk, water data specialist with DataStream, and Steph Neufeld, watershed manager with Edmonton's water utility EPCOR, can help. With DataStream, Kruk helps compile water data from all over the country, and make it available and easily accessible to everyone who needs it. In Edmonton, Neufeld is using that data to inform the City about it's many important watersheds.

Dans cet épisode, nous sommes allés dans les coulisses de la planification urbaine de Victoriaville. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la manière dont les municipalités comme Victoriaville s’y prennent pour mettre en branle des projets urbanistiques en tenant compte à la fois des paramètres environnementaux, économiques et sociaux.  Les entretiens avec Jean-François Morissette, Directeur des Services de la gestion du territoire et du développement durable, et Valérie Ebacher, urbaniste chez Vivre en Ville, soulignent l'importance des collaborations interdisciplinaires. Grâce à ces échanges, nous comprenons mieux la nécessité croissante d’inclure dans les projets urbains une diversité de compétences afin de relever les défis municipaux complexes auxquels les villes sont confrontées, notamment dans le contexte pressant des changements climatiques.

In 2005, Ontario passed the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which made accessibility for all public establishments a legal requirement by 2025. That goal won't be met, unfortunately. To tell us about the progress that was made because of the legislation, and what still needs to happen, we speak to AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky. And, as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we talk to Jeremy Hopkin, who has colourized a panoramic photo series of Toronto in the mid 1800s. We ask him about the project, and what these photos tell us about early Toronto life.

With the Toronto budget about to be voted on shortly, we talk to crisis worker and homelessness advocate Diana Chan McNally about what the City needs to invest to help refugees and other unhoused people, whey the federal government needs to step up, and why the police don't need another big budget increase. And, as part of the Spacing 20th Anniversary celebration, we talk to historian and author Adam Bunch, who recently won the 2023 Governor General's History Award for Popular Media, and who wrote our blog's most-read story, which he treats us to.

Spacing is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary. To celebrate, we talk to publisher Matthew Blackett and senior editor Dylan Reid about how the magazine came together, the latest issue and anniversary book The Big Book of Spacing, and our special exhibit at the Urbanspace Gallery. And, at the same time the magazine began, David Miller had just become mayor of Toronto on a platform of change and urbanist principles. We ask him about Spacing's impact at City Hall, and how urban thinking has changed in the city in two decades.

With climate change leading to more frequent and more extreme climate events, predicting the next disaster and planning for it is essential. In many areas of the country, that means using data to anticipate extreme heat events, and give communities time to prepare. Dr. Ryan Reynolds is the researcher behind Resilience Mapping Canada. Reynolds uses data and other tools to help communities prepare for climate events, extreme heat, flooding, and more. In determining who is most vulnerable in extreme heat, Reynolds says: "This includes the elderly (in B.C. we decided that was about 60 plus) that were most vulnerable... Another one is adults who live alone. They're not necessarily being checked in on on a regular basis, so if they are having problems they might not be able to get assistance with that particular issue... Small children, particularly if they're accidentally left in vehicles... Health factors: there are particular health and mental health conditions that are exacerbated by extreme heat."  Barbara

Many people across the country struggle to make ends meet. In many cases, that means they experience energy poverty: they can't afford to use energy when they need to, if at all. At the same time, we are trying to address climate change and become more resilient. What if we could address both concerns at the same time? Energize Bridgewater was the winner of the 2019 Smart Cities Challenge. The program aims to identify where energy inefficiencies are in homes and find solutions to improve that efficiency, making the Town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, better prepared for our changing climate, and helping vulnerable residents who experience energy poverty and struggle to afford power. We talk to Bridgewater's Senior Energy Manager Asad Hussein and planner Meghan Doucette about the success of the program, and its future goals.

Women and children experiencing violence need housing options to be able to start a new life free of abuse, survive, and support themselves. But housing options that suit their particular situation and needs are often limited, due to the housing crisis, as well as a lack of appropriate services. For these reasons, Tanyss Knowles, director of programs at the BC Society of Supportive Houses, says there is a connection between women and children fleeing violence and homelessness: We know affordability is a growing issue across Canada and has been in B.C. for a long time. So women who come into temporary emergency services after leaving a violent home often can't move on to permanent housing because of the lack of affordable housing. And this has created a bottleneck in services, as more and more women and children are being denied access to services when they're seeking to leave a violent situation. Sometimes, the barrier to housing for women and children fleeing abuse is baked into the standards set by gove

Dans cet épisode, on découvre comment la ville de Lac-Mégantic, après avoir vécu le pire, s’est reconstruite pour devenir une meilleure version d’elle-même. En juillet 2013, un train de cargaison qui transportait du pétrole a pris feu, déraillé et explosé en plein milieu de la ville de Lac-Mégantic. Six millions de litres de pétrole brut ont été déversés et la majeure partie du centre-ville a été détruite par l’incendie après que. Cette tragédie a laissé beaucoup de marques et de traumatismes chez les gens de Lac-Mégantic, mais elle a aussi permis à cette ville de se reconstruire de façon inouïe. Non seulement, les résidents et résidentes de Lac-Mégantic ont fait preuve de résilience, mais ils ont également réussi, avec les efforts des fonctionnaires et des acteurs communautaires, à repenser leur ville - qu’il fallait presque rebâtir à zéro - de façon à ce qu’une tragédie comme celle-ci ne puisse plus jamais se reproduire. Comment ont-ils fait? Comment le principe de résilience a-t-il pris forme dans la co

We meet Globe & Mail architecture critic Alex Bozikovic in the new Love Park on Toronto's waterfront, to talk about good public space design, bad maintenance practices, and the legacy of legendary landscape architect Claude Cormier. We talk to playwright Michael Healey about "The Master Plan," a play about the doomed futuristic neighbourhood Google and Waterfront Toronto tried to build on the lakeshore. And, as a preview of our latest Spacing issue "Once Upon a Time in Toronto," we talk to author/playwright/screenwriter Catherine Hernandez about why she writes about Scarborough, and the pain of having to leave the neighbourhood that inspires you.

Last season, we talked to a group of people from the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) in Toronto as part of a range of options for non-market housing. Over a year later, we check in with the state of land trusts across the country: where are they, what are their impact, and what do they need to succeed and even scale upward to other communities? Susannah Bunce, associate professor at the University of Toronto's Department of Human Geography, has been researching the KMCLT. She has insight into how land trusts can grow and succeed, and the role they play in combatting displacement: It removes land from the speculative market and holds land, in trust, by the non-profit organization for the purposes of keeping housing and land prices at a lower level for community benefit. That principle of community land trust organizing and the model itself is fundamental to combatting gentrification. Nat Pace is network director for the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts, and provides a look at trusts

This Spring, Spacing Radio had the opportunity to take the show on the road to the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany. Now that the whole "who will be the mayor of Toronto" thing is settled, we bring you some highlights from the Forum. Heather Thompson, CEO of the Institute for Transportation and and Development Policy, talks about the importance of smaller-order, local transit like buses. Ann Frye of consultant firm Ann Frye Ltd. talks about striking a balance between accessibility and rethinking mobility. And ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim talks about tackling transport emissions and traffic congestion holistically. Finally, Spacing contributors Heather Breeze and Conrad Speckert talk about their "Single Stair Solution," which is also found in the latest "Fire!" issue of the magazine.

The days of the "mom-and-pop" landlord are largely behind us. Now, housing units are being snapped up or developed by large corporate entities and private equity firms. It can be hard to figure out who  actually owns a building. Homes being treated like major sources of capital, instead of places for people to live. This is a major factor in the housing crisis, pushes people who are renting out of their homes and neighbourhoods, and changes the physical and social fabric of communities. Erika Sagert, policy manager for the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, has been trying to identify just how many people are affected by this financialization of housing: "It's really hard to be a renter in Canada. The numbers, in terms of sheer volume, really stand out. We talk a lot about proportion, so we're looking at one third of renter households in Canada are spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. The number that stands out to me is 1.6 million rental households." When it comes to the types of

The June 26th mayoral by-election is coming up fast. We've seen plenty of debate, a crowded field of candidates, and increased voter engagement. What's next? Spacing senior editor John Lorinc, Toronto Star city hall reporter Alyshah Hasham, and Ontario reporter for The Narwhal Fatima Syed join us to talk about duelling housing platforms, the environment, the big, Doug Ford-shaped question mark, and more.

Evictions can completely upend your life. At best, you have to begin the search for a new home in an increasingly expensive and competitive housing market. At worst, you can't find an affordable replacement. It's a scary situation, even in the best circumstances. In this episode, we get into why evictions happen, how frequently, tenant rights, and "bad faith" evictions. First, we speak to Adam Mongrain, director of housing policy with the Quebec advocacy group Vivre en Ville about an online rental registry, which would provide renters and governments about changes in rental prices, and prevent unfair price hikes. Next, Julie Mah is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, who has done a lot of work on gentrification and urban displacement, and tells us about how that can cause evictions. Finally, Alexandra Flynn, associate professor at the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law talks about the high eviction rate in B.C. municipalities, changes to the provinces "Resi

Now that John Tory has officially stepped down as mayor, the field of candidates hoping to replace him is a big one. With roughly 50 candidates on the ballot so far, there's a lot to make sense of. To help weigh the merits of some of the major candidates, and the ideas proposed so far, we talk to Spacing Senior Editor John Lorinc and Toronto Metropolitan University Associate Professor Cheryl Thompson about what stands out in the race so far. And the new Spacing Magazine is available now, and it's all about the Ontario Line — the new subway meant to connect the downtown to the northeast of the city. Civil engineer and University of Toronto Associate Professor Shoshanna Saxe tells us about her latest Spacing contribution about how to get the most value-for-money from the new subway line.

The term "Smart Cities" has been kicking around for about a decade now. When we began The Future Fix series, that term was headline news. Everyone, including multiple levels of governments, was being asked to imagine a new kind of urban space, where data and technology were woven into the very fabric of the neighbourhood. Since then, the Smart Cities conversation has evolved, important questions have been asked, a global pandemic happened, and we have more examples, from communities across Canada, about what works, and what to avoid. John Lorinc is a Spacing senior editor and author of the book "Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias." He's been researching data and tech as it relates to cities and urban politics and planning for years now, and his book earned the Writer's Trust of Canada Balsilie Prize for Public Policy. “Because of the pandemic and because so much of our lives had to go online for this period of time, and in many ways stay online, a lot of the ideas aroun

Not all technology has to be disruptive, it may actually be most useful as an extension of our ways of life, instead of as a replacement. In the arctic, the Inuit have extensive traditional knowledge of traversing sea ice for hunting, gathering supplies, and travelling between communities. SmartICE is a social enterprise which uses technology to build on this traditional knowledge and map the ever-changing sea ice, so people can make informed decisions about how and where to travel. Andrew Arreak is SmartICE Regional Operations Lead for Qikiqtaaluk Region, and explains the benefit this technology provides to northern communities. “Every year the ice conditions are different... if we knew what was coming in terms of ice conditions, I don't think we would need a SmartICE at all up in the north. It is a great adapting tool that we are able to use so we can provide the information for our local people.  Since I've started working there has been less people falling through the ice, less search and rescue callout

We're back for 2023, and there is... a lot to catch up on. To begin, Emma McIntosh, Ontario reporter for The Narwhal, guides us through Doug Ford's Greenbelt plan. What will the long term effects be? Who stands to benefit? Did certain developers catch wind of the changes to land that was formerly protected? Then, Ontario Place for All co-founder Norm Di Pasquale tells us about the growing criticism of plans to turn Ontario Place into a privatized tourist destination.

We've had some time to make sense of the Toronto election, and what it might mean for the next four years in this city. Is there a silver lining to be found? Is Toronto due for another urbanist renaissance? We talk to Spacing co-founder and Star columnist Shawn Micallef. And we talk to the co-editor of the new book "The Signs that Define Toronto" Kurt Kraler about how the project came together, and what signs mean to the look, feel, and culture of a city.