Team Presentations
This year’s Curtner Urban Leadership Program will focus on placemaking and placekeeping in a planning, land use and development context. Program participants shall be immersed in monthly sessions focused on specific related topics, identify and discuss problems, issues and challenges and provide holistic and inclusive solutions with real examples and emerging best practices.
Kick Off: In Person Happy Hour
The program kicked off on Tuesday November 23rd from 4:30pm – 6pm at Lavelle. Kevin Stolarick, the Dean of this year’s program gave everyone a brief overview of this year’s program. Participants of the program were able to network and meet one another before the start of this year’s program.
Session 1: December 10th, 2021
Program Co-Design Session
The session initiated a discussion about placekeeping and placemaking. The group undertook a co-design session where they collectively determined the focus and specific related monthly topics, and where they identied and discussed problems, issues and challenges and providing a holistic and inclusive solutions with real examples and emerging best practices on placemaking and placekeeping in a planning, land use and development.
Session 2: January 28, 2022
The Lifecycles of Place that Matter
This session aimed to frame the key issues around place-making and place-keeping by considering how we define “place” and how places are both multi-dimensional and experienced at multiple scales and from multiple perspectives. We considered the various champions of place-making ranging from public and private sector actors, to non-profit organizations, artists, and community groups. We also explored how places naturally evolve over time and how place-making operates within a life cycle continuum. In order to better inform our approach, we brought together a panel of experienced actors in the place-making process from different industry backgrounds to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face.
Team #3:
Ben Van Impe, Senior Consultant, Tate Economic Research Inc.
Isaiah John, Development Manager, TAS
Michael Vickers, Senior Program Lead, Arts, Culture & Creative Industry Development Agency-Brampton
Renee Desjardins, Senior Project Manager, Reserve Properties Limited
Stephen Brophy, Associate, Urban Designer, Urban Strategies Inc
Shan Li, Senior Urban Designer, City of Toronto
Shan Yang, Landscape Architect, B+H Architect
Speakers:
Meagan Madill, Founder, Curated by M
Leone McComas, Artist, Public Art & Murals
Leslie Najgebauer, VP, Impact & Engagement, TAS
Kristina Reinders, Program Manager, Urban Design Programs and Strategies, City of Toronto
Session 3: February 25, 2022
Tactical Urbanism
This session focused on the transformative potential of de-centralized and grassroots placemaking. Through the lens of Tactical Urbanism, this session examined the processes of conventional placemaking versus Tactical Urbanism, considering the benefits and drawbacks to both. Grassroots Tactical Urbanism precedents were explored, and key tactics were highlighted. The session outlined instances where Tactical Urbanism has inspired conventional placemaking, as well placemaking approaches that harness Tactical Urbanism.
Participants were asked to engage with how they understand places, as well as who and what processes are involved in defining these places. Through engaging discussions with our panel of city builders, the session raised questions regarding what happens when a community is separated from these processes, and who is not invited to participate in placemaking.
Team #1:
Abbie Kar, Senior Planner, Urban Design Development Services Commission, City of Markham
Alexander Furneaux, Project Manager, LURA Consulting
Astrid Greaves, Senior Urban Designer, IBI Group
Joaquin Sevillano, Lead Designer, Land Art Design Landscape Architect Inc.
Kelsey Carriere, Project Manager, Park People
Nedal Machou, Development Manager, Dream
Roxy Shiell, Senior Associate (Urban Design), Bousfields Inc.
Speakers:
Maxim Bragoli, Cofondateur et Directeur General, La Pépinière | Espaces Collectifs
Sara Udow, Principal, Process
Dave Meslin, Author of Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up, Activist and Community Organizer
Becky Katz, Manager of Cycling and Pedestrian Projects, City of Toronto
Session 4: March 25, 2022
This session on Equitable and Indigenous Placekeeping was structured as a workshop that encouraged participants to start having courageous conversations in their places of work about how to bring equitable and values-based practices into the placemaking process. The first section focused on the importance of Territorial Land Acknowledgements and how to begin to craft personalised and action-oriented acknowledgements to serve as a call to action for our industry. The second section covered practices in how to design public spaces for diversity, focusing on The Just City Index and practices in Indigenous Placekeeping. The final section focused on public engagement practices and how both thick and thin engagement tools can be utilised in combination to understand the values of communities in which we work so that they may be reflected in our public spaces.
Team #4:
Matt Andrews: Urban Planner, IBI Group
Ana Casas: Architectural Designer, B+H Architects
Oliver Hierlihy: Director, Operations, Waterfront BIA
Praneti Kulkarni: Agency Manager, STEPS Public Art
Derek Luk: Analyst
Mattson Mere: Senior Planner, Urban Design, City of Markham
Session 5: April 29 2022
Team #2:
Anne James, Urban Planner, Bousfields Inc.
Christina Glass, Manager, Development, Hullmark
Jordana Wright, Managing Director, Activate Space
Ritee Haider, Planner, IBI Group
Shamir Panchal, Design Lead, BDP Quadrangle
Swathika Anandan, Urban Designer, City of Toronto
Session 7: June 6, 2022
The participants of the 2022 Curtner Urban Leadership Program have spent the past six months focused on placemaking and placekeeping. Join them as they share insights on the placemaking process, unexpected placemaking, placekeeping, and sustainability and placemaking. They will provide specific examples and discuss how they would approach placemaking/placekeeping based on what they have learned. They might even share some stories about the field trip to Montreal in May. Hear some of the latest ideas on placemaking and how to incorporate placekeeping and sustainability into planning and development.