Air pollution in south Etobicoke is part of a regional problem; City official recommends public transit advocacy

As a person who loves to drive, I was thoroughly intrigued to learn about the recent study of air pollution in south Etobicoke.     Cars and trucks: What can be done? With regard to cars and trucks, some of the text from Tamara Shephard’s Jan. 16, 2014 Etobicoke Guardian article, discussed in a recent post, stays […]

Ken Greenberg speaks of lessons from pioneering global cities

I was interested to read a recent article by Ken Greenberg at urbandesignreview.org. The article begins with the following note: Editor’s Note: The Forum for Urban Design is embarking on a campaign to collect ideas for compelling projects, plans, and policies to better New York City under the next mayor’s tenure. To tie in with […]

Jane’s Walk Annual available for purchase at www.blurb.ca

Update: The Jane’s Walk annual is now on sale at blurb.ca. [End of update] I’m pleased to share with you the following information regarding the Jane’s Walk Annual, which includes a text by Jaan Pill and a photo by Gay Chisholm regarding the Jane’s Walk in Long Branch (Toronto not New Jersey). Nadia Halim, Editorial […]

Resources related to lost rivers and streams in Toronto

I’ve recently been in touch with a walker from the ROM who’s keen to expand the walkers’ knowledge about the lost rivers and streams of Toronto. Where can a person or group find information about resources in this area? A contact at the Etobicoke Historical Society has noted that good resources include Lost Rivers http://www.lostrivers.ca/ and Toronto Field […]

July 19, 2013 news updates related to Long Branch (Toronto not New Jersey) and elsewhere

This post is related to a similar post on June 24, 2013. The latter post has had many page views, on average quite lengthy ones relatively speaking. Average visits to the above-noted post have averaged over five minutes in duration, whereas the average current duration of visits to the site as a whole is about […]

Reverse-slope driveways create ideal conditions for water damage. Links related to water damage also featured here.

I’ve been following with interest recent online discussions regarding extreme weather and climate change. A July 11, 2013 CBC article suggests that “soft engineering” including urban parks and porous pavement might help, although costly sewers would nonetheless still need to be replaced. The article quotes Jane Wolff, an associate professor of landscape architecture and design at the […]

What is worth preserving?

What is worth preserving? Our attitudes toward ruins and historically significant buildings and cultural landscapes have a relationship to a wider conversation about what matters. After the Second World War, destruction of heritage properties and landscapes was the norm in much of the world, a practice which in some cases continues today. Jane Jacobs among […]

Highland Creek was a centre of commerce in the early history of Scarborough

[Update: Highland Creek was highlighted in a CBC Radio Metro Morning broadcast in the fall of 2013. The CBC link (see previous sentence) introduces Highland Creek as follows: Highland Creek is in the south-east corner of Scarborough bordered … It has roots in the 1800s, and it’s been described as still having that “small village” […]