64 research outputs found
Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre as alternative planning model for mosque development
No full textMulticulturalism is widely celebrated in Toronto as a cornerstone of our society. When multiculturalism moves outside festivals and food, groups make spatial claims of citizenship and identity, the experience is somewhat different. There is no doubt that some racialized minorities have fared well in the Greater Toronto Area. Their growth is no longer confined to low-income enclaves within the City of Toronto but into city suburbs. This growth comes with the increased demand for spatial citizenship through culturally suited social, recreational, commercial and religious space. It is here where the experience of multiculturalism changes. The inherently political and contentious process of land use planning and its response to individual groups needs for certain type of developments is the broad focus of this paper. The paper looks at how the practice of planning in the Greater Toronto Area has responded to social diversity in cities by studying the specific process of mosque development for Muslim Canadians. Mosque development has faced challenges in the planning arena through staunch opposition that often hides behind legitimate planning technicalities to express the personal distaste for a group of people. My goal was to understand the role of planning departments in recognizing and responding to the rise of these conflicts in land use development. he paper examines the development process of five specific traditional mosques in the Toronto area to identify disputes and challenges. These are compared with a different
type of Islamic development--the Aga Khan Museum, Park and Ismaili Centre--to better understand how features such as multifunctionality, scale and status appear more acceptable to planning and the general public producing fewer obstacles in its development as compared to traditional mosque development. I look at how wealth, starchitecture, the framing of the development as cultural rather than a religious, and the support of local organizations contribute to the success and acceptance of a project, as compared to traditional mosque developments. The paper is organized into three sections: 1) a review of the Aga Khan development in order to understand the purpose and the development process; 2) an examination of the development of more conventional mosques in the Greater Toronto Area with an
emphasis on the challenges in such developments; and 3) an analysis elucidating some material concepts and themes that emerge from the case studies in order to facilitate in improving the planning process for mosques
Social And Environmental Sustainability In Waterfront Redevelopment: A Case Study Of Inspiration Lakeview
No full textThis paper is a case study of the Inspiration Lakeview Master Plan in Port Credit, Mississauga. This paper speaks to the history of urban waterfronts and examines the
evolution of urban waterfront (re)development in urban port cities from previously industrial eras to now modern-day planning. This paper is divided into sections focusing on social and environmental sustainability measures that are identified in the Master Plan. Social sustainability is analyzed in terms of housing and built form, employment, the notion of complete communities and public health, as well as transit. Environmental sustainability indicators focus on greenspace, stormwater management and waste management. This paper analyzes how social and environmental sustainability is accounted for and critiques the measures identified in the Master Plan to evaluate if what is being presented is adequate or if more robust measures should be implemented
'Public' Mediations in Public Parks: Equity, Planning and the Regulation of Behaviours
No full textThis Major Research Paper examines how ideologies of nature are manipulated by local civic actors to regulate people’s behaviour in public parks and thereby plan specific demographics of people out of these spaces. Focusing on behaviours of cruising and loitering, I explore how legal, design, and urban planning tools are leveraged to control and criminalize these behaviours in two GTHA public parks: Marie Curtis Park in Toronto, and Gore Park in Hamilton. Methods of research include multiple site visits to each park, interviews with local stakeholders, as well as urban planning and mental health professionals, and a literature review. In researching the above, I address questions on how the identity of “public” is defined and constructed in public parks and argue that the current regulation of cruising and loitering in the above cases serve to constitute homophobic and classist notions of “the public”. This is a particularly pressing issue for urban planners as an increasing number of ailments within cities are linked to rising temperatures, poor air quality and psychological distress. Scholarly work has demonstrated a positive correlation between exposure to nature and the alleviation of the above conditions. As parks are a primary source of nature in urban areas, addressing how the regulation of behaviour in public parks can limit the access of certain demographics of people - particularly those that are already socially marginalized - to the health benefits provided by exposure to nature is an urgent social equity issue in today’s urban environment. The paper concludes by offering alternative models for planning urban public parks that allow for more equitable access to the health benefits provided by these spaces
Formal Housing Market and Informal Settlements in Jamaica
No full textThe formation of unplanned settlements is a significant challenge faced by cities worldwide. Unplanned settlements are characterized by their lack of formal planning, limited access to basic services, and inadequate infrastructure. With its rapid urbanization and history marked by colonization, Jamaica is a suitable case study for exploring this phenomenon. My research investigates the limitations of the formal housing market in Jamaica and explores how these limitations contribute to the formation of unplanned settlements.
Eight participants, including architects, engineers, real estate agents, government officials, professors, and a social historian, were interviewed to understand the challenges faced by the formal housing market. The findings highlight that high housing prices, low housing supply, limited financing solutions, energy dependence, the absence of manufacturing, and disempowered government officials contribute to the formation of unplanned settlements.
The limitations identified act as barriers that hinder individuals from accessing affordable housing. The absence of affordable housing options within the formal housing market drives individuals to construct dwelling units in unauthorized areas, leading to the formation of unplanned settlements.
The findings underscore the importance of addressing the limitations within the formal housing market to address the formation of unplanned settlements. By implementing strategies to increase urban and regional planning, policymakers and professionals can alleviate the pressures that drive individuals towards self-build options
Community Engagement and Public Consultation through an Inclusive and Participatory Design
No full textPublic participation is designed to increase civic participation and engagement in local governance. The planning process has been increasingly participatory and collaborative in recent years; however, it has not been the most inclusive and equitable process. Planners and local councillors play a significant role in promoting and creating spaces for engagement and participation with vulnerable and marginalized populations. This research examines the City of Toronto’s outreach and engagement methods and tools that engage with the public and analyzes design and implementation through a case study, TOcore: Planning Downtown. The City of Toronto is one of the most diverse and multicultural cities in the world. As a result, their community engagement and public consultation must be equitable and inclusive of historically excluded and seldom heard in the planning process. A review of methods and programs of the City of Toronto was conducted, followed by six semi-structured interviews, and finally, scans of scholarly articles were employed.
The research also provided an alternative lens to community building and engagement through a case study in San Francisco. The research analysis suggests an equitable and trauma-informed community building be incorporated and integrated within the engagement process
A Materialist Acoustemology of Urban Atmospheres in Mexico City's Centro Histórico
No full textThe resonant frequency of sound, that is to say, the vibratory quality of sound, is felt and registered by our bodies in a way that goes beyond the audible. In an urban environment, the combination of sounds creates a sonic topography that manifests itself in the environmental qualities of a place. Sound is an integral constituent of atmospheric construction. How we think and feel sound is contingent on the architectural and lived conditions of space. In turn, the configuration of space is linked to capitalist-nationalist practices of urban development. This paper takes a materialist approach to urban sound in two areas of Mexico City's central district (Centro Histórico). The first is the corridor made up by San Jerónimo and Regina Streets and the second is the area known as La Merced. Through a combination of sound recordings, soundwalks and interviews with local residents, this paper aims to gain insights the construction of the built environment and its relation to quotidian interactions with situated sound atmospheres in the context of urban regeneration. Additionally, this paper seeks to bring to the forefront aural research methods as a way of approaching the nuances of urban life at the intersection of political economy, geography, and ecology
Short-term Gain And Long-term Pain: A Case Study Of The 2015 Toronto Pan American Games And The Union-pearson Express
No full textMega-events have been credited with being catalysts of urban regeneration and accelerating infrastructure development. Staging a mega-event not only requires significant investment in event-related facilities but also usually necessitates upgrades to transportation infrastructure. This paper broadly examines the role of mega-events in fast-tracking urban improvements as well as the ramifications of accelerated development on cities. In particular, it discusses how the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto fast-tracked the completion of the Union-Pearson Express, a rail link connecting the city's downtown and primary airport, after the project had been stalled for years. This case study reveals the tensions between the long-term planning goals of the host city and more short-term demands for mega-events. The Union-Pearson Express is criticized for being inconvenient, inaccessible and over-priced, resulting in adverse impacts on the environment and human health and not doing enough to encourage public transportation. This paper contends that the Union-Pearson Express offered short-term gain associated with the Pan American Games that fails to address the long-term transit and other needs of the Greater Toronto Area. It is very much short-term gain for the price of long-term pain
Housing that sustains: A case study of Bain Co-op and its historic buildings
No full textThis case study on a housing co-operative in Toronto and its historic buildings explores liveability and sustainability in multi-residential housing. It includes an analysis of the history of co-operative housing in Canada, public health and housing, and housing design methodologies that contribute to liveability and sustainability. Eco-social aspects of affordable housing design and the co-operative tenure model, as well as the aspects of housing that can contribute to human resiliency in a changing climate are also discussed. Primary data is drawn from resident questionnaires, expert interviews, and the author’s first-hand experience as a member-resident of Bain Co-op. This paper considers the archicultural significance of Bain Co-op’s housing built in the Arts and Crafts style, as one of the first social housing developments in Canada, and its associations with socialist, naturalist, and British colonial identitie
Disinformation, Exclusion, and its Politics: Canadian Right-Wing Extremist Community within a Digital Landscape
No full textResearch on right-wing extremism has historically been overwhelmingly focused on the movement’s preoccupations in the United States and Europe. Scholarly literature on Canadian groups and their beliefs has been sparse, with few studies mapping the extent of their activities. Right-wing extremism has captured journalistic attention in recent years as lone-wolf right-wing extremists radicalized on the Internet take up arms against racialized groups they see as anathema to their White supremacist groups’ survival. This research examines right-wing extremist conceptions of out-groups (the ‘Other’) and resulting political demands to contain this imagined threat through a case-study approach of Stormfront Canada. I conducted a thematic analysis of publicly available digital communications exchanged between community members between January 1st and December 31st, 2021. Major themes identified for forum threads were anti-hate initiatives, politics, crime, and health within the COVID-19 context, while for forum replies these were disinformation, offensive speech, and politics. I also quantified the extent of this community’s activity and found that most content shared to the website is posted by less than six active members. This thesis argues that discursive constructions of the Other depend on exclusionary belief systems predicated on support for White hegemony, and that political demands expressed by community members to contain the perceived threat posed by the continued existence of racial out-groups are shaped by an adherence to the Great Replacement superconspiracy
A Post-Colonial Era? Bridging Ml'kmaq and Irish Experiences of Colonialism
No full textThis dissertation explores the links between the past and present impacts of colonization in Ireland and colonization in Mikmaki (the unceded territories of the Mi'kmaq Confederacy known to Canadians as the Maritimes provinces). It asks how might deepening our understandings of these potential links inform accountable and decolonial relationships between the Irish and the Mikmaq? In doing so, it argues that comparatively examining Irish and Mikmaq experiences of colonialism can offer concrete insights not only into the way that the Irish and the Mikmaq have an interwoven past, but also the way that the legacies of colonialism are permeating everyday life in the present in both regions. Refusing colonial representations of Mi'kma'ki and recentering Mi'kmaq worldviews throughout this comparison, this dissertation presents Mi'kma'ki as a discrete and sovereign (occupied) territory. The dissertation begins by providing an overview of the geographical and sociopolitical context of Ireland and Mi'kma'ki while introducing some of the links that have caused community members in both nations to call for this type of comparative research to be completed. The second chapter explores key historical moments in Irish and Mi'kmaq history which serve not just as a foundation for understanding the historical context of current experiences of colonialism in both regions, but also highlights the way that Ireland and Mi'kma'ki have had their pasts interwoven by British colonialism and the Irish diaspora. Drawing on oral life histories gathered in the bordertowns between County Donegal and Derry/Londonderry in Ireland, as well as Eskasoni First Nation in Unama'ki (Cape Breton) in Mi'kma'ki, the third and fourth chapters respectively explore the way that Irish and Mi'kmaq community members are currently experiencing the impacts of the legacies of British colonialism in everyday life. Finally, the dissertation concludes by reiterating the main insights shared by community members around the current state of colonialism, postcolonialism, and decolonization in both regions, before briefly discussing the postdoctoral research (and other areas of inquiry) that are expanding the inquiry of this project further while highlighting how the Irish and Lnuk might use the insights from the project to increase their collaborations and support one another
- …
