Citizen engagement helps shape new public spaces
As pandemic puts premium on outdoors, parks being created with input from users
Before COVID-19 hit, much of the population was living in a self-imposed tech bubble — often more tuned into their phones than to those around them.
But now, faced with the combined challenges of social distancing, isolation and yet another epidemic — loneliness — city residents in densely populated downtown areas are tuning in to something completely different: the need for more parks and other forms of public space.
Mikael St-Pierre, national coordinator for the Active Neighbourhoods Canada network, feels parks and public space are going through nothing less than a renaissance.
“People are no longer taking public space for granted the way we used to. In Montreal, I've never seen so many people using the parks, having picnics and drinks, but for the most part keeping their distance (from others).”
This newfound appreciation for the outdoors is a godsend for St-Pierre, whose mandate with both Active Neighbourhoods and the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre is to get citizens more involved in the planning and nurturing of new and existing public space. So instead of a more conventional top-down decision-making approach, he is asking for input from families, seniors and marginalized members of the population, to get those same people who will eventually use these future public amenities to have an active say in what the space will look like and how it will be used.
Engaging the public as part of this planning process is something St-Pierre has done in support of the City of Montreal going back several years, whereby public input has been solicited via everything from workshops to “idea bike” tours that involve taking a bike with trailer (complete with whiteboard and sticky notes) throughout the city to garnish on-the-ground feedback.
One of the most recent outcomes of that process has been the decision to create a new public space — “Gorilla Park” — on former CP Rail land that will be transformed into a more natural, wilder setting for residents to visit and explore.
Making this park even more compelling in terms of quality of living is it's situated in La Petite-Patrie neighbourhood of Montreal where the lack of green space and abundance of hard surfaces makes it one of the hottest parts of the city during summer months.
“Currently there's just one small park there that's about 200 square feet … so this will only be the second public space for the neighbourhood,” St-Pierre says.
In the wake of public consultation this past summer, an outdoor dance floor called the R1 community space is now open for weekly dance competitions and efforts are underway to plan the greening and beautification of the space (still mostly a gravel surface) over the coming months — with such elements as a pergola and hanging gardens being considered.
Similar to St-Pierre's efforts, Jennifer Franks, the lead for Indigenous place-making with the Indigenous Affairs
Office with the City of Toronto, is focused on engaging residents (including the city's 70,000-strong Indigenous community) to help design and manage public space through more of a people-centered lens.
“There hasn't really been a co-ordinated, holistic, purposeful approach to place-making (involving the Indigenous community). So we're exploring ways to better share space and, at the same time, tell the truth about our land and water and get people to better understand the Indigenous story.”
The average citizen probably isn't aware of the fact that Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe people have a relationship with the GTA's land that dates back over 15,000 years — and rarely is that connection made when strolling down a street or walking through a park.
Particularly with respect to projects on ancestral land, Franks says it's essential that members of the urban Indigenous community are engaged from the outset and be partners in co-developing projects.
One project in the works — a collaboration between the City of Toronto and Toronto Council Fire, an Indigenous group, is the Indian Residential School Survivor (IRSS) Legacy project. IRSS Legacy was previously a two-day celebration that included performances, workshops and installations showcasing Indigenous arts and culture; and which is now slated to become a permanent fixture at the square by 2022.
Preliminary plans call for the space to feature a large turtle sculpture as the centrepiece for a garden and public meeting area that will serve as a way to both establish a stronger connection and understanding with the general community, while serving as a much needed place for Indigenous residents for teaching, learning and healing.
Editor's note: Mikael St-Pierre and Jennifer Franks participated in the recent webinar entitled Reimagining Public Engagement in Parks and Public Spaces. To learn more about how Canada's urban parks and public spaces continue to evolve, go to https://cityparksreport.parkpeople.ca