PUBLIC SPACE RECIPROCITY

One cannot keep on piling people into the grid... and expect the urban fundamentals of: health, safety, security, sanitation, education and general well-being — to prevail. 

-  These were my words back in 2000.

In our built-up urban context, there are no open fields at the end of the street which we can simply relegate into public service.  This is midtown Toronto which is not a greenfield setting, nor is it a brownfield setting which may be re-purposed to contemporary needs.

In this regard...

• respect the public assets we have, see that they are rendered 'fit-to-purpose', maintained in good condition, and by no means lost to private purposes
• seek out every opportunity to acquire additional lands, although, as mentioned there are no greenfields — and as such this is an urban endeavour
• apply a highest and best PUBLIC use test to the existing found conditions, and likewise apply this to new development assessments, eking out every possible parks and open space opportunity
• revise our thinking about parks and open space to recognise the benefits of sports clubs and coffee shops which offer active and passive recreational space for those living in high places in apartments
• recognise transportation as a significant pathway providing access to parks and recreational facilities.
• appreciate parks and open space are part of a public realm continuum which is enriched by extending their characteristics, and likewise
• appreciate that these public assets form part of the greater public realm matrix and that opportunities may arise in one area which help to satisfy the needs in another.

This last point is particularly noteworthy and relevant to Midtown Toronto, with its proximity to the Yonge Eglinton Growth Centre — where intensification will install an additional 25,000 people, doubling demand on local parks and facilities. Knowing the present demands placed upon existing facilities, it's evident there will be ripple effect of acquisitions and improvements throughout the broader community catchment area.