Cara Chellew

Jun 19, 2024 | spacing.ca | John Lorinc |Cara Chellew |Jessie Ye

In 1979, when the renowned American sociologist William (Holly) Whyte published The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces — which is, let’s face it, a love letter to New York — he was training his gaze on a city that had been through the ringer. After decades of Robert Moses’ mega-project megalomania, Greenwich Village had only just narrowly escaped his bulldozers. The South Bronx was on fire. The subways were a stinking mess. Crime had spiked. Muggers lurked in Central Park.

Apr 26, 2024 | spacing.ca | Craig Meerkamper |Cara Chellew |Maryam Siddiqi |Nathan Abraha

Finding a public space to sit down and write this article was a struggle. My neighbourhood library is under renovation and will be for the next 12-18 months, and it was still too chilly and rainy this past month to set up in a park nearby. When the weather eliminates outdoor options in Toronto, it's hard to find a 'third place,' where I can settle in for an extended time outside of home or office.

Dec 8, 2023 | spacing.ca | Jessie Ye |Cara Chellew |Shawn Micallef |Ian Darragh

The holiday season is well underway, and many retailers are racing to keep their storefronts open for longer hours. Despite this, there is one pivotal piece of public space infrastructure that remains unsupported despite high traffic and need; public washrooms. The vast majority of Toronto’s public washrooms are operated by the Parks, Forestry, and Recreation Department (PFR), which manages 187 stand-alone facilities in parks.

Nov 24, 2023 | spacing.ca | Jake Tobin Garrett |Cara Chellew |Ian Darragh

When the pandemic hit in 2020, people flocked to city parks. Across Canada, cities observed large increases in park use as people looked for ways to socialize safely, exercise, and de-stress. Despite restrictions being lifted in the years since, park use has not only remained high, it has increased further. Between 2020 and 2022, park use increased 15% across Canadian cities, according to Google location data, essentially setting a new higher baseline.