With the change of the seasons, we talk about different kinds of renewal. First, Senior Editor John Lorinc talks about the special Spacing investigation into the cyber attack on the Toronto Public Library that shut the service down for months. How did it happen, and how do we make sure our public institutions are hacker-proof? And, the latest Spacing Magazine issue is on shelves now. As a preview, we share the full conversation with Toronto Public Space Committee organizer Cara Chellew (available in the issue as a Q&A) about the need for new Toronto street furniture: garbage bins that work ..read more

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. I have issues with Starbucks, the flavour of their coffee, their exorbitant prices, their union-busting tactics; but they were an industry leader that understood the impact that providing a comfortab ..read more

I’m one of many who swim and paddle in downtown Toronto year-round.  I have no summer cottage.  The beach is my cottage. Until our last swim on January 7th, 2024, we swam nearly every day year-round at Michael Hough Beach, Ontario Place West Island.  It is now closed for development.  This fine pebble beach has been our joy and pleasure for more than 50 years. It looks pretty much the same as it did in my childhood, except that the trees are much larger now.  It is Toronto’s cleanest and most accessible beach.  Many of us prefer the fine pea-sized pebbles to sand ..read more

The building pictured above — a three storey walk-up with five units — is located at the end of the block where I live. I’ve always thought of it as kind of radically non-conforming. The front wall is at least two metres closer to the sidewalk than all its neighbours, thus upending the tidiness of the street wall. The building is literally and mysteriously attached to the house next door. It is half a storey too tall, based on the prevailing roof lines. And given that this walk-up fully occupies a small corner lot, it manages (illegally) to achieve three-times coverage in a residential area w ..read more

Over a weekend in late March, teams of high school students gathered a conference centre in Toronto’s new Canary District for Design Jam, where they were tasked to brainstorm, design, and prototype urban planning ideas for the redevelopment of the vacant Downsview Airport area. The winners would get a top prize of $300. The event was part of the 1UP conference organized by Urban Minds, a non-profit whose mission is to “create meaningful ways for youth to shape equitable and sustainable cities.” Among those attending was Manuela D’Cunha, a Grade 12 student whose team won the top prize. She firs ..read more

The Housing Series is the product of the last new project Arthur Goss undertook as the City’s Official Photographer. Between March, 1936 and January, 1940, he produced 675 carefully composed photos of housing conditions in designated “blighted” areas of the downtown core. He went on sick leave in February of that year, suffering from progressive muscular atrophy, and died four months later. He had served the city for 49 of his 59 years, having started as an office boy in the Engineer’s Office at ten years of age. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the question of providing adequate hous ..read more

The Liberal’s housing, infrastructure and communities minister Sean Fraser is by far the most entertaining politician on the national scene these days, what with his performatively insouciant policy videos, as well as an interesting confection of progressive cockiness and East Coast bonhomie. The guy’s all arms and legs and stubbled jaw line. While I’ve never met him, there’s no way Fraser doesn’t use that height to convey precisely enough alpha to cause his opponents to sniff the air warily. Let’s also acknowledge this point: he’s a master thief. I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched a ..read more

This is part five in a five-part series independently produced and investigated by Spacing The Toronto Public Library’s chief librarian, Vickery Bowles, sat down for an extended virtual interview with Spacing‘s senior editor John Lorinc to share her perspectives and experiences of the ransomware attack. The interview transcript has been edited and condensed. Spacing: There was a fairly sharp warning about cybersecurity risk from the Auditor General in 2021. I wanted to get a sense from you about how the library responded to her warning and her subsequent warning, which was issued a year later ..read more

Editors: Martin Søberg and Anna Hougaard (Birkhäuser, 2020) Architectural representations are more than just visual aids—they are the foundational blueprints for the built environment, embodying the visions of city-builders, and specifications of designers. As powerful tools for communication, they also serve to influence decisions of the public and municipal officials, while serving as tools of exploration, and creative expression for architects. Of the many representation types used daily, perhaps none is more understated and powerful than the architectural plan drawing. Often referred to s ..read more

By John Lorinc and Sakeina Syed Although TPL officials maintained an official no-comment stance for much of the shutdown — TPL chief librarian Vickery Bowles told The Globe and Mail‘s Oliver Moore in late December that she’d been advised “not to talk about the threat actor” — the organization undertook a public relations effort beginning later in January to burnish its image. In social media plugs from politicians, upbeat media coverage about its re-opening efforts and regular email blasts, TPL officials over the past month or so have sought to get the message out to Torontonians that their be ..read more