Bridging Scales and Disciplines: An Ecological Approach to City Building in Toronto
Regional landscape planning and city-building are at a critical time of transition at the nexus of a climate crisis and ongoing global pandemic which has revealed social vulnerabilities and shed light on ingrained spatial inequalities in cities and urban regions across the world . A land-based ecological approach to understanding the interconnectedness of cities with their urban regions, with the vital natural processes that sustain them, and the multi- cultural communities that define them, is urgently needed to change course toward planning more holistically and building more sustainably and justly. Landscape literacy in the community and in practice more broadly is essential to shifting urban culture toward resilience.
‘Bridging Scales and Disciplines’ promotes a landscape-led ecological approach for the design of cities as resilient living systems as a holistic model of spatial design practice that integrates Indigenous land-based knowledge, local community engagement, the ecosystem processes that sustain life, and adaptation to future change. This approach requires a new type of city-building practitioner, with a broader knowledge base and skill-set. Building landscape literacy in the community, in practice and in academic curriculums is critical to sparking change toward a sustainable urban future.
Guided by curiosity, the project began by asking:
Is the base of knowledge and skills required to do meaningful and impactful work becoming larger and more sophisticated? If so, how should curricula and pedagogy evolve to prepare a new generation of practitioners to engage with the often-overwhelming issues of the early 21st century?
Who was involved?
Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, worked in partnership with the International Landscape Collaborative (ILC) and Universities of Toronto, Waterloo and Guelph. Additionally, academics, indigenous knowledge keepers, professionals, policy makers, students and community organizers working at the intersection of ecology, infrastructure, and urban development came together to share knowledge and global experiences, with the goal of sparking change in policy and city-building practices in Toronto and beyond.
What types of engagement occurred?
Symposium
‘Bridging Scales and Disciplines: An Ecological Approach to City Building in Toronto’ was a two-day symposium held in Toronto in spring 2022, hosted by Toronto Metropolitan University in collaboration with the International Landscape Collaborative (ILC) and the Universities of Toronto, Waterloo, and Guelph. The symposium featured three formats: keynoted conversations, panel discussions, and guided site visits, each highlighting the power of collaborative practice and research in planning holistically and building sustainably. A selection of speakers contributed papers to an accompanying book, Landscape Approach: From local communities to territorial systems.
Dissemination
Building from the Symposium hosted in June 2022 and the book, Landscape Approach: From local communities to territorial systems promotes a landscape approach as a method for understanding and addressing the complex interdependent issues of environmental and climatic change, ecological degradation, and socio-cultural inequalities. One key theme is the integration of Indigenous knowledge, experience, and storytelling throughout several of the chapters. The book draws lessons that are grounded in inclusive, contextual, and multi-scalar readings which suggest landscape-informed practices that are both socially and environmentally resilient, just, and sustainable.
Additional dissemination provides an analysis of the landscape literature includes the critiques made, the core values that underpin them, and the skills practitioners will need to draw upon. A series of thematic threads are revealed, illuminating how the role, scope, power, process and disciplinary convergence of the Catalyst spatial design practitioner has evolved over time, and an evolving lexicon is discussed, which describes their work in the context of a field expanding in complexity. The important learnings from these articles informs us of the evolution of practice and possible implications for curriculum and pedagogy, today.
What was learned?
The partnership’s work has established an extensive network of policy, community and Indigenous leaders throughout the territory who, through conversations, have identified case studies, showcasing best practices for the use of landscape frameworks as a much needed guide for city building. Together, the team has assembled practitioners to begin to create solutions across various scales and in particular focused on the role of pedagogy and the skills and process needed for shaping and supporting future catalyst practitioners.
