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Past Lectures

The Art of Place Making: Creating Vibrant Neighbourhoods, Shopping Streets and Public Places

Presented Apr 2010

David Engwicht, an internationally acclaimed author of Reclaiming our Cities and Towns, Street Reclaiming and Mental Speed Bumps is a consultant and lecturer in community empowerment, creativity and planning. This two-part lecture and workshop series unpacked the multiple dimensions of place making from urban design to urban psychology, from traffic issues to social and cultural […]

Making Growth Sustainable: Linking Sustainability Assessment and Growth Management

Presented Jan 2010

Robert Gibson focused on how sustainability considerations are integrated in land use decision making and environmental assessments at the project and strategic levels. Robert took us on a tour of ideas and practices from the Mackenzie Valley to Ottawa, with stops in Victoria and Waterloo along the way. Robert B. Gibson is a professor in […]

Designing Dubai: Lessons in Urban Revolution

Presented Nov 2009

Not unlike the classic story of the tortoise and the hare, some cities move forward through slow, steady growth while others experience rapid, chaotic change. As communities increasingly compete against each other on the global stage, what can we learn from those in the grip of urban revolution? Are there lessons that can infuse a […]

Modernizing Modernism: Toronto’s Tower Renewal Program

Presented Oct 2009

With Graeme Stewart, ERA Architects Inc. and Eleanor McAteer Mayor’s Tower Renewal, City of Toronto Toronto has recently embarked on an ambitious strategy to reassess its large stock of aging residential high-rise towers. Through the use of green technology and neighbourhood revitalization principles, they intend to radically change the way towers interact with the city […]

Going Underground: Underground Pedestrian Networks with Michel Boisvert and James Parakh

Presented Apr 2009

The speakers highlighted how underground pedestrian networks should look and function so that they contribute to a successful and vibrant downtown, and they illustrated the connections between the underground walkways, the street level public spaces and tall buildings. The speakers showed examples of compact cities, climate-controlled walkways, and indoor cities from around the world; explained […]

Design, Society and Well-being: Making the Link with David Witty,Ph.D., MRAIC, FCIP

Presented Feb 2009

David Witty, Ph.D., MRAIC, FCIP Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba; Member of Advisory Committee for Planning, Design and Realty, National Capital Commission; Founding Chair of the Canadian Healthy Communities Project. David Witty will express his thoughts on the growing consensus that design will be critical to get us out of the […]

Three Rival Models of Stadium Design: Suburban, Downtown, and Neighborhood with Philip Bess

Presented Nov 2008

Decisions about new stadium construction today are based on many competing interests. To what degree are they conceived with respect to their potential role as civic buildings, or with respect to their social, aesthetic and environmental impact? Stadiums once were understood as civic buildings, and as part of a coherent public urban realm that accommodated […]

A Master Plan for 21st Century Havana

Presented Oct 2008

Havana experienced impressive growth during the first half of the 20th century but escaped the effects of urban renewal and overdevelopment during the second half of the 20th century. A team of Cuban architects led by Julio Cesar Pérez Hernàndez has designed a Master Plan for this UNESCO World Heritage Site that aims at preserving […]