This thesis examines the suburban verge’s latent potential as an alternative public space. It is located between the boundaries of private properties and public streets, where territorial boundaries and ownership are unclear. The site for this thesis is the southeast quadrant of the intersection at Jane Street and Finch Avenue West in the former city of North York, now part of Toronto. The intersection reveals a fertile field of public activity that engenders new forms of social engagement and invites a reconsideration of public space in the urban periphery. A product of Modern planning, the suburban verge is a buffer between vehicles and pedestrians. Home to hydro poles, streetlights, small-scale furnishings and the ubiquitous cast-in-place concrete sidewalk, the suburban verge is a definitive element of the suburban landscape that accounts for a substantial amount of neglected public land. The suburban verge’s ambiguity attracts a variety of unsanctioned and informal activities. At Jane and Finch, socio-economic issues, a diverse population and escalating pressure to increase density further intensify this unscripted behaviour. This thesis calls attention to the unrealized potential of the suburban verge. It does not set out to create new public space; rather, it draws upon existing social patterns in order to enrich the suburban public realm. Subtle inflections in the existing terrain, deliberately modest in form and operation, expand the social and ecological capacity of the suburban verge and demonstrate the need to consider the potential of everyday practices as a vehicle for generating dynamic public space.

The sustainable growth and development of our cities are amongst the most important issues of the world today. It is estimated that soon up to ninety percent of the world’s population will live in urban centers. How to accommodate such growth, while maintaining high quality of life, is one of the most challenging tasks facing society. The design proposal will address the future population growth in the City of Toronto with the intensification of an inner suburban area in central Etobicoke. It is founded on principles that address the communities growing needs while working to cultivate a sense of place and improve the livability of the surrounding neighbourhood. Within this area through the design of a mixed-use development with significant forms of public space and amenities, the neighbourhood would experience increased connectivity with the surrounding environment and improved sense of community. It will draw together the residents of the area and cultivate a new public realm from its now disparate elements, this would raise the areas ability to meet future housing needs and mitigate congestion. The design for the Etobicoke Centre is a symptom of – and a drive toward – the evolution of a mature suburb to a place aspiring for urbanity. The story of suburban transformation is relevant to metropolitan areas around the continent, and the clarity of the architectural design demonstrates how good public space design can set standards of sophistication, craft, and structure for other developments to follow. New growth in the area has the potential to act as a catalyst for change, demonstrating how existing inner suburbs have the ability to evolve into more urban, sustainable places.

Contemporary criticism of the North American urban public realm has reached an unproductive state of exhaustion. For some time, it has painted a rather bleak portrait of public space attributed to the impacts of global private economic forces, the disintegration of traditional civic ideals and an increasing uncertainty in its ideal (or even relevant) spatial form. If a productive and meaningful dialogue about the public realm and architecture’s contribution to it is to emerge, a more complete definition of this realm must include the impacts of its informal others. This research-based thesis examines the city’s spaces and actors of hidden appearance as a contribution to that expanded definition. In so doing, it finds a more appropriate means for their description in what Henri Lefebvre terms the urban blind field. Just as the human eye’s blind spot is subjective, the urban blind field too is dynamic and shifting. Looking from multiple viewpoints is necessary to the blind field’s exposure and more genuine portrayal. The research centres around a series of blind fields encountered during field research undertaken across Toronto, Canada. Each is reconceived and foregrounded through participant actions upon them, rather than by professional design alone. Three fundamental urban acts — play, exchange and cultivation — serve as a loose framework for the theoretical, photographic and discursive explorations thereof. This thesis asserts that blind fields possess within them the seeds of active urban democracy — challenging contemporary criticism’s bleak claims. Therefore, their maintenance is paramount to a rich and active ongoing public realm. As a relational concept, the blind field also exposes a fertile means of reconsidering architectural praxis and its relationship to space, material, time and participatory hierarchies.

The reality of cities is that, no matter how designed, controlled, or planned they are, people will do as they like. They will find ways to live and move through them that suit their purposes, even if this means going against a ‘designed’ system. In the case of South Africa during apartheid, this movement was obstructed by institutionalised segregation and State oppression. Apartheid, which means ‘apart’ and ‘hood’ in Afrikaans, was an attempt to inscribe a power structure into the spatial framework of a territory, based on notions of capitalism, race, and hygiene. As a mechanism of social control, it relied heavily on concepts of space and power to achieve the white ideal of racial segregation. Although the spaces of apartheid may be seen as fixed and concrete, internal contradictions contested their authority. While apartheid legislated, controlled, and monitored the movement of all South Africans, the actions of many of its citizens created counter mechanisms which diminished its effect. Despite the official days of apartheid now being over, the question remains: how do people create and maintain public life in the face of an administrative system of control? The spaces created by the everyday actions of those living under apartheid - the stories, music, dance, and protests that were part of the country’s culture of subversion and resistance - were, for years, the site of public life in South Africa.

Urban regeneration has been accompanying urban development since the earliest human settlement, and was emphasized after the World War Two. Several decades' experience and billions of dollars forced the decision makers to realize the importance of urban image, quality of life, and urban environment, which were recognized as prerequisites and catalysts for the economic development of cities. In this circumstance squares have been involved in urban regeneration projects to create symbol of the city and to provide space for residents, and have been proved to be effective for urban regeneration by many western countries. Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China presented to be a successful case in the country in involving the construction of squares in regenerating central city to transform the city from a heavy industrial city to a garden city. In the circumstance of urban beautification movement in China, which began in 1990s and was partly symbolized by the construction of fancy, large, but under-used squares, a study on the success of Dalian is indeed needed. This study shed light on the major concerns of Dalian government to create squares in central city, the land use issues of squares, the usage on the squares, and the perception of squares by users. Through the application of key-informant interview, questionnaire survey, and onsite observation, the paper concluded that the construction of squares was part of the urban regeneration policies in Dalian, the major concern was to provide local residents with public open space to enjoy public life, and to improve urban environment. The construction of squares was carefully and systematically planned, the location of squares was pertinent to the land use pattern nearby and to the function of each of the three districts in central city, the squares are fully utilized, and are appreciated by both local residents and tourists. The squares were considered as catalyst in urban environment improvement, urban image enhancement, and tourism and economic development from the perspective of government officials, local residents, and tourists. Implication was provided for other cities in China based on the major findings and reviewed literature, future research opportunities were also suggested.

This thesis examines the suburban verge’s latent potential as an alternative public space. It is located between the boundaries of private properties and public streets, where territorial boundaries and ownership are unclear. The site for this thesis is the southeast quadrant of the intersection at Jane Street and Finch Avenue West in the former city of North York, now part of Toronto. The intersection reveals a fertile field of public activity that engenders new forms of social engagement and invites a reconsideration of public space in the urban periphery. A product of Modern planning, the suburban verge is a buffer between vehicles and pedestrians. Home to hydro poles, streetlights, small-scale furnishings and the ubiquitous cast-in-place concrete sidewalk, the suburban verge is a definitive element of the suburban landscape that accounts for a substantial amount of neglected public land. The suburban verge’s ambiguity attracts a variety of unsanctioned and informal activities. At Jane and Finch, socio-economic issues, a diverse population and escalating pressure to increase density further intensify this unscripted behaviour. This thesis calls attention to the unrealized potential of the suburban verge. It does not set out to create new public space; rather, it draws upon existing social patterns in order to enrich the suburban public realm. Subtle inflections in the existing terrain, deliberately modest in form and operation, expand the social and ecological capacity of the suburban verge and demonstrate the need to consider the potential of everyday practices as a vehicle for generating dynamic public space.

The sustainable growth and development of our cities are amongst the most important issues of the world today. It is estimated that soon up to ninety percent of the world’s population will live in urban centers. How to accommodate such growth, while maintaining high quality of life, is one of the most challenging tasks facing society. The design proposal will address the future population growth in the City of Toronto with the intensification of an inner suburban area in central Etobicoke. It is founded on principles that address the communities growing needs while working to cultivate a sense of place and improve the livability of the surrounding neighbourhood. Within this area through the design of a mixed-use development with significant forms of public space and amenities, the neighbourhood would experience increased connectivity with the surrounding environment and improved sense of community. It will draw together the residents of the area and cultivate a new public realm from its now disparate elements, this would raise the areas ability to meet future housing needs and mitigate congestion. The design for the Etobicoke Centre is a symptom of – and a drive toward – the evolution of a mature suburb to a place aspiring for urbanity. The story of suburban transformation is relevant to metropolitan areas around the continent, and the clarity of the architectural design demonstrates how good public space design can set standards of sophistication, craft, and structure for other developments to follow. New growth in the area has the potential to act as a catalyst for change, demonstrating how existing inner suburbs have the ability to evolve into more urban, sustainable places.

Contemporary criticism of the North American urban public realm has reached an unproductive state of exhaustion. For some time, it has painted a rather bleak portrait of public space attributed to the impacts of global private economic forces, the disintegration of traditional civic ideals and an increasing uncertainty in its ideal (or even relevant) spatial form. If a productive and meaningful dialogue about the public realm and architecture’s contribution to it is to emerge, a more complete definition of this realm must include the impacts of its informal others. This research-based thesis examines the city’s spaces and actors of hidden appearance as a contribution to that expanded definition. In so doing, it finds a more appropriate means for their description in what Henri Lefebvre terms the urban blind field. Just as the human eye’s blind spot is subjective, the urban blind field too is dynamic and shifting. Looking from multiple viewpoints is necessary to the blind field’s exposure and more genuine portrayal. The research centres around a series of blind fields encountered during field research undertaken across Toronto, Canada. Each is reconceived and foregrounded through participant actions upon them, rather than by professional design alone. Three fundamental urban acts — play, exchange and cultivation — serve as a loose framework for the theoretical, photographic and discursive explorations thereof. This thesis asserts that blind fields possess within them the seeds of active urban democracy — challenging contemporary criticism’s bleak claims. Therefore, their maintenance is paramount to a rich and active ongoing public realm. As a relational concept, the blind field also exposes a fertile means of reconsidering architectural praxis and its relationship to space, material, time and participatory hierarchies.

Leisure time, leisure activities, and leisure spaces largely surround matters of consumption. However, the role consumption plays in the reproduction and performance of community is a necessarily contested topic among leisure scholars. For their part, leisure scholars have tended to regard consumption and places of consumption with a great deal of trepidation, skepticism, and even contempt (e.g., Arai & Pedlar, 2003; Hemingway, 1996; Reid, 1995; Stormann, 2000). Implications for and about community appear to be at the forefront of anxiety about consumption as it relates to leisure. As a result, a focus on “community” has become a practical response to assumptions about pervasive individualism, consumption, and the loss of community, in general. Following calls for the incorporation of community in leisure studies (Arai & Pedlar, 2003; Glover & Stewart, 2006) and drawing on Cook’s (2006a) call to move leisure studies “beyond individualism” (p. 464), this study sought to empirically examine the significance local residents attribute to everyday places of consumption. Furthermore, this study aimed to challenge the idea that leisure time, activities, places, and spaces based on consumption serve only to further alienate individuals from communities, thus weakening the social relevance of leisure, in general (Arai & Pedlar, 2003). The purpose of this research, therefore, was to challenge the essentialist conceptualization of consumption by exploring the relationship between places of consumption and the everyday lived experience of community. To do so, I engaged patrons at the Kitchener Market, a venue that encourages consumptive acts, yet serves as a focal point for everyday engagement in community. The primary research question providing focus for this study was: What roles, if any, do places of consumption, particularly third places, play in the everyday lived experience of community? Results of this research suggest there are new ways for understanding leisure and community as they relate to consumption. Rather than considering consumption places as points of exchange with little or no emotional sentiment attached, this research suggests these places have to potential to develop and create community as well as incorporate consumer values, ideals, ethics, and sentiments. Third places, as everyday places of consumption, should be examined for their potential to create, enact, and build community. Consumption is not separate from society, community and leisure; rather, consumption constitutes a salient aspect of everyday living and should be considered an important component of community.

“It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been profoundly disturbed, not so much by our famous problem of identity, important as that is, as by a series of paradoxes in what confronts that identity. It is less perplexed by the question ‘Who am I?’ than by some such riddle as ‘Where is here?’” - Northrop Frye Canada is the only country in the world that knows how to live without an identity. – Marshall McLuhan As Canadians we struggle with issues of identity. Our land is so vast that it can never be simply categorized and our culture is so diverse and rich that it can never be reduced to a single group or ancestry. In Ontario, the question of identity is equally complex. Larger than many counties, Ontario is made up of three distinct geographic regions, its edges defined by borders on five US states and two provinces, and it is home to one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world. Ontario holds 40% of Canada’s population and Toronto, it’s capital, is the largest city in the country. Sitting at the very centre of Toronto’s educational and ceremonial core is Queen’s Park, home of the Provincial Legislature the place from which Ontario is governed and the place which is tasked with embodying and representing all of Ontario. Composed of a 19th century building and a generous public landscape, Queen’s Park is easily recognizable at a distance, yet it suffers from a deficit of meaning and identity. The park may ‘work’ in the most basic sense but leaves much to be desired for one of the most prominent, and symbolically significant places in both the city and the province. Over the course of its 150 years of history, the park has seen the disappearance of Taddle creek, various alterations in the landscape, the accrued collection of monuments and memorials, the demolition and construction of several buildings and countless public gatherings. All of these manipulations, deletions, additions and events fail to suggest anything other than our society remains supplicant to greater powers, disconnected from its environment and unsure of its identity. Yet, in spite of all these issues, Queen’s Park is full of potential. The goal of this thesis is to test the capacity of architecture to give voice to a new vision for Ontario’s capital that more fully reflects the forces at work in society. Equally significant for this thesis has been my own parallel quest for meaning and identity as a woman in the 21st century who is both prospective architect and engaged citizen. I deeply felt a need to find architectural sources of inspiration founded on compassion, empathy and an engagement with the land. This desire for meaning has led me to discover the ancestral heritage of Ontario and to take ownership of my own roots. These two streams, one architectural and one personal are woven together to build a design approach for Queen’s Park. The thesis is organized in four parts, completing one cycle of design. Part 1: ‘Stories of Migration’ uses female voices extending back to the land’s geological formation in order to invent a mythology for Toronto and to engage with the voice of the other. Part 2: ‘Capitols of Identity’ uses case studies of civic architecture and public space in Ontario to explore the relationship between power, landscape and place in cities. Part 3: ‘Messages of Queen’s Park’ recovers the lost identity of this urban artifact by forging more meaningful connections to its physical and metaphorical context. And finally, Part 4: offers a concluding vision to the building and landscape which create memorable spaces for civic engagement and play for the people of Ontario.