Spacing Radio

There have been two full, virtual City Council meetings since the COVID-19 outbreak in Toronto. Those meeting saw near-unanimous votes about building affordable and social housing, expanding the active transportation network across the city, and preparing for a post-lockdown Toronto.

In this episode, we speak to city councillors Gord Perks (Parkdale-High Park) and Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre) about these crucial issues.

And Spacing Senior Editor Todd Harrison brings us an audio exploration of what the city sounds like in a pandemic.

In a time of snitch lines, and shuttered park space, we dive into what we're prioritizing in this pandemic, and what, and especially who, is ignored.

We talk to Spacing co-founder and Toronto Star columnist Shawn Micallef about what happens to the public realm, now we're in lockdown.

Former Toronto Police Services Board Chair Alok Mukherjee, co-author of "Excessive Force: Toronto's fight to reform city policing," critiques the new, extraordinary policing measures we're seeing.

And harm-reduction worker and Toronto Overdose Prevention Society co-organizer Zoë Dodd talks about what the City has done (or failed to) for people in the shelter system, substance users, and other vulnerable communities.

Plus, Glyn goes on a brief rant about all the cities making space for pedestrians to social distance that aren't Toronto.

In this episode, we try to gain some perspective on the Covid-19 virus from the safety of our own appartments.

We talk to Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow about his experience in self-isolation, as well as tips from working at home and the importance or wearing pants.

Spacing senior editor John Lorinc talks about what this epidemic can teach us about a city's resilience, and where we need to improve.

Historian Adam Bunch tells us about past pandemics, how we dealt with them, and how they helped forge Toronto into the city it is today.

Finally, Zahra Ebrahim tells us about a growing resource for people dealing with life during Covid-19, how you can use it, and help populate it. You can find that resource here.

This is the third and final special French-language episodes of the Future Fix, or 'Face au Futur.'

Des appareils portables comme les montres intelligentes qui suivent nos pas et notre fréquence cardiaque, des dossiers de santé numérisés, des suivis à distance pour les maladies chroniques; les initiatives en santé intelligente ne cessent de se multiplier.

Pour avoir une idée plus claire de ce concept et de la forme que cela peut prendre, nous sommes entretenu avec Dida Berku la conseillère municipale de Côte-Saint-Luc. Elle nous explique en consiste le projet en santé intelligente « VillAGE », finaliste du défi des villes intelligentes d'Infrastructure Canada.

Et, afin de de réfléchir plus en profondeur l'avenir de la santé, Jonathan Veale du département de Santé et de Bien-Être de Nouvelle-Écosse nous a accordé une entrevue. Il témoigne de la nécessité de mettre les technologies numériques au profit de l'inclusion sociale et de l'accessibilité pour permettre un avenir de la santé plus prospère.

From portable smart watch technology that follows our heartbeat, to distance medical consultations for chronic illnesses, smart health initiatives are on the rise in communities across Canada.

On this episode of 'Face au Future,' host Katia Gaid is joined by Dida Berku, City Councillor in the City of Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec, to explore VillAGE, the smart health initiative that made her city a finalist in the 2019 Smart Cities Challenge. Plus: Jonathan Veale, Chief Design Officer with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness on new health technology, social inclusion and accessibility.

In this series, we've talked a lot about what digital technology can do for communities. Now, we find out how that same technology is being used to create communities.

We speak to Dan Alfano, manager of digital initiatives at the Edmonton Public Library, about adapting the libraries role as a community hub to teach new skills and provide opportunities to thrive in the digital age.

And, Pinngauq Association Director Ryan Oliver tells us how connecting communities across Nunavut to digital skills, and a chance for everyone to share their stories, is actually a mental health service.

There are few things as dramatic as a disaster. With climate change leading to greater and more frequent disasters in every part of the country, how we deal with them has become the focus of many communities.

For some people, the key to forecasting, mitigating, and potentially even preventing disaster lies in good data.

In this episode, Civic Tech Fredericton's Bernie Connors tells us how the River Watch app helps people in New Brunswick track annual flooding.

And Josh Bowen, manager of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Centre for Applied Disaster and Emergency Management in Edmonton, explains how we "live and die by data."

In this episode, we talk about public space issues of the past, present, and future.

Spacing Publisher Matthew Blackett tells us how the magazine itself sprung out of conversations about the  public realm in the early 2000s.

Longtime Toronto City Hall journalist and news editor at Canadaland Jonathan Goldsbie takes us through some of the activism around billboards, corporatizing street furniture, and surveillance cameras.

And researcher, activist, and Spacing contributor Cara Chellew talks about revitalizing the Toronto Public Space Committee, what's on the agenda now, and how to get involved in issues that affect the public realm.

A major component of "smart" cities is finding new ways to harvest data, and integrate it into ongoing urban planning.

Obviously, embedding sensors throughout the public realm creates multiple privacy concerns. This is something David Fewer, director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, advises municipalities on, regularly.

But, data is power, and Newmarket Ontario's Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives Susan Chase explains how Soofa benches throughout that town have helped government, businesses, and local events make the most of information how people move about the public realm.

This is the second of three special French-language episodes of Future Fix, or "Face au Futur."

Quand on pense à la mobilité dans le cadre des villes intelligentes, il nous arrive souvent de penser aux villes futuristes qui ont marqué notre imaginaire avec leurs voitures volantes ou les hyperloops. Pourtant, la mobilité intelligente est déjà présente dans nos quotidiens de manière plus organique et concrète. Dans cet épisode, nous nous sommes intéressés au projet de Tramway de la ville de Québec et avons voulu comprendre comment la mobilité intelligente s’intègre dans ces nouveaux projets de mobilité présents au Québec et à travers le pays.

Le maire de Québec a annoncé en 2018 que le projet projet de renouvellement du transport en commun serait mis en place et prendrait la forme d’un Tramway. Etienne Grandmont, le porte parole et directeur général de Accès Transports Viables nous a permis de comprendre davantage le contexte qui entoure la création du Tramway, et tout ce qui concerne les enjeux de transports et de mobilité à dans la ville de Québec.

Pour aller un peu plus loin, nous nous sommes entretenus avec Thierry St-Cyr, le directeur du CIAMIL : le centre d’incubation et d’accélération en mobilité intelligente à Laval. Thierry St-Cyr nous explique en quoi consiste exactement la mobilité intelligente et quelles solutions cet organisme met en place pour améliorer le service d’un transport collectif plus efficient et d’une ville plus intelligente.

When we hear about mobility in the smart city we might think of hyperloops and flying cars, but ‘smart’ mobility can be as ordinary as our morning commute. On this episode of ‘Face au Future’, host Katia Gaid is joined by activist Etienne Grandmont (Accès transport viable) and engineer and manager Thierry St-Cyr (Centre d’Incubation et d’Accélération en Mobilité Intelligente à Laval) to explore Quebec City’s new Tramway project and the transition to smart and sustainable mobility.

This episode was a live panel discussion, moderated by our host in London, Ontario.

The "Heritage Matters in Conversation" event was put on by the Ontario Heritage Trust, to explore how to rethink, revitalize, and renew approaches to heritage in the province.

Guests included Alissa Golden, heritage project specialist with the City of Hamilton; Steve Cordes, executive director of Youth Opportunities Unlimited in London; Morag Kloeze, brewmaster at Mudtown station Brewery and Restaurant in Owen Sound; and Doran Ritchie, infrastructure and resources manager for the Saugeen Ojibway First Nation.