Community Development
Citizens can change their city
Each of these projects began with ordinary people who cared about a place. The lesson I took from all of them is simple: organize your neighbours, find the right ally, and bring a clear proposal.
1985–1994
Friends of the Valley: The Brick Works Saved for Everyone
How a group of neighbours kept a worked-out quarry in the Don Valley from becoming 756 luxury homes, and made it a marsh that belongs to everyone.
Read the story →1975
A Harbour for All Seasons
How the public, not planners, gave Harbourfront its vision, and why there are so few towers between the people and the lake.
Read the story →1971–1972
The Greening of North York
A walk with my three sons in the Black Creek ravine led to a crew of a hundred, a new trail from Finch to Sheppard, and 3,500 saplings planted by school children.
Read the story →1987
Citizens for a Quiet Beach
A quarrel over one street-corner café in the Beach that ended as a bylaw for all of Toronto.
Read the story →