It’s been a busy couple of months for us, both with the transition from the Toronto Public Space Committee to the Toronto Public Space Initiative, and with the recent push by the city to increase the amount – and invasiveness – of advertising on public space. In some cases what would have been unimaginable years ago could now become the new norm. To learn more about what is going on please read the rest of our newsletter. Our diverse newsletter also has some interesting research on Yonge Street (with lots of cool graphics and photos) from our very own Elfie Kalfakis, and a link to an article on how ads implant false memories.
You can read about the transition from the TPSC to TPSI here. As you can see we have a new website under development (www.publicspaces.ca). We are continuing with our bread and butter projects relating to public space commercialism while adding exciting new projects that are in the development stage.
We have a strong team of old and new blood that is putting in the effort to get things done – and our effort is paying off. We are building new alliances and recruiting volunteers, as well as adding professional development programming for our volunteers. We’ve made many deputations at City Hall and have been earning media coverage for our issues, ensuring that public space is not attacked quietly nor easily. Over the coming months we will continue to defend public space and will seek to build better policies and governance structures so that public spaces are less susceptible to political erosion and privatization.
Our new Facebook page can be found here
We have a new twitter handle as well
#TOpublicspace
P.S. One thing we urgently need is more funds – please consider donating to the Public Space Defence Fund (contact [email protected]) for details.
Enjoy the newsletter!
-Jayme Turney
