The Toronto Public Space Initiative is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing public space through research, policy analysis, and service provision.
We at TPSI believe that public spaces provide cities and citizens unique opportunities for democratic engagement and innovation in the areas of public health and well-being; social, cultural, and economic development; environmental stewardship; and social justice. We advocate for principled urban public space policies steeped in respect for communal activity and civic culture.
History:
The TPSI’s roots go back to the award winning Toronto Public Space Committee (2001-2011), founded by Dave Meslin. The TPSC successfully influenced numerous policies and proposals in order to improve public space, founded Spacing Magazine, and initialized community engagement projects such as Guerilla Gardening, Art Attack, Human River, Downtown De-Fence, and Streets to Screens. TPSC also advocated on issues such as community postering, outdoor advertising, street furniture, and CCTV cameras.
TPSI is organized into four divisions:
Community Engagement Research Division
Mandate: To research and report on the benefits of, and best practices for, community engagement in public spaces, as well as to offer related services.
Technical Projects Division
Mandate: To research and construct tools for enhanced community engagement in public spaces and public space policy, as well as to offer related services.
General Research Division
Mandate: To research and report on a diversity of public space topics, illuminating best practices.
Advocacy Division
Mandate: To create and utilize research based arguments for improvements in public space policy and programming, and to secure those improvements. The division also offers services to external parties wishing to engage in public space in positive ways, and to municipalities seeking positive external collaborations.