In Ludic City Quentin Stevens also shares a concern for standardis- ing the everyday by examining the patterns and significance of play and diversion that often occur in the street. He suggests one should more carefully analyse the informal, undefined qualities of quotid- ian routine believing that, ‘play reveals the potentials that public spaces offer’. (Stevens 2007: 1). Play, in Stevens’ opinion, provides a critical reading of underlying social transformations and previous- ly neglected conditions helping to inform more responsive designs. The San Diego-based architect Teddy Cruz also advocates the power of marginal spaces and unplanned circumstances, allowing them to form an integral role in creating responsive environments. In a time when an architecture of homogeneity is commonly used to ‘reduce cultural difference and intensity into projects of beautifica- tion’, Cruz believes in developing architecture and public spaces that are more adaptive and humanising. He argues that it is not the grand architectural gestures that generate engaging places but rather the ‘negotiation between planned and unplanned, official and unofficial is really what shapes urbanism’ (Cruz 2006). Throughout Toronto one can find a variety of curious intersti- tial spaces and in-between places. Each site represents a part of Toronto’s social, cultural, political and economic conditions. One particular place of interest is the intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue in North York, a neighbourhood often referred to as the most dangerous in Toronto. In reality the crossing at Jane and Finch, a community that is home to immigrants from more than 120 nations, merely lacks a unique identity. The site is similar to many other disenfranchised public spaces, where street and parking lot merge into one massive, relentless field of asphalt, full of chaotic signage and towering apartment buildings. Instead of responding to the needs of the community the site is barren and uninspired, a tactic meant to mask difference and discourage non-conforming activity. Visits to the site uncovered various informal happenings. While some events that take place, such as the traveling carnival and the Sunday market are sanctioned and supported by the surrounding retailers, many other unofficial and often less than ideal events have become customary. Heavily used by cars and pedestrians, the inter- section is a common destination and transfer point for many TTC bus patrons. Due to its high exposure, some community members find it is an ideal location for acts of self expression and protest, while others use it as a meeting point before heading onto their final destinations or for the conducting of ‘business’ transactions. Taking advantage of the abundant space, some even momentarily park to make a phone call or jot down notes in their car before de- parting, and several large delivery trucks meet daily for their lunch break. While the parking lot adjusts to suit the users needs, there are countless ways to make it a more responsive and engaging public space. In a community of more than 55 000 inhabitants there is la- tent potential to harvest the abundance of fresh voices, which could generate a dynamic model for similar diverse communities, much in the spirit of Watson’s explorations. The answers are right in front of us; it is a matter of recog- nising the rich insights that experts like Sophie Watson, Quentin Stevens and Teddy Cruz have to offer. Rather than designing a place of uniform indifference, we should build spaces that celebrate the unrealised qualities of a site and its people. If the city is a place of unlimited possibilities, then the street must reflect it. p
Cruz, Teddy. ‘Teddy Cruz and The Urban Phenomena of Trans-Border Conditions’, American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter, Architecture Radio Lecture Series , 26/02/2006. Stevens, Quentin. Ludic City: Exploring the Potential of Public Spaces . London & New York: Routledge, 2007. Watson, Sophie. ‘City Publics: The (Dis)Enchantments of Urban Encounters’ Questioning Cities . London, New York: Routledge, 2006. above top: truck drivers congregate in the parking lot for lunch bottom: a lone concrete bench sits waiting opposite top: a woman shouts and waves flyers at passersby bottom: a view of the desolate parking lot pedestrians must cross to reach the intersection
onsite 19: street, streets and lanes, the straight and narrow, wide and busy
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