Don’t just tick the box, think outside it: Reimagining public engagement in parks and public spaces

Sophia Horwitz is a community builder, and sustainability practitioner and facilitator, who is passionate about increasing the capacity of individuals, communities and organizations to contribute to a flourishing future.  Sophia has 14 years of experience leading civic and social innovation initiatives and transformative collaborative processes in Canada, Cuba, Honduras, Japan, Denmark, and Sweden. Her international background and experience help bring a global perspective and best practices to granular issues.  

She is a partner and co-founder of Halifax-based COLAB, where she has helped launch programs, projects and organizations such as Mainstreets, Art of Social Innovation, Participatory Budgeting, Placemaking Halifax and cross Canada Placemaking research and network development. Her wide-ranging roles have included acting as Sustainability Officer in Honduras to ambassador of North America in Japan’s rebuilding efforts post-2011 tsunami. Her recent work includes bringing the Participatory City initiative from the UK to a number of cities in Canada.  In her free time, you can find Sophia swimming at a lake, walking in the forest, chasing her toddler through streams, or dancing with her movement troupe. 

Mikael St-Pierre is an urban planner and designer from Montréal, Québec. He is currently National Coordinator for the Active Neighbourhoods Canada network and Project and Development Manager at Montréal Urban Ecology Centre. He is also a Ph.D student at École Nationale d’administration publique. His practice and research interest are centred on community planning, participatory democracy and municipal innovation.

Jennifer works in the Indigenous Affairs Office at the City of Toronto and is the Lead for the City’s Indigenous Place Making strategy. She is Plains Cree, Irish and Norwegian and grew up primarily in Alberta and British Columbia, where her family on both sides have hunted, trapped, farmed and lived on the land for generations. Jennifer has a Master’s degree from the University of British Columbia in Community and Regional Planning, where her research and thesis focused primarily on contested public space in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, namely the tension between the area’s large Indigenous population and their use of park space and encroaching gentrification. Since living in Toronto, she has worked in the NGO sector (Canadian Urban Institute), the provincial government (Municipal Affairs and Housing) and now the City of Toronto. She is excited to be working with Indigenous partners, community members, community organizations and City colleagues to advance Indigenous Place-Making and to enhance the visibility of Indigenous cultural traditions, language and community in the City of Toronto.

Cheryll Case practices a human rights approach to community planning. As founder and Principal Urban Planner of CP Planning, Cheryll coordinates with charities, private sector industries, and communities to resource the systems necessary to secure dignified living for all peoples. This includes an acute focus on housing as a human right, supporting urban agriculture, and improving the ability for marginalized residents to access arts and culture opportunities.