COVID-19 showed us how space, resources, and power can be reallocated to create new possibilities for our parks and public spaces.
Community-led projects have helped parks pivot toward serving food security, active transportation, arts, and local businesses – like never before.
What are the practical implications of reimagining parks’ role in communities? What systems do we need to reimagine in order for us to build parks back better?
This webinar tackles these big questions to get communities excited about collaborating with city staff for a new vision for park activation.
Panelists:
Moderator: Adam Hasham, Research Assistant, Park People.
In partnership with The Canadian Urban Institute.
Panellist
Panellist
Sarah is a community support worker and beekeeper; she is passionate about fostering a vibrant, healthy community through empowerment and education.
She believes in the profound impact of connecting individuals and communities to their land, their food and their spirit.
Panellist
Sabina Ali is a co-founder of Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, a local resident group that has been instrumental in revitalizing its only accessible green space-RV Burgess Park.
She animated the park by offering community-based programming such as arts in the park, Friday night market, community gardens engaging over 500 people weekly. Her advocacy resulted in the park getting the first of its kind, a permanent outdoor Tandoor Bake Oven.
Panellist
Leslie is a food justice advocate with a background in tropical agroecology and community food security. As a student, Leslie spent a year in Northern Thailand managing an organic farm and developing an agricultural training curriculum, which inspired him to pursue a Master’s degree in Geography focusing on the social and ecological aspects of food systems. He then returned overseas, spending two years teaching agriculture in Indonesia and two years working in agricultural research and training in Ethiopia, after which Leslie returned to Canada, excited to engage with food issues more locally.
Leslie now works for FoodShare Toronto, where he supports community-led food access initiatives, research, and advocacy. This work seeks to broaden conversations about food insecurity to include discussions of the many systems of oppression that hold it in place – systems like colonialism, capitalism, systemic racism, and patriarchy. Leslie also currently sits on the board of directors of MakeWay (formerly Tides Canada), is a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council, and works as a food systems research consultant. He believes strongly in income-based solutions to food insecurity as implemented alongside universally accessible public services, and in the need for those most impacted by these issues to lead the solution-finding process.
Moderator
Adam Hasham is an experienced public policy and engagement professional, currently working with Park People to evaluate ActiveTO, Toronto’s COVID-19 transportation and public space initiatives. Most recently, Adam was a Director at deliberative democracy firm MASS LBP, where he led public space, infrastructure, and drug policy projects for governments and communities across Canada.
Adam studied transportation engineering, researching public transit emissions and traffic evaporation at McGill University, where he was a 2010 Loran Scholar. He is currently pursuing a Master of Cities Engineering and Management degree at the University of Toronto. He is also a member of his local community garden.
