Today we're hearing stories about Toronto's Junction neighbourhood and its former stock yards. We're shining the spotlight on interviews Spacing producer Mieke Anderson recorded for [murmur] when the digital storytelling and place-making project collaborated with the Junction Arts Festival to celebrate the area's centennial. In this episode of SUMMER SHORTS we introduce you to James Christie and Ian Wheal. Back in the 1950's, James Christie was just a boy. He grew up around the corner from the abattoir, often helping out at his family's restaurant that catered to slaughterhouse employees. Meanwhile, Ian ...

Many people agree that Toronto's John Street corridor has the potential to be a great "connecting spine" for the area. How best to go about achieving this is now up for debate as the City and Entertainment District BIA prepare to supposedly transform the district with their Master Plan. Spacing's senior editor, Dylan Reid, recently weighed in on the discussion. From Reid's perspective, the City would be shying away from truly transforming the strip by not opting to turn it into a shared street where cars, bikes and pedestrians share the ...

You know when you're exploring a city for the first time and you turn a corner only to stumble upon something completely unexpected? This is what happened to Spacing producer Mieke Anderson on a recent trip to London, England. Initially, it was only a faint sound barely within earshot. Then suddenly she was face-to-face with the St Mary-le-Bow Church and consumed by the ringing of its famous bells. Wandering the streets of London you'll still hear people say that you're only a true Londoner or Cockney if you're born within the sound of the ...

If you live in and around Toronto, or have ever visited the city, you've most likely passed by Etobicoke's Richview Cemetery. Most likely in a car and traveling at a high velocity. Awkwardly situated amidst the onramps at the intersection of Highways 401 and 427, the Richview Cemetery is not your average resting place for the dead. Reporter Andrew Walsh explores this historic geographic oddity. Links to stuff from Spacing Radio's Summer Shorts 016: A brief history of the village of Richview photo by Sean Galbraith

Think of your favorite board game. Maybe it's chess? Or Clue? Or Hungry Hungry Hippos? Now imagine it brought to life. No more fighting over who gets to be the battleship or the dog - in the case of Monopoly - because you and your friends are the pieces. And it's your city's public spaces that form the board. Gentrification: The Game! - created by the artist collective Atmosphere Industries - recently took over Toronto's Kensington Market as part of Pedestrian Sundays. For this SUMMER SHORT, reporter ...

George Smitherman loves to walk. Earlier this week, in fact, he walked along Eglinton — all the way across Toronto. Spacing's Todd Harrison caught up with him yesterday in Leaside, and they walked and talked until just west of Victoria Park. Todd asked how Smitherman’s vision for Toronto applied to walkability, and what he as mayor would do to improve walking conditions in suburban communities. Smitherman, however, does not see walking as an issue-in-itself. Integration is his buzzword, and as such, he thinks of walking primarily as a means to connect people ...

Have you ever taken a nap in public? Or have you only ever dreamed of it? Z's by the C is a public napping project - created by Calgary-based artists Eric Moschopedis and Mia Rushton - that strives to legitimize taking a snooze in public. The project is a reaction to the increasing privatization of our public spaces, including the implementation of by-laws banning loitering and curtailing who, how, and when we are allowed to use our spaces. Since its inception in 2008, Moschopedis and Rushton have been encouraging people to nap in Zürich, New York ...

Sometimes exploring a city means just shutting your eyes and listening. In this soundscape, Spacing producer Mieke Anderson takes you underground into the Glasgow subway system. Affectionately known as "the Clockwork Orange" because of its orange subway cars and circular route, Glasgow's underground dates back to 1896 making it the third oldest in the world. Recently, the city was considering shutting down parts of the system if they couldn't come up with the money for a massive modernization plan (the route itself hasn't changed in over a century). In April, an ...

Today is the final installment in our week-long G20 Special. A lot remains up for debate but we couldn't wrap up this particular discussion without drawing attention to the ways our public spaces were divided and designated into zones in order to control protesters (and residents), peaceful and otherwise. Tor Sandberg is the program director for Rabble TV and was in charge of coordinating their video coverage during the Summit. Sandberg met up with Spacing producer Mieke Anderson at Queen's Park, which only a few weeks ago was Toronto's only official ...

Discussion in the leadup to the G20 Summit took a far more serious and ominous turn on Friday, June 25, when the Toronto Star ran a front-page story about an amendment to the virtually unknown Public Works Protection Act. The change to the law, the Star reported, was passed quietly by the Provincial government, and gave the police broad powers. The amendment was brought to the Star’s attention by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), a group that distinguished itself as a steady and sober voice for the rights of ...