There are few urban advocates standing up for the vacant lot — an increasingly endangered species in many cities, as condos and other new developments spring up at a breakneck pace.

In this post, Spacing Radio — in partnership with The STEPS Initiative — brings you an interview with Montreal-based artist Emily Rose Michaud. Emily is a founding member of the gardening collective Sprout Out Loud! (a.k.a. Le Pouvoir Aux Pousses!), which created the site-specific  project on a vacant lot in Montreal's Mile End. The city-owned green space is one of the last undeveloped spots in the neighborhood.

Since last summer, STEPS has been conducting interviews with artists, activists, and urban planners working in Canada’s public spaces. Through this series we bring you some of the highlights. Thanks to STEPS volunteer Rebecca MacDonald for conducting this interview!

Links for Spacing Shorts 004:

• Emily Rose Michaud's blog
• The Roerich Garden website & Spacing post
• STEPS (Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Space)

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 City, Ottawa and Calgary. Spacing producer Mieke Anderson caught up with Moschopedis this past weekend when Z's by the C took over a proposed park in Toronto's west-end.

Note: Z’s by the C got a permit to host the event.

Links to stuff from Spacing Radio's Summer Shorts 014:

• Z's by the C website
• The Theatre Centre website
  
• Spacing Toronto post, Reclaiming parks, one nap at a time

Photo taken in New York by Bryce Krynski, courtesy the Theatre Centre.

Finding a quiet space within our cities can be a challenge. One might even wonder if such a spot exists.

London-based artist Simon Elvins decided to find out more about these overlooked urban spaces by mapping them in his project Silent London. Spacing producer Mieke Anderson caught up with Simon at one of his favorite quiet spots in the UK's capital, which turned out not to be so quiet.

Links to stuff from Spacing Radio's Summer Shorts 012:

• Arkinet Blog: Silent London article
• Simon Elvins' homepage
  

Spacing Radio reporter Monika Warzecha sat down recently with writers Richard Gilbert and Anthony Perl.

The second edition of Gilbert and Perl’s book, Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight without Oil, itemizes five major changes in transportation that have altered its course and development. And the rate of change is about to increase rapidly.

“We feel that environment and energy considerations are leading us to a threshold where change will again be concentrated,” Perl told Spacing. “That’s why we need to refamiliarize ourselves with transport revolutions.”

Links to stuff from Spacing Radio's Summer Shorts 009:

• website about the Transport Revolutions book

What’s the name of the bird that wakes you up every morning with its high pitched call? What species make up Toronto’s feathered population? Spacing Radio reporter Andrew Walsh was curious, so he enlisted the finely tuned ears of bird song expert Ralph Toninger in avian-dense Tommy Thompson Park.

Toninger, senior project manager of restoration and environmental monitoring projects at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, provides insights on what we can learn about our city by the kinds of birds that live here. And because many birds are more often heard then seen, Toninger provides an aural tour of the amazing variety living on the Leslie Street Spit — from the catbird, which is known for mimicking sounds (including a cellphone ringtone) to early-rising robins and familiar chickadees and red-winged blackbirds.

Links to stuff from Spacing Radio's Summer Shorts 008:

• Tommy Thompson Park
• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

photo by Alan Vernon

As Earth Day approaches, Spacing Radio sent host David Michael Lamb to sit down down and discuss Toronto's sustainability ambitions with Mayor David Miller. While the mayor is hopeful that his eco agenda is working for Toronto, city hall observers like Katrina Miller of the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) worry about the bureaucratic gridlock that is delaying much needed projects and initiatives. Spacing Radio reporter Megan Hall learns how the iconic wind turbine on the CNE grounds operates. All this, plus music by Final Fantasy.

Links to stuff from Spacing Radio 004

• The Eco Agenda: Toronto's Live Green web site and Mayor's Tower Renewal
• Bureaucratic Gridlock: TEA's 2008 city hall green report card
• Toronto's Green Icon: All about the CNE wind turbine
• Final Fantasy: web site, MySpace, Facebook, and Blocks Recording Club