Spacing Radio podcast is back and we have an interview with Vancouver's Mayor Gregor Robertson. This Q&A was also used in the new national edition of the magazine (out Feb. 6, 2012). Freshly re-elected, the mayor of Canada's largest west coast city explains to Spacing Vancouver editor Erick Villagomez why he and his team at Vision Vancouver are going to make the city the greenest in all of North America. photo by Mischa Bartkow; music by New Pornographers

The votes have been counted and Toronto has a new mayor. But what now? We sit down with Alan Broadbent, chairman of the Maytree Foundation, for his take on what lies ahead. As residents of News Orleans can tell you, the importance of strong leadership becomes particularly apparent when disaster strikes. Five years after Hurricane Katrina, producer Mieke Anderson asks what role public spaces are playing in the city's rebuilding when she catches up with New Orleans-based journalist Jordan Flaherty. And we travel along with reporter Monika Warzecha to the Toronto Island in ...

As election day nears in Toronto, we hunt down mayoral candidates Joe Pantalone and Rob Ford. And our reporter Daniel Guillemette discovers that neither one is doing much campaigning in our public spaces these days. We also talk to Councillor Joe Mihevc - who recently put his support behind George Smitherman (we featured Smitherman last episode) - about what the next mayor needs to do on his first day on the job. And we take you to the American Rust Belt. Contributor Edward Birnbaum recently visited Buffalo and Detroit to ...

Spacing Radio is back for Season Four and we’re jumping right into Toronto’s election debate! This election has been zany, to say the least. We go to Toronto Star columnist Christopher Hume for his take on why candidates have strayed so far off topic. And leading up to voting day, reporter Daniel Guillemette is on the campaign trail looking at how the front-runners are using our public spaces. Also in this episode, all the election talk about the so-called "war on the car" got producer Mieke Anderson thinking about the traffic lights ...

In this episode of Spacing Radio — the last of season 3 — our cast of contributors explore the theme of how we get around cities. First up are a handful of clips from Jane's Walk, the yearly festival of walking tours in Toronto and over 60 other cities across North America. Then Spacing magazine's senior editor Shawn Micallef takes listeners to Yorkville to discuss the ethos behind his new book Stroll. Our new reporter Katie Harris examines the impact the Winter Olympics had on Vancouver's transportation network. And Spacing Radio producer Mieke Anderson ...

We begin this episode of Spacing Radio in Toronto’s Alexandra Park, where Spacing producer Todd Harrison speaks with Jane’s Walk executive director Jane Farrow about this weekend’s upcoming Jane’s Walks and how the event — and the discussions it inspires — has evolved both at home and abroad. Up next, Spacing producer Mieke Anderson takes us to Cleveland, Ohio where she meets up with local newspaper critic Steven Litt, to discuss the drawbacks of the city’s Public Square and what one group is proposing to do to reinvent the space. In ...

[powerpress] On this episode of Spacing Radio producer Mieke Anderson takes you on a walk with Cindy Rozeboom through the east end of Toronto, along the Danforth, to explore the potential of empty storefronts. In other cities, street food is a major component of public life, but in Toronto food vendors don't seem to get any respect from city hall, BIAs, and urban designers — reporter Pattie Phillips talks to Marianne Moroney of Toronto's Street Food Vendors Association. The release of the new book "Rediscovering the Wealth of Places" examines cultural mapping and how it ...

[powerpress] This episode of Spacing Radio continues with our look at the Rules of the city (to complement the release of our new magazine issue) as producer Mieke Anderson examines the arcane permit process in Toronto. Reporter Sarah Bridge sits down with internationally renown architect Jack Diamond to discuss the success and failures of renovating Toronto's Union Station. And Montreal correspondent Adam Bemma explores the Berri Square, one of the city's most socially challenged neighbourhoods. Links to stuff from Spacing Radio 019 Rules of the city: Look up any bylaw in Toronto Union Station: ...

[powerpress] It's budget-time in Toronto and while City Hall is busy at work approving the final numbers, host David Michael Lamb sits down with Spacing contributing editor John Lorinc to talk about the pitfalls of having to pay the bills. Producer Mieke Anderson stows away with the crew of the Toronto Island Ferry Ongiara to discuss the realities of operating the ferry throughout the winter months and, in the process, discovers one of the city's best-kept secrets. Meanwhile, nearly 3,500 km away in Vancouver, reporter Pattie Phillips visits the Olympics and takes ...

[powerpress] In this podcast we embrace the winter (well, for at least half of the episode): Spacing Radio producer Mieke Anderson gets to the bottom of how the city moves and removes snow, while reporter Sarah Bridge goes to Nathan Phillips Square and Mel Lastman Square to see who takes to these iconic Toronto outdoor rinks. We listen to the man behind Vancouver's Chinatown gates. And our newest contributor, Pattie Phillips, sits down at the 8-80 Cities conference with urban thinkers Gil Penalosa, Cheryl Brinkman, and Elena Santogade to discuss car-free streets in North American ...