Toronto’s population is expected to double over the next 25 years, Toronto’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat says. The rapidly expanding city is already feeling the effects of a deficiency of public space, and with 2,400 publicly owned laneways, the people behind the Laneway Project saw the untapped potential of this 250-kilometre network of underused public space in our city.
Founded by Ariana Cancelli and Michelle Senayah, the non-profit organization nurtures laneway improvements and brings them to life. The women behind it are urban planners, urban designers and community engagement specialists who believe the underused laneways of Toronto, if harnessed properly, can offer the city more green space; new venues for community events; a canvas for public art; and opportunities for pop-up shops and micro-businesses.
“Public space by definition belongs to all of us, and we think it makes eminent sense to involve the people that live and work in a neighbourhood,” said Michelle Senayah, co-founder and director of the Laneway Project. “We’re making spatial changes in these spaces, but we’re also building community and building capacity within communities to make positive change in our public spaces.”
The most exciting event they’re organizing is the 2016 Laneway Crawl Series. A series of pop-up festivals hosted in alleyways across the city will kick off in June with each laneway crawl offering up a whole host of events: food tasting, dance classes, mural painting, pickup sports, anything that is family-friendly and participative. The aim is to transform the laneways into vital, vibrant parts of our neighbourhoods’ public realm. Anyone can attend and all events are either free or pay what you can.
“Because we depend on locally based businesses and organizations to provide programming, each of these events will act as a little window on its neighbourhood,” said Senayah. “That’s a nice thing in a city like Toronto that has such a wide range of neighbourhoods.”
Visit their website for more information on the Laneway Project. Their next laneway crawl is planned for July 16 in Little Jamaica.
