Writing

Books

Introduction and co-editor, 25 Days that Changed Toronto

Co-introduction and co-editor, The Big Book of Spacing. This book also includes three of my earlier articles in Spacing (see below).

Articles in books

Magazine articles (print and online)

"An Old Refrain: The medic who went around in circles,"  Literary Review of Canada, November 2022.

"We can stop sacrificing pedestrians," Municipal World, January 2022 (paywalled) – free access PDF version.

"Three Generations of Magic Between E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis, and Lev Grossman," Toronto Review of Books, November 3, 2015.

"The Wit and Wisdom of Misha Glouberman," Toronto Review of Books, September 12, 2012 (Review of Misha Glouberman and Sheila Heti, The Chairs Are Where the People Go)

"Robert Darnton and the Digital Public Library of America," Toronto Review of Books, August 10, 2012

Also various posts for Chirograph, the Toronto Review of Books blog.

News media

"At a prestigious architecture event in Venice, creative advocacy group AAHA is putting up walls to break down others," Toronto Star, Oct. 9, 2022.

"Thanks to Toronto's Outside the Box program, hundreds of traffic light boxes have been transformed through vibrant paint jobs," Toronto Star, Sept. 18, 2022

"A brief horticultural history of Kensington Market's Garden Car," Toronto Star, July 31, 2022

"Park People help you to take advantage of Toronto's green spaces," Toronto Star, July 31, 2022

"What property taxes can tell us about a wealth tax," The Globe and Mail, Sept. 6, 2021

"Op-ed: This COVID winter we need Toronto's parks to stay open more than ever," NOW magazine, Nov. 22, 2020 (joint with Dave Harvey)

"Historic side-street corner stores offer lessons for today's cities," The Globe and Mail, October 3, 2020.

"Streets for everyone," Yonge Street, May 12, 2010.

"Car-friendly suburban streets can be deadly for pedestrians," The Toronto Star, January 20, 2010.

"A picture and a thousand words: the CCF Regina Convention of 1933," The Toronto Star, July 13, 2008.

"We will not see their like again," NOW magazine, February 28, 2008.

"Queen West test: Can area's new historical designation stop the spread of cheap glass facades?," NOW magazine, January 10, 2008.

"My impossible walk from the airport," NOW magazine, May 24, 2007.

"Hubba-hubba: the node that moves us. Euro mobility hubs seamlessly link transit, bikes, car-sharing and pedestrians," NOW magazine, April 12, 2007.

"No place to meet: We think we're a user-friendly city, but there's no iconic site to connect," NOW magazine, January 11, 2007.

"Jaywalk This Way," NOW magazine, July 13, 2006.

"No Feet in this Streets Plan," NOW magazine, Feb. 2, 2006.

Spacing magazine

Since co-founding Spacing, I have contributed writing to almost every issue. I am also a regular contributor to the online Spacing Toronto.

Here is a selection of the longer articles I've written for Spacing (brackets indicate cover section):

• "Stewards of the Valley: Volunteers are Fighting Invasive Species on the Banks of the Don," Issue 63
• "We Need a City Where We Don't Need Cars," Issue 60 (Election)
• "Letting Gardens Loose," Issue 58, 2021 (Growth)
• "Curb Appeal: How Toronto Diners Took to the Streets in 2020," Issue 55 (Main streets)
• "Down on the Corner: Spotting Former Neighbourhood Commercial Buildings," Issue 54, 2020
• "How We Adapted to Life Six Feet Apart," Issue 53, 2020 (Pandemic). Reproduced in The Big Book of Spacing.
• "In Defense of Façadism," Issue 52, 2020. Reproduced in The Big Book of Spacing.
• "Housing Toronto," Issue 39, Spring 2016
• "Internal Tourism," Issue 35, Spring 2015
• "The Next 10 Years: Urbanism's Biggest Challenges," Issue 30, Winter 2014 (10th anniversary)
• "The Impact of Riding and Walking," Issue 29, Fall 2013
• "Tall vs. Small," Issue 26, Winter 2013 (Tall & Small)
• "Urbanism for a New Century," Issue 23, Winter 2012
• "Bless this Mess," Issue 18, Summer 2010 (noted by Utne Reader). Reproduced in The Big Book of Spacing.
• "Walk this Way," Issue 17, Spring 2010 (The Rules)
• "Suburban Evolution," Issue 15, Summer-Fall 2009 (Suburbs)
• "Hogging the Road," Issue 11, Spring 2008 (The Car & the City)
• "Street Design," Issue 8, February 2007 (Intersections)
• "More Strut in our Walk," Issue 7, September 2006 (Municipal Election) – Part of theme section that received an Honorable Mention from the Canadian Magazine Awards for Editorial Package
• "Port Lands, 2043" and "The Official Future," Issue 4, June 2005 (Past and Future)
• "Right foot forward: What does Toronto need to be a great pedestrian city?," Issue 2, June 2004 (Walking)

Online publications

"Yes Exit: A Successful Activist Campaign," Pedestrian Space, November 14, 2022