The Inner Studio - Riverside Architectural Press

THE INNER STUDIO
design work because it offers us the wisdom to withstand the
centrifugal forces that otherwise threaten to tear the city apart. It is
entirely practical to make the design of cities more psychological so
that the places we create can become more relevant to the complex
human experiences we all have.
Cities mature through hearing their genuine voices. In Toronto
“visible minorities” make up nearly half the population and only
slightly more then half of all her citizens call English their predominant
language. When ethnicity or language fails to connect us, the
soulful places of the city can effortlessly unite us. The problem is
that we have never been willing to recognize the importance of
such places and make their creation a priority. Cities have no
choice but to mirror the collective depth, longing, desires, and
confusion of their times. If we want the richness of authentic places
we need to listen to the dreams, frustrations and creations of
Toronto and begin to understand the city as a living symbol. Let’s
draw a new map of the city that proposes a route linking the great
public spaces of the city. Once a year, on Thanksgiving, let’s join in
a city-wide procession that begins in the many different neighborhoods
and winds slowly but surely towards the heart of the city. Let
the entire route become a potlatch feast that brings holiness and
belonging down into the streets. I imagine an annual procession, a
coronation of the civic soul that brings gridlock, street food, and
theater into the life of the city. Where will we gather to give thanks
at the end of such a journey?
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