URD1505HS
Instructor: Lorne Cappe
Meeting Section: L0101
Thursdays 12:00-3:00 p.m.

This course will be delivered in a seminar format and will familiarize students with the critical role that public engagement plays in contemporary architecture, city-building, planning and urban design. Students will develop an understanding, learn methodologies, analyse case studies, and acquire a keen appreciation for well-designed and meaningful public engagement. Successful consultations can lead to more successful design outcomes for residents as well as for public and private proponents of development and place-making projects.

The course focuses on selected precedents in community engagement across a variety of scales, from large housing revitalization to individual development projects, spanning from the mid-twentieth century to the present, and from local to global examples. Of course, the global pandemic has changed all parts of our lives, including how we as professionals engage with the public on design projects. The course will address how this has changed engagement temporarily or possibly for the long term.

Canada began the Truth and Reconciliation process with Indigenous peoples in 2008 yet we have a long way to go to achieve Reconciliation. In this course, a special emphasis will be placed on engagement with Indigenous communities as well as with all Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. During the COVID 19 pandemic, the massive and extant societal inequities and systemic racism have been exposed to Canadians like never before. In this course, you will be able to see how traditionally public engagement and consultations have not been inclusive. Through case studies and design innovation you will learn how this can be addressed as we design our cities.

Students will have the opportunity to attend ongoing community meetings (many will continue to be virtual), learn through analysis, discussion and researching precedents that have occurred in Toronto as well as other cities. The course will have a reading list that consists of academic sources as well as practical documents created by experts in the field. The course will also follow current public engagements and consultations going on live during the term.

Students will hear from guest speakers including architects, planners, activists, and community engagement specialists as well as community members that have been involved with comprehensive engagement processes.

Course requirements include:

• Participation in class seminar discussions
• Attendance and participation in a current ongoing community engagement
• Student presentations of seminar readings
• In-class presentations & summary paper of a community engagement case study

The seminar is open to graduate students from all programs at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design. The course is also open to graduate students in the Department of Geography and Planning, Program in Planning and students in other faculties and programs at the University of Toronto subject to the availability of space and the instructor’s permission.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Through this course, students will be provided with information that should allow them to:

• Understand the importance and value of public engagement processes and how comprehensive and meaningful consultation can lead to more successful urban design, architecture, and place-making projects.
• Learn various tools and methodologies used to create dynamic and inclusive participation of communities.
• Understand the value of a truly democratic engagement process that seeks participation from everyone including citizens who tend to be more difficult to engage, such as vulnerable, marginalized, racialized, new Canadians and Indigenous communities.
• Evaluate community consultation processes and determine if they are successful. Students should be able to suggest ways of improving public engagement in the case study they select. This will provide them with the tools to create their own public engagement process for a design project.