U of G grad student Daniel Rotsztain will be on CBC Radio One’s Here and Now show on Friday at 4:07 p.m. to talk about the plazaPOPS project.

This project explores ways to create “pop-up” public gathering spaces on private parking lots lining Toronto’s vibrant suburban strip malls. Profs. Brendan Stewart and Karen Landman, along with Rotsztain, are partnering with the Wexford Heights BIA to create a pop-up plaza opening in spring 2019 in one of the area’s lively strip mall parking lots along Lawrence Ave. in Scarborough, Ont. The team will work with Scarborough Arts to engage with local artists to animate the parklet over three weekends of pop-up programming. This project imagines a new future for our strip mall parking lots to support public life outside the downtown core, while creating more comfortable outdoor spaces for people to gather.

The project is part of Park People’s Public Space Incubator Grant funded by Ken and Eti Greenberg and the Balsam Foundation.