Urban Retrofit Research Associate and urban design researcher Dr Jingyi Zhu reflects on the possibilities of urban retrofit and the inspiration she gained from the project study tour of Canadian cities.
The Urban Retrofit study tour to Canada proved to be a thrilling experience on many levels. For two weeks I was fully immersed in urban environments that were completely new to me. I ventured betwixt and between city streets and alleyways, touched the walls that locals brush past daily, and experienced ordinary, novel and juxtaposing urban-scapes. The trip took place just three months after I joined Urban Retrofit. While grappling with readings on the theory and practices of urban retrofitting – many of which were still a bit foreign to me – I was lucky to have the opportunity of seeing and experiencing real life examples akin to those I’d read about. At the same time, I got the chance to speak behind the scenes with some of the visionary built environment professionals and communities that delivered them. The cherry on top was the group of colleagues I travelled with and the inspiring conversations we had as we walked, talked and observed.
The four cities we visited – Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Hamilton – are all interesting in their own way. I was constantly asked which city I favoured, and truth be told, I cannot really choose one because they all have particular qualities that fascinate me. The steep and undulating streets of Halifax, the quirky juxtaposition of old and new and everything in between in Montreal, the Toronto skyscrapers that seemed to grow even taller every time we turned our gaze towards them, and the quaint and bustling James Street of Hamilton. I hope the photos I snapped of the buildings and streets – some of which I have shared in this blog post – can do justice to the richness of these cities.
The breadth of project types we observed was remarkable. We navigated from regenerated waterfronts to post-industrial lands. We were shown how residential towers, neighbourhoods and infrastructure from half a century ago might be reimaged. We saw how new possibilities of living, socialising and mobilising can be inserted into buildings and neighbourhoods, lanes and alleys, both in urban and suburban environments. We even tasted the fruits grown on edge-of-city agricultural land that had been turned into a community-farm! The diversity of these spatial forms and social actions revealed to me the rich meanings of urban retrofit – the many different possibilities of repairing and revitalising existing urban fabrics and making great places.
A recurring theme running through all the projects we visited was the importance of timing, leadership and vision. On the one hand, the projects offer so many varied lessons that any attempt to summarise a one-size-fits-all formula for success might be futile. On the other hand, we kept seeing how great things can be done when there are willing leaders (across the spectrum of public, private, community and not-for-profit sectors), an acute awareness and grasp of the available resources and how to use them (both capital and human), as well as a willingness to engage, negotiate and collaborate (again through the collective endeavour of various stakeholders).
Coming from an urban design background, I am particularly interested in the power of places and placemaking to shape urban experiences. In many of the projects we visited, the new places created and the processes that shaped them stitched together not only fragmented physical urban spaces but also people and communities. This really underscored the fact that high quality places can help to breakdown spatial and social barriers. I also have a long-term personal research interest in public space, and the projects we visited, to my great satisfaction, also demonstrated the diverse ways that public spaces can be created and operated. Collectively, these places show how public spaces are not, and should not be, the end result of development. Instead, they need long-term maintenance and creative programming to be truly alive and welcoming. The struggle for common and truly public space – both physical and social – is still real and evidenced in some of the fast-changes spaces and places we visited in Canada. This demands that we continue to reflect on the growth-oriented development paradigms that shape planning and design around the world and ponder possible ‘post-growth’ futures.
In the end, the single most inspiring thing that I took from the study tour was the passion of all those involved in the projects and the changes, both large and small, that they are pushing for. All cities, including the four we visited in Canada, have their own challenges and, at times, despair. It is the people who dedicate themselves to making great places that keeps me believing in a better and sustainable future that can be shared by all.
