The Bentway’s growing Safe in Public Space initiative broadens the definition of public safety, addressing new public health challenges and deep systemic inequities to build a new shared social contract for public space.
Ebti Nabag
Ebti Nabag examines how ideas of safety manifest and are communicated in public space through borders and boundaries, signs and symbols, public space architectures, and delineations.
Explore curated Safe in Public Space content by topic…
Real vs. Symbolic Accountability: The Excesses of G20 Policing and the Long Quest for Accountability
Christine Brubaker and Alok Mukherjee discuss the realities of accountability and the role of policing through the lens of the G20 summit and the upcoming Shakespeare adaptation, Henry G20.
Shared Governance: A Democratic Future for Public Spaces
Bianca Wylie and Zahra Ebrahim argue that collective stewardship of our shared realms – online and IRL – can be achieved “though an ongoing, collaborative process of rule-making and modifying.
Snapshot: Disability and Accessibility in Public Space
In this week’s Snapshot we explore how the safety of public spaces, is inextricably linked to how accessible they are for persons with disabilities.
Want safer cities and public spaces? Invest in BIPOC-led work.
Lena Philips discusses the omission of BIPOC communities from important conversations about how we plan, fund and run public spaces and the impact this has on providing equitable access for all.
Photo of the Week
Ebti Nabag travels beyond The Bentway to examine how ideas of safety manifest and are communicated in public space through borders and boundaries, signs and symbols, public space architectures, and delineations.
Cycling Safely: The Role of Bikes in Urban Recovery with Dave Shellnutt
Universal Design: Transforming How We Think About Accessibility
Talli Osborne argues for a holistic understanding of accessibility, rooted in the lived experiences of people with varied levels of ability.
Stewards: Safety and Governance with Pauline Larsen
Pauline Larsen, Director of Economic & Community Development at the Downtown Yonge BIA, assesses the role of governance in creating safe public spaces.
In Conversation with: The Bentway’s Public Space Fellows (Part 2)
Public Space Fellows Gelila Mekonnen and Nahomi Amberber reflect on their time spent working on The Bentway’s Safe in Public Space initiative.
Stewards: Taking the Classroom Outdoors with Christina Bagatavicius
In this week’s Stewards piece, we followed up with Christina Bagatavicius to learn more about how parents and teachers are collaborating through the #SaferOutsideTO campaign to pursue opportunities for outdoor education in public schools.
Stewards: Community Gardens as Safe Havens with Traci Nottingham, Sheryll Durrant and Katie German
In this week’s Stewards piece, we speak with Traci Nottingham, Gardener at Prospect Heights Community Farm in Brooklyn, New York; Sheryll Durrant, Garden Manager at Kelly Street Garden in the Bronx, New York; and Katie German, Director of Programs at FoodShare Toronto, who highlighted the ability of community gardens to serve as “safe havens” in cities.
Photo of the Week
Ebti Nabag travels beyond The Bentway to examine how ideas of safety manifest and are communicated in public space through borders and boundaries, signs and symbols, public space architectures, and delineations.
Mobile, Mobilize, Mobilizer
Reza Nik discusses the use of small scale mobile architecture to create safe spaces and bring communities together.
Double Duty: Re-Imagining the Public Value of Infrastructure
Agency—Agency's Tei Carpenter unearths the latent placemaking potential of urban infrastructure, from fire hydrants to safety bollards.
Video: Black and Safe in Outdoor Spaces
Carnival, Blackness and the Precarity of Public Safety
Sharine Taylor on the role of Carnivals in nourishing public health, cultural vitality and Black liberation.
Stewards: Design as a Tool for Safer Public Spaces with Cara Chellew and Rayna Sydney Syed
In this Stewards piece we connected with Cara Chellew and Rayna Syed to investigate how design can shape experiences in public space, and why practitioners must challenge planning and design norms.
Snapshot: Strengthening Climate Resiliency in Public Spaces
In this week’s Snapshot, we focus on the unequal effects the climate crisis has on certain communities, and explore new movements to centre public space as a key tool for building climate resiliency.
Have your say... Participate in the Safe in Public Space Survey
We’ve created a public survey that will help us gain a broader understanding of experiences of safety at The Bentway and in the surrounding areas in order to understand who feels safe and unsafe in public space within our neighbourhood, why, and when.
Looking Back, Moving Forward: How Public Health Shaped Toronto
In order to understand how COVID-19 will influence Toronto’s future, we first must examine how public health policy established the city as we know it – along unequal lines – argues Bentway Fellow Nahomi Amberber.