Download or read book Toronto s Ravines and Urban Forests written by Jason Ramsay-Brown and published by James Lorimer & Company. This book was released on 2020-07-20 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No matter where you are in Toronto, you are close to a ravine. In these often-hidden places you can find an astonishing diversity of birds, flowers, and trees. Jason Ramsay-Brown has spent twenty years exploring the more than one hundred ravines, parks, and urban forests within Toronto's boundaries. For this book he has selected the thirty natural areas most rewarding to visitors, and provided accounts of what you will encounter there — and what you can learn of the city's history as well. The variety of flora and fauna is astonishing. In one park alone, the Leslie Street Spit, more than three hundred species of birds have been identified since the turn of the millennium. The increasingly scarce butternut tree can be found in Warden Woods, and wildlife such as deer, beaver, foxes, and coyotes are often spotted along many ravine trails. Jason tells the story of ongoing efforts of ecological restoration and stewardship to protect these habitats and ecosystems, such as the wetlands of Taylor Creek Park and the old-growth forest within Glendon Forest. The ravines also contain many landmarks of local history: rumours of buried British gold in Scarborough's Gates Gully, large First Nations encampments near L'Amoureaux Park, and early industries like Todmorden Mills. With extensive visuals illustrating all thirty ravines and forests from across the city, this book offers something for every Torontonian and every visitor.
Download or read book Public Interest Private Property written by Anneke Smit and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when pollution, urban sprawl, and condo booms are leading municipal governments to adopt prescriptive laws and regulations, this book lays the groundwork for a more informed debate between those trying to preserve private property rights and those trying to assert public interests. Rather than asking whether community interests should prevail over the rights of private property owners, Public Interest, Private Property delves into the heart of the argument to ask key questions. Under what conditions should public interests take precedence? And when they do, in what manner should they be limited? Drawing on case studies from across Canada, the contributors examine the tensions surrounding expropriation, smart growth, tree bylaws, green development, and municipal water provision. They also explore frustrations arising from the perceived loss of procedural rights in urban-planning decision making, the absence of a clear definition of “public interest,” and the ambiguity surrounding the controls property owners have within a public-planning system.
Download or read book Biophilic Cities written by Timothy Beatley and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tim Beatley has long been a leader in advocating for the "greening" of cities. But too often, he notes, urban greening efforts focus on everything except nature, emphasizing such elements as public transit, renewable energy production, and energy efficient building systems. While these are important aspects of reimagining urban living, they are not enough, says Beatley. We must remember that human beings have an innate need to connect with the natural world (the biophilia hypothesis). And any vision of a sustainable urban future must place its focus squarely on nature, on the presence, conservation, and celebration of the actual green features and natural life forms. A biophilic city is more than simply a biodiverse city, says Beatley. It is a place that learns from nature and emulates natural systems, incorporates natural forms and images into its buildings and cityscapes, and designs and plans in conjunction with nature. A biophilic city cherishes the natural features that already exist but also works to restore and repair what has been lost or degraded. In Biophilic Cities Beatley not only outlines the essential elements of a biophilic city, but provides examples and stories about cities that have successfully integrated biophilic elements--from the building to the regional level--around the world. From urban ecological networks and connected systems of urban greenspace, to green rooftops and green walls and sidewalk gardens, Beatley reviews the emerging practice of biophilic urban design and planning, and tells many compelling stories of individuals and groups working hard to transform cities from grey and lifeless to green and biodiverse.
Download or read book Special Places written by Betty Roots and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High Park, Scarborough Bluffs, the Humber Valley, the Port Lands. These are among the special places of Toronto. Each is a unique ecosystem within the busy urban region. Even though Torontonians think of the city as almost entirely built up, savannah or wetlands are only a subway ride away. Special Places explores the changing ecosystems of the Toronto area over this century, looking at the environmental conditions that influence the whole region and at the surprising range of plants and animals you can still find in many of its natural spaces.
Download or read book Paths of Pollen written by Stephen Humphrey and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2023-10-15 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tiny organism called pollen pulls off one of nature’s key tasks: plant reproduction. Pollination involves a complex network of different species interacting with one another and mutually adapting to their ecosystems, which are constantly changing. Some pollen grains require just a puff of wind to set them in motion, but most plants depend on creatures gifted with mobility. These might be birds, bats, reptiles, or insects including butterflies, beetles, flies, wasps, and over twenty thousand species of bee. In Paths of Pollen Stephen Humphrey asks readers to imagine a tipping point where plants and pollinators can no longer adapt to stressors such as urbanization, modern agriculture, and global climate change. Illuminating the science of pollination ecology through evocative encounters with biologists, conservationists, and beekeepers, Humphrey illustrates the significance of pollination to such diverse concerns as food supply, biodiversity, rising global temperatures, and the resilience of landscapes. As human actions erase habitats and raise the planet’s temperature, plant diversity is dropping and a growing list of pollinators faces decline or even extinction. Paths of Pollen chronicles pollen’s vital mission to spread plant genes, from the prehistoric past to the present, while looking towards an ecologically uncertain future.
Download or read book Undressed Toronto written by Dale Barbour and published by Univ. of Manitoba Press. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Undressed Toronto looks at the life of the swimming hole and considers how Toronto turned boys skinny dipping into comforting anti-modernist folk figures. By digging into the vibrant social life of these spaces, Barbour challenges narratives that pollution and industrialization in the nineteenth century destroyed the relationship between Torontonians and their rivers and waterfront. Instead, we find that these areas were co-opted and transformed into recreation spaces: often with the acceptance of indulgent city officials. While we take the beach for granted today, it was a novel form of public space in the nineteenth century and Torontonians had to decide how it would work in their city. To create a public beach, bathing needed to be transformed from the predominantly nude male privilege that it had been in the mid-nineteenth century into an activity that women and men could participate in together. That transformation required negotiating and establishing rules for how people would dress and behave when they bathed and setting aside or creating distinct environments for bathing. Undressed Toronto challenges assumptions about class, the urban environment, and the presentation of the naked body. It explores anxieties about modernity and masculinity and the weight of nostalgia in public perceptions and municipal regulation of public bathing in five Toronto environments that showcase distinct moments in the transition from vernacular bathing to the public beach: the city’s central waterfront, Toronto Island, the Don River, the Humber River, and Sunnyside Beach on Toronto’s western shoreline.
Download or read book Biophilic Cities for an Urban Century written by Robert McDonald and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-09-25 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that, paradoxically, at their moment of triumph and fastest growth, cities need nature more than ever. Only if our urban world is full of biophilic cities will the coming urban century truly succeed. Cities are quintessentially human, the perfect forum for interaction, and we are entering what could justly be called the urban century, the fastest period of urban growth in human history. Yet a growing body of scientific literature shows that the constant interaction, the hyper-connectedness, of cities leads to an urban psychological penalty. Nature in cities can be solution to this dilemma, allowing us to have all the benefits of our urban, connected world yet also have that urban home be a place where humanity can thrive. This book presents best practices and case studies from biophilic design, showing how cities around the world are beginning to incorporate nature into their urban fabric. It will be a valuable resource for scholars and professionals working in the area of sustainable cities.
Download or read book Urban Forests Trees and Greenspace written by L. Anders Sandberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-25 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban forests, trees and greenspace are critical in contemporary planning and development of the city. Their study is not only a question of the growth and conservation of green spaces, but also has social, cultural and psychological dimensions. This book brings a perspective of political ecology to the complexities of urban trees and forests through three themes: human agency in urban forests and greenspace; arboreal and greenspace agency in the urban landscape; and actions and interventions in the urban forest. Contributors include leading authorities from North America and Europe from a range of disciplines, including forestry, ecology, geography, landscape design, municipal planning, environmental policy and environmental history.
Download or read book GreenTOpia written by Alana Wilcox and published by Coach House Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More trees. Hydrogen-fuelled cabs. Urbiology. A new model of taxation. Solar panels on big-box stores. The art of salvage. Composters for dog poo in city parks. Retrofitting our urban slabs. Gardening the Gardiner. Ravine City. What would make Toronto a greener place? In the third volume of the uTOpia series, dozens of imaginative Torontonians think big and small about sustainability. From suggestions for changes to our transit system and more mixed-use neighbourhoods to a tongue-in-cheek proposal for a painted line aroudn the city and a short comic book about Toronto in the year 2057, GreenTOpia challenges the city and its residents to rethink what it means to be green in a metropolis, and how to take their love of the city one green step further. Other pieces include an interview with Mayor David Miller and a breakdown of the ecological impact of our morning coffee. GreenTOpia features photos, maps and a 56 page green directory of resources, organizations, incentives and programs promoting sustainability in the GTA.
Download or read book The Bird Friendly City written by Timothy Beatley and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2020-11-05 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds. Warblers become disoriented by nighttime lights and collide with buildings. Ground-feeding sparrows fall prey to feral cats. Hawks and other birds-of-prey are sickened by rat poison. These name just a few of the myriad hazards. How do our cities need to change in order to reduce the threats, often created unintentionally, that have resulted in nearly three billion birds lost in North America alone since the 1970s? In The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. Beatley shares empowering examples, including: advocates for “catios,” enclosed outdoor spaces that allow cats to enjoy backyards without being able to catch birds; a public relations campaign for vultures; and innovations in building design that balance aesthetics with preventing bird strikes. Through these changes and the others Beatley describes, it is possible to make our urban environments more welcoming to many bird species. Readers will come away motivated to implement and advocate for bird-friendly changes, with inspiring examples to draw from. Whether birds are migrating and need a temporary shelter or are taking up permanent residence in a backyard, when the environment is safer for birds, humans are happier as well.
Download or read book Toronto Niagara Colourguide written by Mark Grzeskowiak and published by Formac Publishing Company Limited. This book was released on 2008-04-16 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully updated edition of the Toronto & Niagara Colourguide is written entirely by knowledgeable local contributors and illustrated with more than 400 full-colour photographs. The guide explores Toronto's vibrant culture, cuisine, nightlife and shopping and provides an insider's view of the city's annual events, neighbourhoods, theatre and sports. The expanding Niagara region, a wine, food and cultural destination, is extensively covered. Like other Colourguides, this volume emphasizes cultural and heritage attractions including the recently-expanded Royal Ontario Museum and the revamped and greatly enhanced Art Gallery of Ontario. The listings section gives complete details and contact information about every attraction discussed.
Download or read book City Trees written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Forest Bathing written by Dr. Cyndi Gilbert and published by St. Martin's Essentials. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author and naturopathic physician Dr. Cyndi Gilbert introduces readers to the art and science of forest bathing, the deceptively simple Japanese practice of spending time in the forest as a way to find peace, rejuvenation, and to promote health. Dr. Gilbert shares her own personal history with the practice—how in the midst of an urban sprawl she lost touch with nature, only to rediscover it through the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku or forest bathing. In Forest Bathing, you'll discover the health benefits of Shinrin Yoku, from restoring Vitamin D to balancing your microbiome, along with the rich mental and emotional rewards that spending time surrounded by trees can offer. Forest bathing is a restorative, meditative activity for those who practice it by themselves, but Dr. Gilbert also explores the benefits of practicing forest bathing in community with family and friends. Most importantly, the book offers an easy and practical guide to begin your own forest bathing practice along with a resources section to help you further explore the topic. Learn to tap more deeply into your five senses, practice true mindfulness in sacred woodland spaces, and experience the healing impact of nature wherever you are. Other books in the Start Here Guide Series: Energy Healing: Simple and Effective Practices to Become Your Own Healer Meditation: The Simple and Practical Way to Begin Meditating Chakras: An Introduction to Using the Chakras for Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Well-Being
Download or read book The New Urban Agenda written by Bill Freeman and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2015-06-06 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Equal parts history, social science, and call to action, The New Urban Agenda focuses on fixing the major issues facing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Award-winning author Bill Freeman shows how cities have overcome them in the past, and gives level-headed advice for tackling Toronto's biggest challenges.
Download or read book The Forestry Chronicle written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Imagining Toronto written by Amy Lavender Harris and published by City Building Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Imagining Toronto, Amy Lavender Harris ventures deep into the imagined city Ñ the Toronto of fiction, poetry, and essays Ñ where she dowses for meaning in the literature of the city on the lake as its inhabitants understand, remember, and dream it. By tracing Toronto's literary genealogies from their origins in First Nations stories to today's graphic novels, Harris delineates a great city's portrayal in its literature, where the place of dwelling is coloured by the joy and the suffering, the love and the sorrows, of the people who have played out their lives on the written page. Through tales of the city's neighbourhoods and towers, its ravines and wild places, its role as a multicultural city, as a place of work and leisure, Harris reminds us that the reality of Toronto has been captured by its writers with a depth and complexity that go far beyond the reductive clichZs of Toronto as either a provincial 'Hogtown' or a pretentious 'world class' city. Michael Ondaatje once noted that 'before the real city could be seen it had to be imagined.' Imagining Toronto shows just how richly and completely it has been, if only we would look.
Download or read book Planning the Urban Forest written by James Schwab and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The solution is far more complex than planting more trees, however. Urban forestry professionals and advocates must maximize green infrastructure (the natural environment) while reducing the costs of gray infrastructure (the built environment). While both are important, communities that foster green infrastructure are more livable, produce fewer pollutants, and are most cost-effective to operate.
