With private home development crowding many of the waterfront areas next to Lake Ontario in Toronto, locals and parks advocates are left with few access options.
"The waterfront property here is private. So is much of the land between Colonel Samuel Smith Park, the next major waterfront park you'll come to, and Humber Bay Park, the park after that."
"They paved the waterfront, put up some parking lots – and houses and apartment buildings, stores and No Trespassing signs. Unless you live or work here, you can't get close."
"Downtown, east of Yonge St., the problem is the same. From Yonge until Tommy Thompson Park, the Waterfront Trail would more appropriately be called the Barbed Wire Fence Trail."
"'We lack a unified vision about how we access our waterfront lands,' says Urban Strategies Inc. partner Pino Di Mascio, who has worked with Waterfront Toronto for six years. 'And that's beyond just the central waterfront but right into the west beaches and the others. There's just too much disparity.'"
FULL STORY: A waterfront so near yet so far

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie