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.
Cycling Safely: The Role of Bikes in Urban Recovery with Dave Shellnutt
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.
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.
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.
Stewards: Building Community Coalitions for Community Safety with Betty Yu
In this week’s Stewards piece we followed up with multimedia artist and activist Betty Yu to unpack how ideas of safety are rooted in systems of inequity, and how community based approaches present alternative opportunities for transformative justice and accountability.
Health, Housing, and the Supporting Role of Public Space
In this week’s Snapshot, we dive deeper into the interplay between housing and health as it relates to the complex issue of homelessness, while assessing the role that public spaces are playing (or can play in the future) in supporting the health, safety, and well-being of the people who are affected.
Stewards: Facilitating Healing in Public Space with Taboo Health
In this week’s Steward’s piece, we connect with Taboo Health founder, Maria Cheung, and collaborators, Chieng Luphuyong and Fran Quintero Rawlings, to understand the roles of art, co-creation, and continued learning in creating physically, mentally, and culturally safe spaces.
Stewards: Symbols & Systems of Representation with Monument Lab’s Paul Farber and Ken Lum
This week we reconnect with Monument Lab co-founders Paul Farber and Ken Lum to explore the need to engage Othered voices in reimagining symbols and systems of representation in public space.
New Monuments for New Cities
New Monuments for New Cities was a 2019 collaboration between five members of the High Line Network, who each invited five local artists to create proposals for new monuments for a 21st century city. A year later, New Monuments for New Cities still reflects the ongoing social and political circumstances of this moment by confronting controversial public monuments and the safety risks they pose.
Recap: Hypervisibility in Public Space
On Monday, November 2, 2020, Immony Mèn, Syrus Marcus Ware, Justine Abigail Yu, Ravyn Wngz and Kenya-Jade Pinto gathered virtually to discuss hypervisibility and the contributions of the Safe in Public Space creative project partners. The panelists shared personal stories, reflected on their work, and conversed about the importance of documenting and displaying the lived experiences of BIPOC individuals and the notion of ‘proof’.
Virtual Talk: Hypervisibility in Public Space
Join us for a discussion highlighting the work and contributions of community leaders and creative project partners featured in the Safe in Public Space initiative. Contributors will reflect on their works’ exploration of the concept of visibility and hypervisibility in public space, the importance of documenting and displaying the lived experiences of BIPOC individuals, and how the notion of ‘proof’ is relevant to validating and legitimizing experiences in public spaces.