Robert Freedman

Urban Design/Planning/Development Advisor at FUSL. Background/degrees in law, architecture & planning. Former Director, Urban Design - Toronto. U of T Lecturer

[John Lorinc @JohnLorinc]

#topoli Bryant Park, but really in parks & squares all over Manhattan: lots and lots & lots of folding chairs & tables. If you put them out, people will come & spend time in public space. It’s fascinating & depressing that the City of Toronto is unable to do something so simple.

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Building housing yes but forgetting all the things that make communities work.
https://t.co/pTWmLMnpiC

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

It’s REALLY important that #Vancouver’s Downtown Business Association, who were originally AGAINST downtown bike-lanes, later became one of their most vigourous supporters, because of EVIDENCE that bike-lanes are better for downtown business than any street parking they replace.

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

Very sad!

[Paul Kulig @PaulKulig_TO]

Crazy to think the planetarium has now been closed longer than it was originally open! 😳

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

We have the tools to build affordable housing in Toronto https://t.co/7CKr7ssxwN via @torontostar

[Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic]

.@studiogang’s concrete canyon is a triumph. My piece: https://t.co/uT1cpJS8UV

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

Opinion: Doug Ford’s plan for the Science Centre and Ontario Place – both childhood icons – demands an adult assessment /via @globeandmail https://t.co/ckJKrhxLXZ

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

MAYOR’S RACE: We need to talk about Doug https://t.co/Mxw3Kx8a4E

[Toronto and Region Conservation Authority @TRCA_HQ]

TRCA responds to the Ontario Science Centre announcement: https://t.co/XtRVdPCNek

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Taking inspiration from Montreal re the enduring value of public space on the Expo 67 site.
https://t.co/3Uzb1bi8Cz

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Two 52 year old buildings of major heritage significance, one by Eberhard Zeidler the other by Raymond Moriyama. The Minister says one has to be demolished because it can't be renewed while the other (same age) can be to become the relocated Science Centre. Where is the evidence?

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

From @wmgs a willful blindness to the value of what we have.

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

Beyond shameful!

[Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic]

The Ontario Science Centre (Raymond Moriyama, 1969) is a masterpiece and a deeply important building. The Doug Ford government is going to abandon and demolish it. That’s shameful.

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

You’ve got to listen to this!

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Here is a link to my interview on Metro Morning today- April 17, 2023: 'A repudiation' of the original vision: Former city planner Ken Greenberg slams Ontario Place redevelopment plans https://t.co/hFZLnRJxFM

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

In addition to a major park/square, Downtown Pittsburgh needs more housing - lots more housing.

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Welcome to Doublespeak, language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms primarily meant to make the truth sound more palatable. Doublespeak is most closely associated with political language.

[Robert Freedman @FreedmanToronto]

Unfortunately planning policies are tipping the balance toward "just dense"...

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

For those who worry we are not growing faster some perspective - Toronto Has Nearly 200 More Cranes Than any other Major North American City. Will the city be livable, sustainable, equitable, inclusive or just dense, that is the challenge. https://t.co/vz2hK8Z0L0

[Ken Greenberg @KGreenbergTO]

Look familiar? Two peas in a pod. You have to wonder what the role of the Ontario team was other than to colour in between the lines of this formulaic plan. This one in Germany is next to a highway in a small town rural area.

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

“They cut speed limits, changed street design, removed space for cars…Now it appears that work is paying off. #Oslo & #Helsinki are reaping the rewards of committed action on making their roads safer, reducing pedestrian fatalities to zero last year.” https://t.co/EgPQSx1pRW

[Ontario Place for All © @ONPlace4All]

This is what Therme’s ads don’t want you to see; their fortress on the lake, blocking views of the Ontario Place Cinesphere and Pods, clearcutting Michael Hough’s landscape architecture along with 850 trees. #topoli #onpoli