Toronto – recently ranked by the Economist magazine as “the best place to live” and North America’s fourth largest city – is the center of world-class landscape architecture projects, the world’s largest ravine system and a substantial legacy of extant parks.  These will all be the focus of a daylong conference, and other events including What’s Out There Weekend Toronto, featuring two days of free, expert-led tours, and the launch of a free, online What’s Out There Toronto City Guide. 

Much of the new activity, which is leading an unprecedented period of the city’s growth, is occurring along the Don River where parks by internationally significant practitioners that incorporate ecology, culture and design excellence have been built to the highest standards.   Stewardship of these parks, designed and currently maintained by private enterprise, will eventually fall to the city. 

Second Wave of Modernism III: Leading with Landscape will tackle numerous issues including those that deal with the city’s identity – what does it mean for a 21st century city to be historic and modern at the same time? – and stewardship – what new models for public/private financing and management are emerging?

The international implications of this planning and development strategy will address whether a 21st century city can be both regional and global, and whether we can use landscape as an engine to meet market demands while cultivating a sustainable urbanism.

Participating speakers, including internationally significant private sector practitioners working on current and proposed projects in Toronto, municipal leaders, leading critics and thinkers, and academics from Canada, the US and the Netherlands, will also examine how existing parks and open spaces are adapted to accommodate contemporary and future needs and expectations, and how innovative landscape planning and design techniques developed in Toronto apply to other cities, and vice versa – and the impact of imported ideas on local conditions.

Leading with Landscape is the third in an ongoing series about the Second Wave of Modernism, and follows conferences at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (2008) and New York’s Museum of Modern Art (2011).