plazaPOPS is here to support the local economy! Our Wexford Blooms 2023 Economic Impact Report is an opportunity to share the catalyzing effects of investment in community economic development, from hiring 39 Building Up trainees (who went on to get long term jobs in the construction industry), local youth (for many, it was their first job), supporting local artists, and of course, eating all the delicious eats that Wexford restaurants are famous for!
As plazaPOPS celebrates its 5th anniversary of transforming parking spaces into people places, we are excited to share our strategic plan—a dynamic framework crafted to set the course for our organization’s evolution and sustainable growth. A strategic plan is not merely a document: it’s the compass guiding us through the complexities of change, enabling us to navigate with purpose and clarity.
Our WexPOPS Summary Report provides an at-a-glance look at our collaborative community design process, and an overview of our impact drivers and measurements of success. As a process and a product, WexPOPS positively contributed to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of its community.
Landscapes Paysages
October 1, 2021
Brendan Stewart explores plazaPOPS’ big idea: to create a form of social infrastructure and local economic development that is tailored to the conditions of the suburbs, where the need for public realm enhancement is often great, but difficult to achieve due to the limited amount of land in public ownership.
Ground
May 10, 2020
Brendan Stewart, Daniel Rotsztain, and Karen Landman explore the theoretical motivations of plazaPOPS and what happens when you meet theory with practice
Spacing
August 14, 2019
Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain reflect on the insights, challenges, opportunities and rewards of WexPOPS, the plazaPOPS pilot, shortly after it popped down in 2019
7 March 2019
plazaPOPS: Tactical urbanism
Talk by Brendan Stewart at the Council for Educators in Landscape Architecture Conference in Sacramento, California
20 March 2019
plazaPOPS: Improving public amenity through the suburban strip-mall
Talk by Brendan Stewart, Daniel Rotsztain and Karen Landman as part of the SEDRD Speaker Series in Guelph, Ontario
27 March 2019
Supporting Strip Mall Affordability with Public Spaces
Talk by Daniel Rotsztain at Danforth/Coxwell branch of Toronto Public Library in Toronto, Ontario
6 April 2019, 6:30-8:00pm
plazaPOPS: Supporting Strip Mall Retail with Social Infrastructure
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain at the ACO’s Disappearing Main Streets Symposium in Toronto, Ontario
18 September 2019
plazaPOPS: Improving Public Amenity Through the Suburban Strip Mall
Talk by Karen Landman and Brendan Stewart at the International Federation of Landscape Architects conference in Oslo, Norway
30 May 2020
plazaPOPS: Tactical Urbanism for Social Infrastructure in Toronto’s Strip Malls
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain as part of the Making Do in Urbanism and Arts conference in Portland, Oregon
16 September 2021
plazaPOPS: Tactical Urbanism for Social Infrastructure in Toronto’s Strip Malls
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain as part of Bluewater Association for Lifelong Learning Lecture Series in Owen Sound, Ontario
22 September 2022
Paradise in a Parking Lot: Unlocking the Vibrancy of the Suburban Public Realm Through Pop Up Gathering Spaces
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain as part of the OALA-OPPI Conference in London, Ontario
22 June 2023
Paradise in a Parking Lot: Unlocking the Vibrancy of the Suburban Public Realm Through Pop Up Gathering Spaces
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain as part of the Environmental Design Research Association’s conference in Mexico City, Mexico
23 June 2023
Paradise in a Parking Lot: Unlocking the Vibrancy of the Suburban Public Realm Through Pop Up Gathering Spaces
Talk by Sara Udow as part of Park People Conference in Toronto, Ontario
27 July 2023
Paradise in a Parking Lot: Unlocking the Vibrancy of the Suburban Public Realm Through Pop Up Gathering Spaces
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain at the Perennial Plant Association’s National Symposium in Niagara Falls, Ontario
06 June 2024
Building Toronto Together: Co-creating Equitable Social Infrastructure in Toronto’s Inner Suburbs
Panel with Naziha Nasrin at the Project for Public Space’s International Placemaking Week in Baltimore, Maryland
3 July 2024
Paradise in a Parking Lot: Unlocking the Vibrancy of the Suburban Public Realm Through Pop Up Gathering Spaces
Talk by Brendan Stewart and Daniel Rotsztain at the International Association of People-Environment Studies in Barcelona, Spain
Follow us on social media:
Sign up for our newsletter:
PlazaPOPS is funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Research for plazaPOPS is funded through a SSHRC Partnership Development grant, in partnership with the City of Toronto and the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) in the Ontario Agricultural College.
