Our favourite quotes from David Harvey’s Metcalf Foundation paper, "Fertile Ground for New Thinking – Improving Toronto’s Parks."

P. 5: All five recommendations centre on one theme: that parks management and decision-makers at City Hall need to unleash the creativity of our parks staff and embrace the communities that are home to Toronto’s parks.

P. 5 The City needs to experiment, try pilot projects, and say “yes” to the community more often. Some ideas will succeed; others will fail. But lessons will be learned from both successes and failures. Toronto’s parks are fertile ground for fresh new thinking.

P. 6 (Recommendations) Implement a practical approach to park liability issues. The City’s chief argument against community involvement and investment in parks is liability. Challenge City legal staff to work with the community and develop a reasonable solution.

• Assign a parks “animator” or “facilitator” to assist with and encourage the development of new “Friends of” parks groups and productive City/community relationships.

P.6 Recommendation 2 – Move from a Culture of No to a Culture of Yes. The City needs to:

• Experiment and embrace differences in parks through new pilot projects

– “different is better than perfect.”

• Stop insisting on the need for a citywide policy before allowing new activities in parks. Say yes to pizza and bake ovens, barbeques, and other new ideas.
• Overhaul the permit system, reduce the number of activities that require permits, and make the process for obtaining permits more user-friendly.

P. 7 Recommendation 4 – Use Food as a Tool to Engage People in Parks.

• Stop fighting the creation of new pizza and bake ovens in parks.
• Encourage more farmers’ markets in parks, particularly in less affluent neighbourhoods and “food deserts.”
• Allow more cafés, bars, and food stands in parks.

P.22 At the Alex Wilson Community Garden, a piece of land was donated to the city for a community garden and members of a community group agreed to volunteer their time to manage and maintain the garden. But the City insisted that the group obtain liability insurance for the space at a cost of $1,000/year – a significant ongoing cost for a small community group.

P.23 At a recent public meeting in Dufferin Grove Park, City staff heard many complaints about “the unintended effects of one-size-fits-all permit policies. The associated paperwork and fees shut down small-scale events set up by neighbours.” One member of the public asked, “Can such small local initiatives be seen as partnerships instead of permits? Would that word-change allow the program staff to support the gifts of local park users rather than charging them a permit fee for their contributions?”.....In February 2010, PF&R staff told the planners of long-standing winter skating events at Dufferin Grove Park, Wallace Emerson rink, and other rinks that permits would now be required for skating parties. One organizer said, “When you add fees to volunteer events, you effectively end them. Why would you discourage things that cost the city nothing and bring so much to the community and facilities that are underused? We do this for the love of our community.”

p. 24 As [Jane] Farrow points out, all of this “rule-driven” focus contributes to a perception by many that City staff members consider parks to be their own “private property.” Others describe the Division’s attitude as a “Culture of No” or as Luigi Ferrara of George Brown’s Institute Without Borders puts it, “It’s a culture where nothing really happens” that “chokes” community activity.

P. 27 Our Common Grounds identified a need for “reinventing our parks.” “Our Plan calls for creating them anew, while promoting the maintenance of our parks as a shared responsibility. We will advocate that all residents are keepers of our common grounds, and use the restoration and creation of parks as another way to engage youth.” But not one of the 12 recommendations for parks mentioned including the community in a “shared” role in parks. Everything was to be under the sole authority and responsibility of the City.

p. 44 Toronto is a winter city – cafés, bars, and food stands could be used to draw the public into parks in the off-season and ensure key pathways in parks are cleared of snow and ice.

p. 45 Emphasize people skills in the PF&R hiring and training process. In San Francisco, the Parks Department has put a special focus on hiring staff that are good at organizing and working with volunteers. Seattle’s Department of Parks and Recreation has 335 contracts with non-profit organizations to provide volunteer work for parks and the city puts significant resources into maintaining these relationships....

p. 45 Another person said that the City should scrap work on the new Parks Plan and instead agree to a two-word new strategic plan – “Say yes.” Specifically, the City needs to: • Be willing to experiment and accept differences in parks. I talked to dozens of people who have been pushing the City to try something new with their local park. The City just needs to say yes to many of these ideas. It is the easiest, lowest-cost opportunity for park improvement for the City. Some ideas will succeed wonderfully, others will fail. But lessons will be learned from both the successes and failures. Call the initiative a “pilot project” and experiment with it. • Stop insisting on the need for an overall, citywide policy on every element of parks. For example, the City has been reviewing a citywide policy for pizza ovens for two years....

p. 45 Reform the system for obtaining permits. Many activities will still require permits to ensure that sports facilities are not overbooked. But many others such as smaller picnics, arts, and other group activities should not need a permit.