We're pleased to bring you another season of The Overhead, and we begin by checking back on a topic we've been tracking from the start: community land trusts.

This time, we're focusing specifically on the "community" aspect of land trusts. We've spoken about the benefits of removing certain land from the market, preserving it as affordable housing in perpetuity. But how do land trusts help longstanding cultural communities so they can continue to call their neigbourhoods home?

We see different communities turning to land trust model as a way to avoid displacement, or reassert cultural ownership over land they've traditionally called home: in the traditionally Black neighbourhoods of Hogan's Alley in Vancouver and Africville in Halifax, or in Toronto's Chinatown.

To answer this, we spoke to Nat Pace, network director of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts, and Chiyi Tam, managing director of the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust. As Tam puts it, when we talk about the heritage of a place, we spend a lot of time speaking about the buildings or the character. We lose sight of what really makes a place:

"Heritage is the people, it's not the buildings. And affordability is a core function to do heritage preservation work, in and amongst all of our communities — whether that's dragon dancing or whether that's the literal existence of Africville."

How can ownership over land help preserve our diverse communities?

The Overhead: Preserving Community

O Little Town of Buffalo Gals

A stutter, a loop, a strut, a dark night trying to start.

Idle

Spacing and Evergreen proudly present The Future Fix: Solutions for Communities Across Canada, a special podcast series.

In our first episode, we explore the unique relationship between the town of Innisfil, Ontario, and the controversial ride-hailing company Uber.

Jason Reynar, the town's chief administrative officer, explains this relationship, and how it has changed transit choices for the people there.

The Future Fix is a partnership between Spacing and Evergreen for the Community Solutions Network: a program of Future Cities Canada.

As the program lead, Evergreen is working with Open North and partners to help communities of all sizes across Canada navigate the smart cities landscape.

The Community Solutions Network is supported with funding provided by Infrastructure Canada.

The Future Fix: Uber to Innisfil

We begin this month by tuning in to the Special Committee on Governance, which was created to find ways to adjust to the changes imposed on Toronto City Council in the middle of last year's election.

We catch up with journalist and Walkcast creator Tim Querengesser, as he explains the "MacKinnon Report" — a long list of recommendations commissioned by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party, which may mean belt-tightening for cities and towns in that province.

Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane explains the Ontario Human Rights Commission's new policies regarding racial profiling in law enforcement, the collection of racial statistic in police stops, and even guidelines on artificial intelligence.

And Don Eady, lawyer and partner at Palaire Roland Barristers, helps explain the recent legal decisions regarding Toronto's legal challenge against Bill 5 and the slashing of local wards.

Episode 039: How I Spent Doug Ford's Summer Vacation

Grudges, Debates, and the Democratic Wheels

Council

Trot

A very NSFW peek behind the scenes of recording a podcast. Music by TrackEightyTwo (check his SoundCloud for more fine music).

The Struggle (Podcasting)

Spacing Radio is the voice of Spacing, Canada's leading publication on urbanism. 

The Overhead: Preserving Community

Spacing Radio

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