IN THE MEDIA
Check out the media coverage of All the Libraries Toronto on the project’s website.
Social Distance Machine
When COVID-19 first hit Toronto, we were asked to keep 2 metres between each other, but there was hardly enough space on the sidewalks to do so. As part of the Toronto Public Space Committee, Bobby Gadda and I created the “Social Distancing Machine”, showcased via a humourous video to demonstrate the lack of space for pedestrians while advocating for the City to close streets to cars to facilitate physical distancing. Here are some local and international media highlights:
New York Magazine - April 30, 2020
Mandatory Umbrella Use and Other Social-Distancing Hacks From Around the World
Toronto Star - April 13, 2020
Can you keep your distance on Toronto sidewalks? This viral video shows that can be ‘literally impossible’
Globe and Mail Editorial - April 16, 2020
How can you stay six feet apart when the sidewalk isn’t even six feet wide?
Daily Mail
Artist wears coronavirus 'social distancing machine' on city streets to show how difficult it is to stay 6ft apart - with hilarious results
Newsweek - April 15, 2020
Man Creates Social Distancing Machine Because Social Distance Isn't Hard Enough
Daily Hive - April 13, 2020
Toronto man creates "Social Distance Machine" to show sidewalks are too narrow
The Independant - April 23, 2020
Artist wears coronavirus ‘social distancing machine’ on city streets to show how difficult it is to stay 6ft apart
blogTO - April 13, 2020
Someone in Toronto Made a Social Distancing Machine to Prove the Sidewalks are too Narrow
Breakfast Television - April 14, 2020
Man wears ‘social distancing machine’ to show sidewalks are too narrow
CP24 - April 13, 2020
Toronto man's 'social distancing machine' shows challenge pedestrians face navigating busy city streets
Global News - April 13, 2020
Coronavirus: Man wears ‘social distancing machine’ to show Toronto sidewalks are ‘too narrow’
#KeepthePillarsTO
In an effort to save a beautiful remnant of the city’s concrete heritage, I started a petition to preserve the semi-circle of pillars leftover from the removal of the York Street off-ramp. Unsuccessful, I collaborated with Zoë Abrams to produce The Pillars Picnic, a multi-disciplinary music and arts fest set amongst the pillars.
Now Magazine - May 29, 2019
Toronto’s music community is throwing a picnic in honour of these Gardiner pillars
CBC Toronto - November 17, 2018
Why this man is fighting to save old highway pillars, aka Toronto's 'modern Stonehenge'
640 Radio - November 20, 2018
Toronto man is fighting to save accidental modern Stonehenge - Interview with Kelly Cutrara
Subway Exit Maps
Check out the maps here!
Interview with Metro Morning - January 2019
Someone Created a Map of the Subway Cars Closest to TTC Exits - blogTO
Toronto man creates map of subway cars - Breakfast Televsion
Airbnb'ing the City:
Here and Now - February 2018
A Colourful History Toronto colouring book:
Interview with Toronto Life - October 2017
This Toronto artist drew 100 of the city’s most important historical sites
Interview on Here and Now - October 2017
Listen to the interview here.
Metro Toronto - September 2017
Toronto artist sketching all 95 city heritage sites
Segment on THIS ART WORKS
August 2017
Mapping the 401
Metro Toronto - January 2017
Toronto artist attempts to make people see the beauty of Highway 401
Benjamin Brown Illustrated Map
Globe and Mail - March 2016
Touring the Garment District Designs of architect Benjamin Brown
Canadian Jewish News - March 2016
Toronto exhibit focuses on city’s first accredited Jewish architect
Urban Toronto - March 2016
Heritage Toronto Honours Architect Benjamin Brown
Jane’s Walk 2015
Metro Toronto - May 2015
Five of the most interesting Jane’s Walks to check out in Toronto
Torontoist - May 2015
Your Guide to Jane’s Walk 2015
Design Lines - May 2015
5 Jane’s Walks Touring Toronto’s In-Flux Landscapes
Now Magazine - May 2015
5 Must-See Jane’s Walks
Winter Biking
Interview with Dandyhorse Magazine - December 2014
Geomancy
Interview with Now Magazine - January 2015
ON THE RADIO
February 2015
Monocle 24 Radio, The Urbanist
I speak with Angela Shackel on the experience of taking the ferry to the Toronto Islands - a fantastic experience of watching the city recede into an electric mass, toward the wild forests and little villages of the Islands.
January 2015
CBC Radio One, Toronto, Spark
I talk to host Nora Young about a phenomenon I’ve experienced amongst my friends: the rise of “digital peasantry”. Veronica Simmonds produced the piece and interviewed a close friend. Beyond the analogy, Veronica exposes the real physical labour associated with the production of technology. Listen here.
August 2012
News 95.7, Halifax, Maritime Morning
Interview about the possibility of a 3rd harbour bridge in Halifax, and why this would lead to more congestion on the Halifax Peninsula. I propose that we think of “mobility” rather than public transit versus cars. Listen here.
August 2011
CIUT 88.1 FM, Halifax, Habitat
Interview with Veronica Simmonds about my Fuller Lecture, where I explore why cities are natural, and how that shifts the conversation of environmentalism toward social justice.
IN PHOTOS
Now Magazine spotted me at the Artist’s Newsstand at Chester Station on the 50th birthday of the Bloor-Danforth subway in March 2016.
BlogTO captured a group of friends and I skating on Toronto Bay in winter 2015, a tradition that is getting popular again. Read more about wild skating on my blog.
The Globe and Mail caught me deeply considering Toronto on
a ferry trip across the Bay from the winter Island in 2014.