Ken Greenberg will be a panelist at the PDA for 40 Oaks Talks.

Ken Greenberg is an architect, urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto and Principal of Greenberg Consultants. For over three decades he has played a pivotal role on public and private assignments in urban settings throughout North America and Europe, focusing on the rejuvenation of downtowns, waterfronts, neighborhoods and on campus master planning, regional growth management, and new community planning. Cities as diverse as Toronto, Hartford, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Montréal, Washington DC, Paris, Detroit, Saint Paul and San Juan Puerto Rico have benefited from his advocacy and passion for restoring the vitality, relevance and sustainability of the public realm in urban life. In each city, with each project, his strategic, consensus-building approach has led to coordinated planning and a renewed focus on urban design. He is the recipient of the 2010 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for public design excellence and the author of Walking Home: the Life and Lessons of a City Builder published by Random House.

David will be the Moderator at the PDA for 40 Oaks Talks.

David is a writer, artist, and skilled labourer who has worked for Azure, Designlines, and The Toronto Standard, and for television shows appearing on CBC and HGTV. He’s also the worst kind of armchair philosopher, grammar queen, wonderkiller, and intellectual dilettante. In his spare time, he enjoys finding fault and worrying about the future of the humanity.

Remo will be a panelist at the PDA for 40 Oaks Talks.
Remo Agostino joined Daniels Corporation in 2003 after 7 years with a private planning consulting firm, specializing in land use development.  Remo is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Masters in Planning program, a Registered Professional Planner and is LEED accredited.

Remo analyzes land acquisition opportunities, manages developments through the development approvals process, manages the municipal permits process and condominium registration.  Remo has managed the development approvals for a number of Daniels developments including all phases of Kilgour Estate, First Home Markham, WRP Neighbourhood Housing (an affordable housing development constructed for a charitable organization), The Woodlands etc.  In addition, Remo Agostino oversees all development related matters and the Regent Park Employment Initiative as part of the Regent Park Revitalization development.
M.Sc.Pl., MCIP, RPP, LEED AP – Director  of Development

Zahra will be a panelist at the PDA for 40 Oaks Talks.
Zahra is the Principal and Founder of the design think tank and creative agency, archiTEXT. Born in Kenya, raised in West Vancouver, and educated at McGill University in Montreal, Zahra has spent two years serving as Innovator in Residence at Canada’s National Design Museum, the Design Exchange.
Starting archiTEXT at 22 years old – Ebrahim brings together diverse groups to tackle the intersections of architecture and design with social change, the environment, politics, economics, equality, health, and pop culture. Using various methods ranging from curation to public engagement to conceptual art, she engages a broad spectrum of the public across the country in design discourse. As the youngest professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), she teaches in the Think Tank Program, getting the next generation of designers asking complex questions of themselves and the world around them. She is also the co-lead on the Community. Design. Initiative. a legacy project engaging some of Canada’s most marginalized youth in architecture and design in Toronto’s priority neighborhoods. Zahra speaks extensively across the country on engaging design, creativity, and play for impact.
In her spare time, Ebrahim is the co-Executive Producer on We’re Up Here: A Fresh Look at Canadian Design set for production in 2013, and has served as the Co-Chair of Outreach for Couchiching Institute of Public Affairs, the Chair of Events for Architecture for Humanity (Toronto Chapter), a member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO Youth Advisory Group, a member of the ReThink Breast Cancer Breastfest Film Festival Committee, and has contributed to OnSite Review and The Mark. In the winter, she volunteers with the Ontario Track 3 Association, teaching children and youth with disabilities to snowboard. Zahra was recently recognized as one of the Global Knowledge Partnership’s Top 100 Young Global Social Entrepreneurs.

Janna will be a panelist at the PDA for 40 Oaks Talks.

(Principal, BA BArch OAA FRAIC) is known around her office as “the Optimist” because she brings a positive energy to her work that draws the best out of people and circumstances. A trailblazer, she also seizes opportunities to find solutions for problems that spark her interest such as the Vermicondo – an styllish indoor worm composter for urban dwellers.
Janna’s background in the visual arts has distinguished her architectural career. She seeks opportunities to integrate art into LGA projects such as the segmented felt walls by Kathryn Walter at the Jamie Kennedy restaurant and the frit patterned windows by Melissa Levin at Canterbury residence.

Janna’s current projects include the new Architecture School of the North for Laurentian University, the renovation and expansion of the main branch of the Kitchener Public Library, a study for the redevelopment of the Scadding Court Community Centre precinct including mixed use and urban agriculture and; an extensive landscape and residential project in Hoggs Hollow.   Janna is active as a lecturer, critic, adjunct professor (at both the University of Waterloo and Toronto, Schools of Architecture) and jury member. With a keen interest in apiary culture, she is also a member of Ontario’s Bee Keepers Association.

What is the role of community-engaged art and design in sustainable urban development?

As neighbourhoods change, there is participation from many different groups with divergent interests: developers, local businesses, community groups, and of course residents. Where does locally produced art and design fit into this picture? What does successful community engagement in the design process look like? Are non-profit organizations in the best position to engage the community through design initiatives? How do residents effect their wishes, and what’s the role for different kinds of “expert” in this process? Is it necessary, or constructive, to form a distinction between expert and resident at all? What strategies can participants at all levels use to effect positive community-driven change?

Sunday, January 29, 2011 | 1pm-2:30pm

40 Oaks St, Community Centre

Panelists

Ken Greenberg, Zahra Ebrahim, Janna Levitt and Remo Agostino

Moderator

David Dick-Agnew, Azure Magazine