1.
West Don Lands
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The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River, King Street, Parliament Street and it is 80 hectares in size. A former industrial area, the area is being rebuilt as a mixed-use neighbourhood, after the purchase of Toronto, the area was set aside as a Crown Reserve when York was founded. The area from Berkeley east to the Don River and north to Queen Street was designated for a city park. It was sold off to developers in the 1830s to finance the construction of a new city hospital. The Corktown community grew, and was home to working class Irish immigrants, to the south, the Gooderham and Worts distillery was founded, and it dumped its waste in the area. It kept cattle and pigs in the area to feed off the distillery waste, railways came to Toronto in the 1850s, entering the Don Lands along the Don River from the north, and across the Don River from the east. The Don River was straightened and the Taddle Creek which ran through the area was buried, the Davies Company and Gooderhams were prosperous in the first half of the twentieth century, but both sites were in decline. Davies merged with other meat packers and moved the bulk of its operations to the west of Toronto, Gooderhams was merged with the Hiram Walker distillery and moved much of its production to the Hiram Walker facility out of town. The Davies Company closed in the 1980s, and Gooderhams closed in 1991, by the 1980s, the area was heavily polluted and not a desirable location for industry which sought locations for large one-storey facilities in the suburbs. The area declined and much of the land abandoned as it required expensive clean-up before conversion to other uses, another factor against conversion to other uses was that the lands were floodplains and as such could not be the site of residences. In 1987, the area was expropriated by the Ontario government at the urging of Toronto mayor Art Eggleton, the city proposed creating a new community of 14,000 called Ataratiri to solve Torontos pressing subsidized housing crisis. The Ataratiri project was to have consisted of a mix of subsidized and market priced housing, the name for the project was taken from the Wyandot word for supported by clay in reference to the clay soil of the area. After investing a considerable amount of money purchasing and clearing the site, the industrial history meant the soil was highly polluted and needed expensive cleanup before any residents could live there. The risk of flooding from the Don River also required a barrier to be erected. By 1992, the city and province had already invested some $350 million, the real estate market had also collapsed, making any private investment unlikely. The new Ontario government of Bob Rae thus decided to cancel the project in 1992, a number of plans were advanced for the land. For a time the government considered selling it to a developer who wanted to build a harness racing facility
2.
Waterfront Toronto
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Waterfront Toronto, is an organization administering revitalization projects along the Toronto waterfront in Canada. Actual development of the projects is done by other agencies, primarily private corporations, the projects include a series of wavedeck walkways and gathering places designed by West 8 and DTAH. The task force, headed by financier Robert Fung, reported in March 2000 and it estimated the total cost of revitalization at $5 billion in public investment and a further $7 billion in private sector investment. Provide a clean environment by improving quality, cleaning up contaminated soils. Establishment of a separate from government to oversee the revitalization. Source, Our Toronto Waterfront, Gateway to the New Canada, the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation was formed in 2001 to oversee and lead waterfront renewal. It has subsequently been renamed Waterfront Toronto, the agency is jointly funded by the three levels of government. The CEO is John W. Campbell, formerly an executive at Brookfield Properties. The organization is governed by a board of directors, Mark Wilson - is an executive with IBM, william Charnetski - is an executive with AstraZeneca Canada Inc. Jack Cockwell - is an executive with Brookfield Asset Management Inc, sue Dabarno - is an executive with Richardson Partners Financial. Kevin Garland - is an executive with the National Ballet of Canada Janet Graham - is an independent businesswoman, david Johnson - former member of Ontario Parliament, former provincial cabinet minister. Ross McGregor - former executive of Toronto Region Research Alliance, david Miller - former Mayor of Toronto. John Sandusky - retired chartered accountant and former executive of Sandusky Properties, Corus Quay, originally named First Waterfront Place, is an 8 storey commercial office tower located on a 2. 5-acre Toronto waterfront site. Corus Quay will be Corus Entertainments new Toronto headquarters, consolidating its 10 locations and 1,200 employees into one site, the building is a collaboration between the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation and the Toronto Economic Development Corporation. The East Bayfront Precinct, where the building is located, is intended to be an important public destination as well as provide a range of housing, underpass Park, inaugurated on August 2,2012, is the 18th public space built or revitalized by Waterfront Toronto since 2005. The development achieved LEED Gold status for the projects environmental sustainability, Waterfront Trail Portlands East Bayfront The Don River West Don Lands Gardiner Expressway Transit City WATERFRONToronto Official web site Toronto Waterfront - The Waterfront Trail
3.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
4.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
5.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
6.
Don River (Ontario)
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The Don River is a watercourse in southern Ontario, that empties into Lake Ontario, at Toronto Harbour. Its mouth was just east of the grid of the town of York, Upper Canada. Of the various watercourses that drained Toronto, the Don, the Humber River, the Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about 7 kilometres north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into the lake. The area below the confluence is known as the lower Don, the Don is also joined at the confluence by a third major branch, Taylor-Massey Creek. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is responsible for managing the river, humans first arrived in the Don River area approximately 12,500 years BP, most likely as nomadic hunters. While there is archaeological evidence in the Don valley itself. The most significant recorded find is known as the Withrow Site and it was discovered in 1886 during road building just east of Riverdale Park. It contained human remains and other dating back to about 5000 years BP. It is unclear whether the Don River had a native Canadian name, in 1788, Alexander Aitkin, an English surveyor who worked in southern Ontario, referred to the Don River as Ne cheng qua kekonk. Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, reported in her diary that another name used was Wonscotanach and this is an Anishnaabe phrase meaning the river coming from the back burnt grounds which could refer to an earlier forest fire in the poplar plains to the north. The name Don River was given by Lt. Gov. Simcoe because the wide valley reminded him of the River Don in Yorkshire, after the founding of York in 1793, several mills were constructed along the lower Don. One of the first was at Todmorden Mills and these mills initially turned out lumber, flour and paper products. By the 1850s, there were more than 50 mills along the Don, the Lower Don was becoming an industrial setting. Petroleum storage facilities, poultry and pork processing plants were constructed along the banks of the Don, in 1879, the Don Valley Brick Works opened. Polluted effluent from factories and the growing city nearby was turning the Don. In the 1880s, the part of the Don south of the former Winchester St. bridge was straightened and placed in a channel to create additional harbour space. Known as The Don Improvement Project, the river was also supposed to divert the polluted waters into the Ashbridges Bay marsh. This proved unsuccessful so the mouth was turned 90 degrees west where it empties into the inner harbour and this short extension of the harbour is known as the Keating Channel
7.
William Davies Company
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William Davies Company was a pork processing and packing company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At one time, it was the largest pork packer in the British Empire, one of Torontos longstanding nicknames, Hogtown, is attributable to the millions of pigs processed annually by the William Davies Company. William Davies, born in 1831 in Wallingford, England, emigrated to Canada in 1854, and soon set up a stall in Torontos St. Lawrence Market. Davies rented a facility at Front and Frederick Streets, a few blocks east of St. Lawrence Market, soon, he was shipping millions of pounds annually of salt-cured pork. The William Davies building at 145 Front Street East, later occupied by the J. & J. Safeworks, in addition to curing pork for export, he began slaughtering and processing hogs, and his business became the first continuous/moving rail hog-slaughtering facility in Canada. In 1891, the new plant was the first in Canada to feature an artificial refrigeration unit, in many ways, Davies was responsible for establishing the modern Canadian pork industry. By the 1890s, it was supplying half of the entire Canadian bacon trade with Britain. The companys agent in Britain, John Wheeler Bennett, was known as the Bismarck of the bacon trade, in 1891, the business was reorganized as the William Davies Company Limited. By mid-1917, the majority of the shares were held by Sir Joseph Flavelle, the company was the first Canadian food producer to establish its own chain of retail meat and grocery stores, the first major chain of food stores in Canada. By the 1880s, it operated 84 retail outlets across Ontario, the firm was quick to open stores in fast growing areas along streetcar lines, Flavelle was quoted as saying where the trolley goes it fair to assume that we shall follow shortly. The company was successful during the First World War. The managers of William Davies were routinely accused of being war profiteers, the federal government established a Royal Commission by Order in Council in July 1917 to investigate both the William Davies Company and Matthews-Blackwell Company Limited. By 1920, the highly profitable wartime commodity markets had fallen, food producers rushed to sell off inventory at reduced prices, causing prices to drop faster and further. The William Davies Company was caught flat-footed by the downturn, and was facing financial difficulties by the mid-1920s, the downturn in the pork trade led to a merger between William Davies Company, Gunns Limited and Harris Abattoir Co. in 1927. William Davies Company was the foremost among the merging firms, the newly merged entity was named Canada Packers, and constituted Canadas largest meat processing and packing company. Not only did the merger improve the position of the constituent firms. Eventually, the Canada Packers operations were consolidated, with the meat packing, the former William Davies Company facilities by the Don River were first converted into a cold storage facility and soap works, and were eventually sold. Canada Packers later merged in 1991 with Maple Leaf Mills, a producer of flour-based foods, William Davies died in 1921, after injuries sustained by being butted by a goat
8.
Deindustrialization
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It is the opposite of industrialization. There are multiple interpretations of what this process is, cairncross and Lever offer four possible definitions of deindustrialization, A straightforward long-term decline in the output of manufactured goods or in employment in the manufacturing sector. A shift from manufacturing to the sectors, so that manufacturing has a lower share of total employment. Theories that predict or explain deindustrialization have a long intellectual lineage, rowthorn argues that Marxs theory of declining profit may be regarded as one of the earliest. In parallel, however, technological innovations replace people with machinery, assuming only labor can produce new additional value, this greater physical output embodies a smaller value and surplus value. The average rate of industrial profit therefore declines in the longer term and they suggest deindustrialization may be both an effect and a cause of poor economic performance. Moreover, to the extent that manufacturing firms downsize through, e. g. outsourcing, contracting out, indeed, it potentially has positive effects, provided such actions increase firm productivity and performance. George Reisman identified inflation as a contributor to deindustrialization, institutional arrangements have also contributed to deindustrialization such as economic restructuring. The term de-industrialization crisis has been used to describe the decline of industry in a number of countries. In addition, technological inventions that required less labor, such as industrial robots. The Deindustrialization of America, Plant Closings, Community Abandonment and the Dismantling of Basic Industry, brady, David, Jason Beckfield, and Wei Zhao. The Consequences of Economic Globalization for Affluent Democracies, annual Review of Sociology 33, 313–34. “Deindustrialization and Dispossession, An Examination of Social Division in the Industrial City, ” Sociology 29#1, Pp. 5–17 in, Blackaby, F. Deindustrialisation Cowie, J. Heathcott, J. and Bluestone, B. Beyond the Ruins, The Meanings of Deindustrialization Cornell University Press,2003, the CIA World Factbook Feinstein, Charles. Structural Change in the Developed Countries During the Twentieth Century, oxford Review of Economic Policy 15, 35–55. Fuchs, V R The Service Economy New York, National Bureau of Economic Research Lever, W F ‘Deindustrialisation,6, Pp. 983–999 Goldsmith, M and Larsen, H Local Political Leadership, Nordic Style. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Vol.28.1, Industrial Sunset, The Making of North Americas Rust Belt, 1969–1984. Confronting Decline, The Political Economy of Deindustrialization in Twentieth-Century New England, Business and Regional Economic Decline, The Political Economy of Deindustrialization in Twentieth-Century New England Business and economic history online #12 Krugman, Paul
9.
Bob Rae
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Robert Keith Bob Rae, PC CC OOnt QC is a Canadian lawyer, negotiator, public speaker, and former politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013. He was previously leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the 21st Premier of Ontario, Rae was a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament from 1978 to 1982. Then he moved to politics, serving as leader of the Ontario NDP from February 7,1982. While in office, he brought forward a number of initiatives that were unpopular with many traditional NDP supporters, Raes subsequent disagreement with the leftward direction of the NDP led him to resign his membership and join the Liberals. In 2006, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and he had originally been a Liberal in the 1970s before joining the NDP. Rae returned to the Canadian House of Commons on March 31,2008, as a Liberal MP after winning a March 17,2008 and he was re-elected in the 2008 general election. Rae ran again as a candidate for the party leadership but withdrew on December 12,2008, on June 19,2013, Rae announced that he would resign from parliament in order to become chief negotiator for James Bay area First Nations in their negotiations with the provincial government. His resignation from parliament became effective July 31,2013, Rae joined Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP as a partner in February 2014. Rae sits as an advisor to Canadas Ecofiscal Commission, Rae was born in Ottawa, Ontario. His parents were Lois Esther and Saul Rae, an eminent Canadian career diplomat who had postings in Washington, Geneva, New York, Mexico, Raes paternal grandparents immigrated from Scotland, and his mother had English ancestry. Rae was raised as an Anglican, as an adult, he found out that his paternal grandfather was Jewish, and was from a family of Lithuanian immigrants to Scotland. Raes brother John A. Rae is a Vice-President of Power Corporation and he was also an adviser to Jean Chrétien when he was Indian Affairs Minister in 1968 and from 1993 until 2003 when Chrétien was Prime Minister. Raes younger brother, David, was diagnosed with cancer in 1987. Despite a bone marrow transplant from his brother, he died of leukemia in 1989 at age 32, Raes sister, Jennifer, worked for many years for the IMAX Corporation but has now retired. Rae learned of his familys Jewish origins in 1968, the revelation had a strong impact on him, he sought to explore his Jewish culture, dated Jewish girls exclusively and ultimately married a Jewish woman. Upon his marriage to Arlene Perly Rae, Rae agreed to raise his children in his wifes Jewish faith, Rae is a member of Holy Blossom Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation in Toronto. Rae attended Crichton Street Public School in Ottawa, Horace Mann Public School and Gordon Junior High School in Washington, D. C. and the International School of Geneva, Switzerland
10.
Brownfield land
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Land that is more severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site, does not fall under the brownfield classification. After clean up, such an area can become a community park or business development, the term brownfields first came into use on June 28,1992, at a U. S. congressional field hearing hosted by the Northeast Midwest Congressional Coalition. Also in 1992, the first detailed analysis of the issue was convened by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. The United States Environmental Protection Agency selected Cuyahoga County as its first brownfield pilot project in September 1993, the term applies more generally to previously used land or to sections of industrial or commercial facilities that are to be upgraded. Brownfield land is an area of previously used or built upon, as opposed to greenfield land. Land that is severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site. Mothballed brownfields are properties that the owners are not willing to transfer or put to productive reuse, Brownfield status is a legal designation which places restrictions, conditions or incentives on redevelopment and use on the site. In the United Kingdom, the term brownfield has a meaning roughly equivalent to the American usage described above, i. e. vacant or derelict land or property. In terms of British Town and Country Planning, however, the meaning of brownfield is more complex, small brownfields also may be found in older residential neighborhoods, as for example dry cleaning establishments or gas stations produced high levels of subsurface contaminants. Typical contaminants found on contaminated brownfield land include hydrocarbon spillages, solvents, pesticides, heavy metals such as lead, tributyl tins, old maps may assist in identifying areas to be tested. The primary issue facing all nations involved in attracting and sustaining new uses to brownfield sites is that industries are globally oriented and this directly affects brownfield reuse, such as limiting the effective economic life of the use on the revitalized sites. United States estimates suggest there are over 500,000 brownfield sites contaminated at levels below the Superfund caliber in the country, the Clinton-Gore administration and US EPA launched a series of brownfield policies and programs in 1993 to tackle this problem. Canada has an estimated 200,000 contaminated sites across the nation, the provincial governments have primary responsibility for brownfields. The provinces´ legal mechanisms for managing risk are limited, as there are no tools such as No Further Action letters to property owners finality and certainty in the cleanup. Yet, Canada has cleaned up sites and attracted investment to contaminated lands such as the Moncton rail yards, a strip of the Texaco lands in Mississauga is slated to be part of the Waterfront Trail. However, Imperial Oil has no plans to sell the 75-acre property which has been vacant since the 1980s.9 billion. The report listed significant sites called the Big Five with a liability of $1.8 billion, Faro mine, Colomac Mine, Giant Mine, Cape Dyer-DEW line, the Port Hope, Ontario site has a liability of $1 billion. By 2010 it was projected that it would cost well over a billion dollars for the remediation project
11.
Floodplain
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In other words, a floodplain is an area near a river or a stream which floods when the water level reaches flood stage. Flood plains are made by a meander eroding sideways as it travels downstream, when a river breaks its banks and floods, it leaves behind layers of alluvium. These gradually build up to create the floor of the flood plain, floodplains generally contain unconsolidated sediments, often extending below the bed of the stream. These are accumulations of sand, gravel, loam, silt, and/or clay, and are often important aquifers, geologically ancient floodplains are often represented in the landscape by fluvial terraces. These are old floodplains that remain relatively high above the present floodplain and it is probable that any section of such an alluvial plain would show deposits of a similar character. The floodplain during its formation is marked by meandering or anastomotic streams, oxbow lakes and bayous, marshes or stagnant pools, and is occasionally completely covered with water. When the drainage system has ceased to act or is diverted for any reason. The floodplain differs, however, because it is not altogether flat and it has a gentle slope downstream, and often, for a distance, from the side towards the center. The floodplain is the place for a river to dissipate its energy. Meanders form over the floodplain to slow down the flow of water, in terms of flood management the upper part of the floodplain is crucial as this is where the flood water control starts. Artificial canalisation of the river here will have a impact on wider flooding. This is the basis of flood management. Floodplains can support particularly rich ecosystems, both in quantity and diversity, tugay forests form an ecosystem associated with floodplains, especially in Central Asia. They are a category of riparian zones or systems, a floodplain can contain 100 or even 1,000 times as many species as a river. Microscopic organisms thrive and larger species enter a rapid breeding cycle, opportunistic feeders move in to take advantage. The production of nutrients peaks and falls away quickly, however the surge of new growth endures for some time and this makes floodplains particularly valuable for agriculture. River flow rates are undergoing change following suit with climate change and this change is a threat to the riparian zones and other flood plain forests. These forests have over time synced their seedling deposits after the peaks in flow to best take advantage of the nutrient rich soil generated by peak flow
12.
Soil remediation
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Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. This would mean that once requested by the government or a land remediation authority, immediate action should be taken as this can impact negatively on human health, to help with environmental remediation, one can get environmental remediation services. These services help eliminate radiation sources in order to protect the environment. </ref> In the United States, the most comprehensive set of Preliminary Remediation Goals is from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, a set of standards used in Europe exists and is often called the Dutch standards. The European Union is rapidly moving towards Europe-wide standards, although most of the nations in Europe have their own standards at present. Once a site is suspected of being contaminated there is a need to assess the contamination, often the assessment begins with preparation of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The historical use of the site and the used and produced on site will guide the assessment strategy and type of sampling. Often nearby sites owned by the company or which are nearby and have been reclaimed, levelled or filled are also contaminated even where the current land use seems innocuous. For example, a car park may have been levelled by using contaminated waste in the fill, also important is to consider off site contamination of nearby sites often through decades of emissions to soil, groundwater, and air. Ceiling dust, topsoil, surface and groundwater of nearby properties should also be tested, in the US there has been a mechanism for taxing polluting industries to form a Superfund to remediate abandoned sites, or to litigate to force corporations to remediate their contaminated sites. There are several tools for mapping these sites and which allow the user to view additional information, Remediation technologies are many and varied but can generally be categorized into ex-situ and in-situ methods. Ex-situ methods involve excavation of affected soils and subsequent treatment at the surface as well as extraction of contaminated groundwater, in-situ methods seek to treat the contamination without removing the soils or groundwater. Various technologies have developed for remediation of oil-contaminated soil/sediments. Traditional remediation approaches consist of soil excavation and disposal to landfill and groundwater pump, thermal desorption is a technology for soil remediation. During the process a desorber volatilizes the contaminants to separate them from especially soil or sludge, after that the contaminants can either be collected or destroyed in an offgas treatment system. Excavation processes can be as simple as hauling the contaminated soil to a regulated landfill, recent advancements in bioaugmentation and biostimulation of the excavated material have also proven to be able to remediate semi-volatile organic compounds onsite. If the contamination affects a river or bay bottom, then dredging of bay mud or other silty clays containing contaminants may be conducted, recently, ExSitu Chemical oxidation has also been utilized in the remediation of contaminated soil. This process involves the excavation of the area into large bermed areas where they are treated using chemical oxidation methods
13.
Flood control
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Flood control refers to all methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flood relief refers to methods used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels, Flooding can be exacerbated by increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which reduce the supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall. Periodic floods occur on many rivers, forming a region known as the flood plain. During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass and vegetation, some evaporates, floods occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water. Water then runs off the land in quantities that cannot be carried within stream channels or retained in ponds, lakes. About 30 percent of all precipitation becomes runoff and that amount might be increased by water from melting snow, River flooding is often caused by heavy rain, sometimes increased by melting snow. A flood that rises rapidly, with little or no warning, is called a flash flood, flash floods usually result from intense rainfall over a relatively small area, or if the area was already saturated from previous precipitation. Even when rainfall is light, the shorelines of lakes. Coastal areas are flooded by unusually high tides, such as spring tides, especially when compounded by high winds. It damages property and endangers the lives of humans and other species, rapid water runoff causes soil erosion and concomitant sediment deposition elsewhere. The spawning grounds for fish and other wildlife habitats can become polluted or completely destroyed, some prolonged high floods can delay traffic in areas which lack elevated roadways. Floods can interfere with drainage and economical use of lands, such as interfering with farming, structural damage can occur in bridge abutments, bank lines, sewer lines, and other structures within floodways. Waterway navigation and hydroelectric power are often impaired, financial losses due to floods are typically millions of dollars each year, with the worst floods in recent U. S. history having cost billions of dollars. There are many effects of flooding on human settlements and economic activities. However, flooding can bring benefits, such as making soil more fertile, periodic flooding was essential to the well-being of ancient communities along the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers, the Nile River, the Indus River, the Ganges and the Yellow River, among others. The viability for hydrologically based renewable sources of energy is higher in flood-prone regions, some methods of flood control have been practiced since ancient times. These methods include planting vegetation to retain water, terracing hillsides to slow flow downhill. Other techniques include the construction of levees, lakes, dams, reservoirs and this is the method used for remote sensing the disasters
14.
Southern Ontario
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Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, situated south of Algonquin Park, it covers between 14 and 15% of the province, depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts. The region is home to one-third of Canadas population, Southern Ontario differs greatly from Northern Ontario, in that it has a larger population, different climate, and different culture than its northern counterpart. It is broken into smaller subregions, including Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Southwestern Ontario, Southern Ontario is part of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, which extends northeast into Quebec. Southern Ontario can be distinguished from Northern Ontario because it is far more densely populated and contains the majority of the cities, major roads. Northern Ontario, in contrast, contains natural resources and remote wilderness. Although it has no coastline, the region has an abundance of freshwater coastlines on three Great Lakes, as well as smaller lakes such as Lake Simcoe and Lake St. Clair. It is a vineyard region and producer of Canadian wines. Territorial Southern Ontario was explored and colonized by the French in the 17th century, Southern Ontario was where a large portion of the battles took place during the War of 1812, and was a major destination for escaping slaves using the underground railroad. Following the enactment of Prohibition in the United States in 1919, Southern Ontario is home to over 94%, or 12.1 million, of Ontarios total population of 12.9 million people, compared to approximately 750,000 in Northern Ontario. For thousands of years, Ontario has been home to aboriginal communities. Over 200,000 aboriginal Canadians live in Southern Ontario today, Southern Ontario was colonized by the French and the British. Since the late 20th century, many immigrants have come from Asia, the region is one of the top destinations for immigrants worldwide, particularly the Greater Toronto Area. The area has a manufacturing sector. Since the mid-2000s, Ontario has produced more vehicles per year than the state of Michigan, in a cross-border definition, a swath of Southern Ontario could be considered a part of the Rust Belt. Factory closings because of restructuring, globalization have for the past few decades taken their toll. This is most evident in the southern tier cities which have large automobile or associated industrial bases, such as Windsor, London, St. Thomas. Still affected by these factors but to an extent is Hamilton, the centre of steel production, and Sarnia
15.
Playground
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A playground, playpark, or play area is a place specifically designed to enable children to play there. While a playground is designed for children, some target other age groups. Berlins Preußenpark for example is designed for people aged 70 or higher, a playground might exclude children below a certain age. Common in modern playgrounds are play structures that many different pieces of equipment. Playgrounds often also have facilities for playing games of adult sports, such as a baseball diamond, a skating arena. In some parts of the United States, the term tot lot may be used, a type of playground called a playscape is designed to provide a safe environment for play in a natural setting. Through history, children played in their villages and neighbourhoods, especially in the streets, in the 19th century, developmental psychologists such as Friedrich Fröbel proposed playgrounds as a developmental aid, or to imbue children with a sense of fair play and good manners. In Germany, a few playgrounds were erected in connection to schools, the Outdoor Recreation League provided funds to erect playgrounds on parkland, especially following the 1901 publication of a report on numbers of children being run down by cars in New York City. Interventionist programs such as by the child savers sought to move children into controlled areas to limit delinquency, one of the first playgrounds in the United States was built in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park in 1887. In 1906 the Playground Association of America was founded and a year later Luther Gulick became president and it later became the National Recreation Association and then the National Recreation and Park Association. Neither do small back yards nor ornamental grass plots meet the needs of any, older children who would play vigorous games must have places especially set aside for them, and, since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools. This means that they must be distributed over the cities in such a way as to be walking distance of every boy and girl. Playgrounds were a part of urban culture in the USSR. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were playgrounds in almost every park in many Soviet cities, Playground apparatus was reasonably standard all over the country, most of them consisted of metallic bars with relatively few wooden parts, and were manufactured in state-owned factories. Some of the most common constructions were the carousel, sphere, seesaw, rocket, bridge, Playground design is influenced by the intended purpose and audience. Separate play areas might be offered to accommodate very young children, single, large, open parks tend to not to be used by older schoolgirls or less aggressive children, because there is little opportunity for them to escape more aggressive children. By contrast, a park that offers multiple play areas is used equally by boys, professionals recognize that the social skills that children develop on the playground often become lifelong skill sets that are carried forward into their adulthood. Independent research concludes that playgrounds are among the most important environments for children outside the home, most forms of play are essential for healthy development, but free, spontaneous play—the kind that occurs on playgrounds—is the most beneficial type of play
16.
Splash pad
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A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, splash pads have existed in the commercial industry for decades. Typically there are ground nozzles that spray water out of the splash pads raindeck. There may also be other features such as a rainbow. Some splash pads feature movable nozzles similar to found on fire trucks to allow users to spray others. Hydraulophones are musical splash pads that use water to make music and they are found in water parks, museums, and science centres around the world. The showers and ground nozzles are controlled by a hand activated-motion sensor. Typically the water is freshwater, or recycled and treated water. These splash pads are often surfaced in textured non-slip concrete or in crumb rubber, hydraulophones are the worlds first musical instrument that makes music from vibrations in water. By pressing on jets of water out to a musical scale, hydraulophones make a unique. Depending upon the strength and arc of the flow, the force of the spray can be strong or may have more resemblance to rainfall or even a fine mist. When not combined with a pool or wading pool, a spray pool sometimes has a shallow splash pool a few inches deep. As mentioned, the area beneath a spray pool typically has drain openings so that the water it produces will not flood the surrounding landscape, in some instances, the water collected in these drains is recycled back into the spray mechanism, thereby conserving water. Additionally, the water emanating from the nozzles is continually drawn from a fresh water supply as previously mentioned. A spray pool does not need to be staffed by qualified lifeguards. For example, the hydraulophone, an instrument, similar to a flute or pipe organ. An example of this form of aquatic play can be found in TELUSCAPE Hydraulophone. More generally, these urban beaches form an urban oasis designed so that waterplay is one of its activities
17.
Pitch (sports field)
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A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. In most sports the official term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside refereeing/umpiring circles. The surface of a pitch is most commonly composed of sod, in the sport of cricket, the cricket pitch refers not to the entire field of play, but to the section of the field on which batting and bowling take place in the centre of the field. The pitch is prepared differently from the rest of the field, a pitch is often a regulation space, as in an association football pitch. The term level playing field is used metaphorically to mean fairness in non-sporting human activities such as business where there are notional winners and losers. Game court Grassfield High School in Virginia, United States, often referred to as Grassfield or Grass field Rules and dimensions
18.
Lawn
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Lawns are used around houses, apartments, commercial buildings and offices. Many city parks also have large lawn areas, in recreational contexts, the specialised names turf, pitch, field or green may be used, depending on the sport and the continent. The term lawn, referring to a managed grass space, dates to no earlier than the 16th century, in many suburban areas, there are bylaws in place requiring houses to have lawns and requiring the proper maintenance of these lawns. In some jurisdictions there are water shortages, local government authorities are encouraging alternatives to lawns to reduce water use. Lawn is a cognate of llan which is derived from the Common Brittonic word landa that originally means heath, barren land, Lawns may have originated as grassed enclosures within early medieval settlements used for communal grazing of livestock, as distinct from fields reserved for agriculture. The word laune is first attested in 1540, and is related to the Celtic Brythonic word lan/llan/laun. Lawns became popular with the aristocracy in northern Europe from the Middle Ages onward, the early lawns were not always distinguishable from pasture fields. It is speculated that the association between the word pasture and biblical mentions made lawns a cultural affinity for some, the damp climate of maritime Western Europe in the north made lawns possible to grow and manage. They were not a part of gardens in other regions and cultures of the world until contemporary influence, before the invention of mowing machines in 1830, lawns were managed very differently. They were an element of wealthy estates and manor houses, in most situations, they were also pasture land maintained through grazing by sheep or other livestock. Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits, horses or sheep over a period often form a very low. This was the meaning of the word lawn, and the term can still be found in place names. Some forest areas where extensive grazing is practiced still have these seminatural lawns, for example, in the New Forest, England, such grazed areas are common, and are known as lawns, for example Balmer Lawn. It was not until the 17th and 18th century that the garden and they were made up of meadow plants, such as camomile, a particular favorite. In the early 17th century, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began, during this period, in the early 18th century, landscape gardening for the aristocracy entered a golden age, under the direction of William Kent and Lancelot Capability Brown. They refined the English landscape garden style with the design of natural, or romantic, Brown, remembered as Englands greatest gardener, designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure. His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden made by his predecessors Charles Bridgeman and his work still endures at Croome Court, Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, Harewood House, Bowood House, Milton Abbey, in traces at Kew Gardens and many other locations. His landscapes were fundamentally different from what they replaced, the formal gardens of England which were criticised by Alexander Pope
19.
Marsh
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A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams and they are often dominated by grasses, rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, Marshes provide a habitat for many species of plants, animals, and insects that have adapted to living in flooded conditions. The plants must be able to survive in wet mud with low oxygen levels, many of these plants therefore have aerenchyma, channels within the stem that allow air to move from the leaves into the rooting zone. Marsh plants also tend to have rhizomes for underground storage and reproduction, familiar examples include cattails, sedges, papyrus and sawgrass. Aquatic animals, from fish to salamanders, are able to live with a low amount of oxygen in the water. Some can obtain oxygen from the air instead, while others can live indefinitely in conditions of low oxygen, Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals. Marshes have extremely high levels of production, some of the highest in the world. Marshes also improve water quality by acting as a sink to filter pollutants, Marshes are able to absorb water during periods of heavy rainfall and slowly release it into waterways and therefore reduce the magnitude of flooding. The pH in marshes tends to be neutral to alkaline, as opposed to bogs, Marshes differ depending mainly on their location and salinity. Both of these factors influence the range and scope of animal and plant life that can survive. The three main types of marsh are salt marshes, freshwater marshes, and freshwater marshes. These three can be found worldwide and each contains a different set of organisms, saltwater marshes are found around the world in mid to high latitudes, wherever there are sections of protected coastline. They are located close enough to the shoreline that the motion of the tides affects them and they flourish where the rate of sediment buildup is greater than the rate at which the land level is sinking. Salt marshes are dominated by specially adapted rooted vegetation, primarily salt-tolerant grasses, salt marshes are most commonly found in lagoons, estuaries, and on the sheltered side of shingle or sandspit. The currents there carry the fine particles around to the side of the spit. These locations allow the marshes to absorb the nutrients from the water running through them before they reach the oceans. Coastal development and urban sprawl has caused significant loss of these essential habitats, although considered a freshwater marsh, this form of marsh is affected by the ocean tides
20.
Table (furniture)
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A table is an item of furniture with a flat top and one or more legs, used as a surface for working at, eating from or on which to place things. There are also a range of specialized types of tables, such as drafting tables, used for doing architectural drawings, common design elements include, top surfaces of various shapes, including rectangular, square, rounded, semi-circular or oval legs arranged in two or more similar pairs. However, some tables have three legs, use a heavy pedestal, or are attached to a wall. In Late Latin, tabula took over the meaning previously reserved to mensa, in Old English, the word was bord, replaced by table for this meaning. Tables come in a variety of materials, shapes, and heights dependent upon their origin, style, intended use. Many tables are made of wood or wood-based products, some are made of materials including metal. Most tables are composed of a surface and one or more supports. A table with a single, central foot is a pedestal table, long tables often have extra legs for support. Table tops can be in any shape, although rectangular, square, round. Others have higher surfaces for use while either standing or sitting on a tall stool. Many tables have tops that can be adjusted to change their height, position, shape, or size, either with foldable, some tables are entirely foldable for easy transportation, e. g. camping or storage, e. g. TV trays. Small tables in trains and aircraft may be fixed or foldable, tables can be freestanding or designed for placement against a wall. Tables of various shapes, heights, and sizes are designed for specific uses, bedside tables, nightstands, or night tables are small tables used in a bedroom. They are often used for convenient placement of a lamp, alarm clock, glasses. Gateleg tables have one or two hinged leaves supported by hinged legs, coffee tables are low tables designed for use in a living room, in front of a sofa, for convenient placement of drinks, books, or other personal items. Refectory tables are long tables designed to seat many people for meals, drafting tables usually have a top that can be tilted for making a large or technical drawing. They may also have a ruler or similar element integrated, workbenches are sturdy tables, often elevated for use with a high stool or while standing, which are used for assembly, repairs, or other precision handwork. Nested tables are a set of tables of graduated size that can be stacked together
21.
Bench (furniture)
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A bench is a long seat on which multiple people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, many benches have arm and back rests, some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In American public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations, benches are used both outdoors and indoors. Often benches are simply named for the place they are used, park benches are set as seating places within public parks, and vary in the number of people they can seat. Garden benches are similar to park benches, but are longer and offer more sitting places. Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table and these tables may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage. Scenic benches are situated to provide a means of enjoying the contemplation of a beautiful landscape. Perch benches are situated in high traffic areas to enable people to take a quick break. A storage bench is a combination of sitting space and a storage box, a form is a backless bench that was used for seating in dining rooms, school rooms and law courts. Various types of benches are designed for and/or named after specific uses, such as, church pews inside places of worship. A bench seat is a seat installed in automobiles, featuring a continuous pad running the full width of the cabin. The bench in a courtroom, behind which the judge is seated, benches come in a variety of different materials, but there are some venue standards that account for use, durability, and maintenance patterns. Aluminum, Aluminum benches are often found in outdoor, sideline settings at recreational venues like sports fields or courts, the material affords for a lightweight, corrosive-free bench, so it is a portable and economical option for indoor or outdoor settings. Concrete, Concrete benches are very heavy and are a more permanent furnishing and they are often installed in facilities that are not expected to change or transition often, if at all, such as military bases, state parks and official buildings. Concrete is very durable, so it is appropriate for any climate, Concrete can be composed of many different materials to afford benches different accents, depending on what it is composed of. Fiberglass, Fiberglass is a material so fiberglass benches can come in a variety of designs. The material is great for indoor or outdoor use because it will not corrode or rust, is low maintenance. Common places where fiberglass benches are installed include food courts, restaurants, powder-coated steel, Powder coated steel benches are often found lining entryways for different venues, like retail centers, medical facilities and country clubs
22.
Barbecue
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Barbecue or barbeque is both a cooking method and an apparatus. The word barbecue when used as a noun can refer to, the method itself, the meat cooked this way. The term is used as a verb, i. e. barbecuing is usually done outdoors by smoking the meat over wood or charcoal. Restaurant barbecue may be cooked in large, specially-designed brick or metal ovens, barbeque is practiced in many areas of the world and there are numerous regional variations. The English word barbecue and its cognates in other languages come from the Spanish word barbacoa, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the word to Haiti and translates it as a framework of sticks set upon posts. Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés, a Spanish explorer, was the first to use the word barbecoa in print in Spain in 1526 in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española of the Real Academia Española. After Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, the Spaniards apparently found native Haitians roasting meat over a grill consisting of a wooden framework resting on sticks above a fire, the flames and smoke rose and enveloped the meat, giving it a certain flavor. The same framework was used as protection from nocturnal animal attacks. Traditional barbacoa involves digging a hole in the ground and placing some meat—usually a whole lamb—above a pot so the juices can be used to make a broth and it is then covered with maguey leaves and coal, and set alight. The cooking process takes a few hours, linguists have suggested the word barbacoa migrated from the Caribbean and into other languages and cultures, it moved from Caribbean dialects into Spanish, then Portuguese, French, and English. According to the OED, the first recorded use of the word in English was a verb in 1661, in Edmund Hickeringills Jamaica Viewed, Some are slain, And their flesh forthwith Barbacud and eat. The word barbecue was published in English in 1672 as a verb from the writings of John Lederer, the first known use of the word as a noun was in 1697 by the British buccaneer William Dampier. In his New Voyage Round the World, Dampier wrote, and lay there all night, upon our Borbecus, or frames of Sticks, raised about 3 foot from the Ground. The spelling barbeque is given in Merriam-Webster and the Oxford Dictionaries as a variant, in the southeastern United States, the word barbecue is used predominantly as a noun referring to roast pork, while in the southwestern states cuts of beef are often cooked. Because the word came from native groups, Europeans gave it savage connotations. However, according to Andrew Warnes, there is little proof that Hickeringills tale of cannibalism in the Caribbean is even remotely true. Today, those in the U. S. associate barbecue with classic Americana, in American English usage, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat while barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat or hot smoke, similar to some forms of roasting. In a typical U. S. home grill, food is cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal and its South American versions are the southern Brazilian churrasco and the Argentine asado
23.
Fireplace
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A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room, modern fireplaces have variable heat efficiency, depending on the sophistication of the design. Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry, a fire is contained in a firebox or firepit, a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape. On the exterior there is often a brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap, organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes Smoke may smell good, but its not good for you, manufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal fire boxes. Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes, Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas, in the United States, some states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They must be sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality issues due to the amount of moisture they release into the room air. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas and they are completely sealed from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure. Chimney and flue types, Masonry with or without tile-lined flue, fundamental design flaws bankrupted the US manufacturers and made the design obsolete. These chimneys often show vertical cracks on the exterior, metal-lined flue, Double or triple walled metal pipe running up inside a new or existing wood-framed or masonry chase. Newly constructed flues may feature a cover, a cap. All fireplaces require trained gas service members to carry out installations, a wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, a grate is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes, ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling
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Bike path
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A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. It may or may not have a center divider or stripe to prevent head-on collisions, in the UK, a shared-use footway or multi-use path is for use by both cyclists and pedestrians. Bike paths that follow independent rights-of-way are often used to promote recreational cycling, in Northern European countries, cycling tourism represents a significant proportion of overall tourist activity. Extensive interurban bike path networks can be found in such as Denmark or the Netherlands. These networks may use routes dedicated exclusively to cycle traffic or minor rural roads whose use is restricted to local motor traffic. The UK has recently implemented the National Cycle Network, where available these routes are often rail trails making use of abandoned railway corridors. A prominent example in the UK is the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, other UK examples include The Ebury Way Cycle Path, The Alban Way, the Hillend Loch Railway Path and the Nicky Line. In 2003 the longest continuous bike path in Europe was opened, along the Albacete-Valdeganga highway in Spain, bogotas Bike Paths Network, designed and built during the administration of Mayor Enrique Peñalosa attracts significant recreational use. The relative safety of bike paths that follow independent rights-of-way closed to motorized traffic is difficult to assess, in terms of car/bicycle collisions, this is clearly mediated by how the bike path network rejoins the main road network. As a general rule those bike paths with the highest perceived safety tend to be engineered on the assumption of vehicular rather than pedestrian traffic. Thus the most popular examples tend to be converted road or railway alignments or constructed to the standards used by road. In many jurisdictions bike paths are shared with pedestrians, but there is a variety of quality in helping to minimize cyclist-pedestrian conflicts. Media related to Bike paths at Wikimedia Commons
25.
Boardwalk
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A boardwalk is a constructed pedestrian walkway along or overlooking beaches, usually built with wood boards, or as walking paths and trails over bogs and wetlands and above fragile ecosystems. They are frequently found in proximity to piers. Boardwalks along intertidal zones are known as foreshoreways in Australia, a boardwalk along a river is often known as a riverwalk and a boardwalk along an oceanfront is often known as an oceanway. Although boardwalks can be found around the world, they are common along the East Coast of the United States. Indeed, in parts of the U. S. today the term boardwalk often carries more the connotation of a waterfront, pedestrian. One of the earliest such boardwalks was designed in New Jersey and opened June 26,1870, in Atlantic City
26.
Dog park
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A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Dog parks may also offer access, a pond for swimming. Off-leash dog areas, or dog parks, provide a community setting in which people can gather and socialize, Dog parks allow owners and their dogs to spend time together and offer dogs a space for play and companionship with others. Leashes can cause dogs to become territorial, roaming free is beneficial for dogs. Organizations like the ASPCA view that dog parks are beneficial to dogs, according to Dan Emerson of DogChannel. Dog park regulations vary from park to park, but some are quite extensive and comprehensive. In the United States, Great Britain, and Australia, the number of dog owners has grown by several millions from the 1990s to the 2000s, and the number of dogs per household has also increased. Typically, dogs are taken on walks, but because of strict leash laws. Studies have shown that people find it easier to talk to each other with dogs as the initial focus, many of whom are unable to properly exercise their dogs and who could benefit from taking their dogs to a dog park. The benefits of exercise for dogs are well documented, although dogs can learn, cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, cautions that the dog park should not be used as a substitute for a daily walk. He suggests that the owners walk their dogs briskly for 35 minutes to them before placing them unleashed inside a dog park enclosure. Dogs that are highly socialized and exercised are healthier, happier and they are less likely to bark or be destructive or aggressive if they are able to expend pent-up energy during regular play or exercise. Establishing a dog park can create contention within a community when residents worry about noise, smell, the town of Leesburg took eight years to approve a small dog park in Loudoun County, Virginia that will hold only 20 dogs at once. The town of South Windsor, CT built a Bark Park on town owned land within a few hundred feet of private residences, the homeowners hear barking dogs and car traffic while in their homes. This has led to a lawsuit against the town for noise nuisance, there is no comprehensive reference manual outlining the requirements for the design of a safe and well-maintained dog park. The only available reference for local dog park advocates is Susyn Stecchis So You Want to Build a Dog Park, before introducing a dog park to the community, it is best to plan thoroughly. A primary objective - and one of the toughest - is to ensure that the location is appropriate for the dogs, their owners, the second objective is to ensure that the park is safe for dogs, people, and wildlife. A third objective is to make sure the size of the dog park is appropriate, Dog parks that are too big can result in opportunities for dogs to learn and demonstrate anti-social, dominant behavior, which can result in fights without swift intervention by their guardians
27.
Public art
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Public art is art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. Public art may include any art which is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings, rather, the relationship between the content and audience, what the art is saying and to whom, is just as important if not more important than its physical location. Cher Krause Knight states, arts publicness rests in the quality, such cultural interventions have often been realised in response to creatively engaging a communitys sense of place or well-being in society. Such commissions can still result in physical, permanent artworks and sculptures and these also often involve increasingly integrated and applied arts type applications. However, they are beginning to include other, much more process-driven. As such, these do not always rely on the production of a physical or permanent artwork at all and this expanded scope of public art can embrace many diverse practices and artforms. These might be implemented as stand-alone, or as collaborative hybrids involving a multi-disciplinary approach, the range of its potential is of course endless, ever-changing, and subject to continual debate and differences of opinion among artists, funders, curators, and commissioning clients. Public art is not confined to objects, dance, procession, street theatre. In a similar example, sculptor Gar Waterman created a giant arch measuring 35x37x3 feet which straddled a city street in New Haven, in Cape Town, South Africa, Africa Centre presents the Infecting the City Public Art Festival. Programs like President Roosevelts New Deal facilitated the development of art during the Great Depression but was wrought with propaganda goals. New Deal art support programs intended to develop national pride in American culture while avoiding addressing the faltering economy that said culture was built upon, although problematic, New Deal programs such as FAP altered the relationship between the artist and society by making art accessible to all people. The New Deal program Art-in-Architecture developed percent for art programs, a structure for funding public art still utilized today and this program gave one half of one percent of total construction costs of all government buildings to purchase contemporary American art for that structure. A-i-A helped solidify the principle that art in the US should be truly owned by the public. They also established the legitimacy of the desire for public art. While problematic at times, early public art programs set the foundation for current public art development, Public art became much more about the public. The will to create a deepest and more pertinent connection between the production of the artwork and the site where it is made visible prompts different orientations, in 1969 Wolf Vostells Stationary traffic was made in Cologne. Between the 1970s and the 1980s, gentrification and ecological issues surface in public art practices both as a motive and as a critical focus brought in by artists. In recent years, programs of green urban regeneration aiming at converting abandoned lots into green areas regularly include public art programs, the 1980s also witness the institutionalisation of sculpture parks as curated programs
28.
Mark di Suvero
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Marco Polo Mark di Suvero is an abstract expressionist sculptor and 2010 National Medal of Arts recipient. Marco Polo di Suvero was born on September 18,1933 in Shanghai, China, to Matilde Millo di Suvero, di Suvero was one of four children, the eldest being Victor di Suvero. His father was a naval attaché for the Italian government and the family resided in Shanghai until his father was relocated to Tientsin shortly after the birth of the familys last son in 1936. With the outbreak of World War II, di Suvero immigrated to San Francisco, di Suvero attended San Francisco City College from 1953 to 1954 followed by the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1954 to 1955. He began creating sculptures while at UC Santa Barbara after reflecting that he couldnt make a contribution in his philosophy major. Under the guidance of Robert Thomas, who allowed di Suvero to take his sculpting course and he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a B. A. in philosophy in 1957. After graduating from college, di Suvero moved to New York City in 1957 to pursue an art career. He worked part-time in construction and began to incorporate wood and metal from demolition sites into his work, shortly before his first solo exhibition at Green Gallery, di Suvero was involved in a near-fatal elevator accident on March 26,1960, while working at a construction site. He suffered a back and severe spinal injures, doctors believed he wouldnt be able to walk again. While in rehabilitation, he learned to work with an arc welder which became critical for later pieces and he made a recovery in four years and could walk without assistance by 1965. He is one of the sixteen artists included in the book Chronicles of Courage, Very Special Artists as a result of this accident and the subsequent effect it had upon his health. Di Suvero was a member of the Park Place Gallery in 1963 with Forrest Myers, Leo Valledor, Peter Forakis, among others. Di Suvero protested the Vietnam War, for which he was twice arrested and his French barge, Rêve de signes, has since been turned into La Vie des Formes, an atelier for emerging artists, which has been moored at Montceau-les-Mines since 2009. He later returned to the United States and opened a studio in Petaluma, while the Petaluma studio is still active, di Suvero moved to New York City and opened a studio there. He founded the Athena Foundation in 1977 and Socrates Sculpture Park in 1986 and his early works were large outdoor pieces that incorporated wooden timbers from demolition buildings, tires, scrap metal and structural steel. This exploration has transformed over time into a focus on H-beams, many of the pieces contain sections that are allowed to swing and rotate giving the overall forms a considerable degree of motion. He prides himself on his approach to the fabrication and installation of his work. Di Suvero pioneered the use of a crane as a working tool
29.
Urban prairie
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Urban prairie is a term to describe vacant urban land that has reverted to green space. Previous structures occupying the urban lots have been demolished, leaving areas of green space that are usually untended and unmanaged. Sometimes, however, the spaces are intentionally created to facilitate amenities such as community gardens. Urban prairies can result from several factors, the value of aging buildings may fall too low to provide financial incentives for their owners to maintain them. Vacant properties may have resulted from deurbanization or crime, or may have been seized by government as a response to unpaid property taxes. Since vacant structures can pose health and safety threats, or be used as a location for criminal activity, sometimes areas are cleared of buildings as part of a revitalization plan with the intention of redeveloping the land. In flood-prone areas, government agencies may purchase developed lots and then demolish the structures to improve drainage during floods, some neighborhoods near major industrial or environmental clean-up sites are acquired and leveled to create a buffer zone and minimize the risks associated with pollution or industrial accidents. Such areas may become nothing more than fields of overgrown vegetation, sometimes it is possible for residents of the city to fill up the unplanned empty space with urban parks or community gardens. Detroit, Michigan is one city that has many urban prairies. At times, an Urban Prairie is established to lower the burden of mowing and this can result in noxious weeds flourishing and a general unsightly appearance occurring. Media related to Urban prairie at Wikimedia Commons City of Des Moines Urban Prairie Project
30.
Bayview Avenue
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Bayview Avenue is a major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is also designated as York Regional Road 34, Bayview Avenue follows the first concession line, laid 6,600 ft east of Yonge Street. Over time, the road became known as East York Avenue. In 1931, James Stanley McLean constructed Bay View overlooking the Don Valley on the edge of Moore Park, on August 17,1959, Bayview was extended south from Moore Avenue in Leaside to Front Street. The northern section of extension was routed alongside Pottery Road to Nesbitt Drive. South of this, it wraps around a hill and descends into the Lower Don Valley and this addition is frequently referred to as the Bayview Extension. It was constructed as part of the Don Valley Parkway project, the extension fulfilled the central spoke in the building of the Don Valley Roadway as proposed in the 1940s. A route through the ravine to St. Clair Avenue was replaced with the present route which stays within the Don Valley proper, Bayview Avenue now terminates at the Corktown Common at Mill Street. A lengthy battle ensued between environmentalists, upset over continuing construction in the supposedly protected Oak Ridges Moraine. The discovery of Jefferson salamanders in the area resulted in several modifications to the design of the route, including a 70 m structure over a dry ravine. On November 17,2002, the new extension was opened, the former route of Bayview was turned into several short streets, which lie directly west of the new roadway. Today, Sunnybrook Hospital and Sunnybrook Park occupy those lands, while Bayview was never renamed, a recently constructed street south of the hospital carries the name Kilgour Road today. The southern end of Bayview Avenue starts at River Street, for the first part of its route northward it runs through the Don Valley, on the West side of the river opposite the Don Valley Parkway. Along this stretch a steep cliff separates it from such as Cabbagetown. Bayview exits the Don Valley, passing through the Governors Bridge neighbourhood and it is the major commercial street for Leaside, home to many small shops and restaurants. North of Leaside Bayview runs across several tributaries of the Don River and is carried over one of them by the six-lane Bayview Bridge. This is the portion of the wealthy Lawrence Park neighbourhood, and just to the east is the Bridle Path. North of York Mills Avenue Bayview becomes one of the major north-south arterials for suburban North York and it passes through the neighbourhoods of Bayview Village, Bayview Woods, Willowdale, and Newtonbrook
31.
King Street (Toronto)
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King Street is a major east–west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first streets laid out in the 1793 plan of the Town of York and this original core was destroyed in the 1849 Great Fire of Toronto, but subsequently rebuilt. The original street extended from George to Berkeley Street and was extended by 1901 to its present terminuses at Roncesvalles Avenue in the west and the Don River in the east. King Streets western terminus is at an intersection with The Queensway to the west, Roncesvalles Avenue to the north, King runs to the south-east briefly before curving to the east until just west of Parliament Street. There, it curves north-east until terminates at a merge with Queen Street East just west of the Don River, prior to a realignment, Eastern Avenue was the East end of King Street and crossed the Don at the King Street Bridge. Yonge Street, the north–south divider of many Toronto east–west streets, divides King Street into King Street East, canadas Walk of Fame runs along King Street from John Street to Simcoe Street and south on Simcoe. It is a tribute in granite to Canadians who have gained fame in the fields of music, literature, journalism, dance, sports, acting, entertainment and broadcasting. King Street East is predominantly known as the high-end, luxury furniture district of downtown Toronto, with dozens of stores on King Street and in the surrounding area. King Street is served along its length by the Toronto Transit Commissions 504 King streetcar route. It connects with the Yonge–University–Spadina subway line at St. Andrew Station at University Avenue and it connects with the Bloor–Danforth subway line at Dundas West and Broadview stations. The street was served by the 508 Lake Shore route until it was terminated in June 2015. It was subsequently replaced by the 514 Cherry route in June 2016, in the original 1793 plan of the Town of York, King Street was the original name of the section of todays Front Street from George Street east to Parliament Street. This was changed in 1797, when York was extended to the west, the original King Street became Palace Street, and Duke Street was renamed King Street. The new King Street was extended west to York Street, in 1798, King Street was extended further west, to Peter Street. In the 1837 westerly extension of Toronto, King Street was extended west to Garrison Creek, in the 1849 Great Fire, much of the business core at King and Jarvis was destroyed. By 1901, King Street West was completed to its intersection at Roncesvalles. Lawrence Market and the historic King Edward Hotel
32.
GO Transit
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GO Transit is a regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada, serving the Golden Horseshoe region. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transits operations extend as far as Niagara Falls to the south, Waterloo to the west, Peterborough to the east, GO Transit carried 69.5 million passengers in 2015, and its ridership continues to grow. GO Transit employs diesel trains and coach buses, it connects with all municipal transit providers in its area, as well as Via Rail. Canadas first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23,1967 as a part of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since then, it has grown from a train line to seven. Cities in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area experienced huge expansions in the 1950s, real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning, it was approached as a test, GO Train service ran throughout the day from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be popular, GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months. This line, now divided as the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines is the corridor of GO Transit. Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at developing ridership in with the introduction of the Georgetown line in 1974 and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. The Milton GO Train line opened in 1981, followed by the Bradford and Stouffville lines a year later, other than establishing new rail corridors, GO Transit introduced the Bi-Level coaches in 1979, in order to increase the number of passengers carried per train. These unique rail cars were developed in partnership with Bombardier Transportation, in that same year, the current GO concourse at Union Station was built to accommodate these additional passengers. GO Bus service also started on September 8,1970, extending the original Lakeshore line to Hamilton and Oshawa, as well as providing service north to Newmarket and Barrie. It eventually became a network in its own right after 1989, feeding rail service. GO extended limited rush hour service on the Bradford, Georgetown. Train service was extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West line in 1992. In a series of cost-cutting measures, then-Ontario Premier Bob Rae announced a reduction in spending on services. All day train service was restored from Burlington to Whitby, and peak service was brought to Oshawa in 2000
33.
Canadian National Railway
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The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec that serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CNs slogan is North Americas Railroad, CN is a public company with 24,000 employees. It had a capitalization of 32 billion CAD in 2011. CN was government-owned, having been a Canadian Crown corporation from its founding to its privatization in 1995, bill Gates was, in 2011, the largest single shareholder of CN stock. Its range once reached across the island of Newfoundland until 1988, the railway was referred to as the Canadian National Railways between 1918 and 1960, and as Canadian National/Canadien National from 1960 to the present. On November 17,1995, the government privatized CN. Over the next decade, the company expanded significantly into the United States, purchasing Illinois Central Railroad and Wisconsin Central Transportation, now primarily a freight railway, CN also operated passenger services until 1978, when they were assumed by Via Rail. The Newfoundland mixed trains lasted until 1988, while the Montreal commuter trains are now operated by Montreals AMT, the absorption of the Intercolonial Railway would see CNR adopt that systems slogan The Peoples Railway. The federal governments Department of Railways and Canals took over operation of the GTPR until July 12,1920, the Canadian National Railway was organized on October 10,1922. After several years of arbitration, the GTR was absorbed into CNR on January 30,1923, Canadian National Railways was born out of both wartime and domestic urgency. Railways, until the rise of the automobile and creation of taxpayer-funded all-weather highways, were the only viable long-distance land transportation available in Canada for many years. As such, their operation consumed a great deal of public, in the early 20th century, many governments were taking a more interventionist role in the economy, foreshadowing the influence of economists like John Maynard Keynes. This political trend, combined with broader geo-political events, made nationalization an appealing choice for Canada, the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and allied involvement in the Russian Revolution seemed to validate the continuing process. The need for a rail system was paramount in a time of civil unrest. CN Telegraph originated as the Great North West Telegraph Company in 1880 to connect Ontario and Manitoba, in 1915, facing bankruptcy, GNWTC was acquired by the Canadian Northern Railways telegraph company. When Canadian Northern was nationalized in 1918 and amalgamated into Canadian National Railways in 1921, CN Telegraphs began co-operating with its Canadian Pacific owned rival CPR Telegraphs in the 1930s, sharing telegraph networks and co-founding a teleprinter system in 1957. In 1967 the two services were amalgamated into a joint venture CNCP Telecommunications which evolved into a telecoms company, CN sold its stake of the company to CP in 1984. This led to the creation of a network of CNR radio stations across the country, as anyone in the vicinity of a station could hear its broadcasts the networks audience extended far beyond train passengers to the public at large
34.
2015 Pan American Games Athletes' Village
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The 2015 Pan American Games Athletes Village is a complex of six buildings in Toronto, Canada built to accommodate on the order of 10,000 athletes and team officials in 1,300 units. The Village was built east of the intersection of Cherry and Front streets, the same village will be used to house athletes for the 2015 Parapan American Games. Six buildings compose the Athletes Village, five are residential mid-rise buildings, after the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games, four residential towers will become the Canary District housing development. The fifth will become a dormitory for students of nearby George Brown College, and training facility will become a YMCA, the village was completed in February 2015, and cost $709 million CAD. As well, the village includes the Corktown Common park which was built a year before, like the Olympic Villages provided for other games, the Athletes Village provided in Toronto for the 2015 Pan American Games was a new construction. Since the athletes were going to eat in central cafeterias the room that would become the units kitchens could serve as an additional bedroom. Hardwood, tile and carpet flooring are to be installed after the games are over, painted concrete floors was seen as more appropriate for housing for athletes, who could mar the surface of more expensive flooring, with spiked shoes or other athletic gear. The village is built on the site of railway and industrial lands, including the William Davies Company. After the meat industry moved out in the 1980s, the area was taken over by government to build a housing project. The project was fast-tracked once Toronto was awarded the games, changing a twelve-year plan for redevelopment into a six-year plan
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
36.
Toronto ravine system
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The Toronto ravine system is one of the most distinctive features of the geography of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a network of ravines that form a large urban forest that runs throughout much of the city. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are largely undeveloped, Torontos slogan, The city within a park partially stems from the extensive ravine green space. The terrain that the city of Toronto sits on was formed after the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago, the glaciers flattened the terrain, and deposited a thick layer of loose sand and soil over the region. Over the millennia, small rivers and creeks eroded this soil cutting deep ravines through what is today the Toronto region, to the north of Toronto is the 1, 900-square-kilometre Oak Ridges Moraine. The largest ravines are home to the rivers running south from the Moraine to Lake Ontario, the Humber River, the Don River, smaller creeks and streams rise within Toronto from rain and melt water. The Don River is categorized as a river, as it is too small for its relatively steep. Despite the dense population of metropolitan Toronto, many of the ravines have been close to their natural state. The most important reason for this is the danger of flooding, the rivers and streams that flow through the ravines are highly variable. During the late summer, many of the smaller ones will slow to a trickle or even disappear completely, during the spring and after major storms, the creeks often overflow their banks. Every few decades, a flooding event will occur where the ravines are almost totally flooded. The most recent such event was in 1954 when Hurricane Hazel arrived and that storm dropped over 12 cm of rain on the city in a day onto soil that was already waterlogged by a week of rain. In the post-war boom years, several developments had begun to encroach on the lands. Whole blocks were washed away and 81 people killed, the damage was most severe along the Humber River, where a part of a street was destroyed completely. This disaster led to an almost complete ban on development in the ravines, early settlers quickly discovered that the sandy and gravelly soil of the ravines made them unsuitable for agriculture. They were extensively logged during the century, and there are very few trees in the ravines that date to before the end of logging around 1850. The rivers and creeks were also an important source of power for early European settlers, the largest of the ravines, the Don Valley, is one of the most transformed. The southern portion of the Don was completely encased in a channel to prevent flooding
37.
Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens
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Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was created in 1933 by public subscription to honour Alexander Muir, the park was originally located opposite Mount Pleasant Cemetery on Yonge Street, but was moved to its present location in 1951 due to the construction of the Yonge subway. Today the park is in Torontos Lawrence Park neighbourhood south of Lawrence Avenue with an entrance on the east side of Yonge Street. Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens was founded in 1933 but was located on the west side of Yonge Street across from Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Landscape architect Edwin Kay designed the park using the maple leaf as a theme. The park was to celebrate Torontos centennial in 1934 as well as to honour Muir, the parks creation was supported by public subscriptions. To make room for the construction of the Davisville subway yard, the cost of the move was over $100,000. The park at its present location was dedicated on May 28,1952. Edwin Kay’s formal, symmetrical design was replicated at the new location, the subway tunnel portal at the south end of the Davisville Yard is called the Muir Portal because of the park that used to be there. In 1990, a jury declared Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens to be one of the best 25 urban design projects built before 1985 in Toronto. Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens feature formal flower gardens with roses, herbs, there is a decorative gate at the Yonge Street entrance bearing a plaque depicting a maple leaf to commemorate Muir and the parks 1952 reopening. Inside the park, there is a retaining wall that is also a monument dedicated to Muir inscribed with the refrain of The Maple Leaf Forever. The Gardens contain stone balconies and steps, crushed brick pathways and sunken gardens enclosed by maple, willow, the park is popular for wedding photography. Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens is part of a chain of parks leading eastwards along Blythwood Ravine Park, Sherwood Park, the Gardens are part of the self-guided tour, Northern Ravines & Gardens Discovery Walk. On the south side of the Gardens, Alexander Muir Road descends into Blythwood Ravine to serve Lawrence Park Lawn Bowling & Croquet Club, the Toronto Legacy Project and Heritage Toronto erected a plaque in honour of astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg at the extreme south-west corner of the park. Between 1962 and 1965, Hogg lived in the apartment building at 2875 Yonge Street which is adjacent to the park, Maple Leaf Forever Park Barbara Myrvold. Historical walking tour of Lawrence Park, Northern Ravines & Gardens Discovery Walk including Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens Category,1933 establishments in Ontario Category, Parks in Toronto
38.
Ashbridge's Bay
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Ashbridges Bay is a bay and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Lake Shore Boulevard next to Woodbine Beach in the Beaches, the Martin Goodman Trail and boardwalk run through the park along the bay. The boardwalk runs 3 kilometres from Ashbridges Bay in the west to the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in the east along Lake Ontario and it was once part of the marsh that lay east of Toronto Islands and Toronto Harbour. The bay is named for Sarah Ashbridge, a British loyalist from Philadelphia whose family lived nearby on a farm. It was once a five square kilometre marsh on the Don River delta, in 1912, the Toronto Harbour Commission drained it and reclaimed the land. When it was completed in the 1920s, only a fragment of the original Ashbridges Bay remained, the bays size was shrunk to the area between the Port Lands and Woodbine Beach. Ashbridges Bay Park opened in 1977, in the early 2000s the park was improved by Waterfront Toronto, including the building of a skateboard park. The current bay is surrounded by marinas, the treatment plant, Ashbridges Bay is also a popular location for fireworks on Canada Day and Victoria Day
39.
Scarborough Bluffs
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The Scarborough Bluffs, also known as The Bluffs, is an escarpment in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There are nine parks along the bluffs, with Bluffers Park being the one with beach access. Forming much of the portion of Torontos waterfront, Scarborough Bluffs stands above the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises 90 metres above the coastline and it was first named in 1793. The French gave the name Les grands Ecores, or tall points on the shore, in the 1788 Plan of Toronto by Alexander Aitken, the bluffs were simply known as the High Lands. They became known as the Scarborough Highlands in 1793 after Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England by Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the escarpment along Lake Ontario reminded her of the limestone cliffs in her hometown. In her diary, she wrote, The shore is extremely bold, and has the appearance of chalk cliffs and they appeared so well that we talked of building a summer residence there and calling it Scarborough. The name was given to the entire township in 1796. In time, the became known as the Bluffs. A stylized version of The Bluffs was incorporated into the design of the former City of Scarborough flag, even the existing formation has and continues to shrink considerably decade after decade due to consistent and dramatic erosion. The Bluffs have become a community meeting place for people of all ages and it features various recreational hiking and walking trails as well as picnic tables, firepits, places to pitch a tent, parking lots, a Bluffers Restaurant, and a large marina and boating club. They run 15 kilometres from the foot of Victoria Park Avenue in the west to the mouth of Highland Creek in the east, reaching as high as 90 metres, the equivalent of twenty-five storeys. However, the escarpment continues westward inland, running between Kingston Road and Queen Street East, pausing over the Don Valley, and continuing on the side of Davenport Road. The escarpment forms part of the old shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois, formed after the last ice age, the eroded alluvial deposits from the Bluffs then settled westward to form the Toronto Islands. The Scarborough Bluffs had been eroding at a rapid rate since cottages were built near the edge in the 1940s, to combat erosion, boulders acting as armour rocks and trees were placed at the base. The Cathedral Bluffs, which is a portion of the Bluffs, was the result of continued erosion. A number of city parks are located along the bluffs from Victoria Park Avenue to Rouge River, most are located on the top the bluffs but some are located at the base along the shoreline with Lake Ontario. Development of parkland began with the then Borough of Scarborough prior to 1960 while some remained in private hands, from 1960 to 1978 the current parks were acquired by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and developed into the current parks
40.
Centennial Park (Toronto)
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Centennial Park is a large regional park with many sports facilities, maintained by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was opened in 1967 for Canadas 100 birthday by the then Borough of Etobicoke and was part of the Hirons dairy farm, in 1976, the park was one of two venue sites for the 1976 Summer Paralympics. In 1998, when the six municipalities comprising Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated and this should not be confused with an identically named small city park in the east end of Toronto, on Centennial Road, Scarborough, which was also inherited by the amalgamation. In 2015, the hosted the BMX cycling at the 2015 Pan American Games. After the Games, the BMX track became a site for public use. The park has a variety of including, Centennial Park Conservatory Etobicoke Olympium. Centennial Park Ski & Snowboard Centre, an alpine skiing hill created on top of old garbage landfill. It features one t-bar and a lift, serving one intermediate slope, one beginner slope. It is one of two ski hills located within the boundaries of Toronto, the other being the North York Ski Centre, Centennial Hill was the site of a municipal dump and the south end was used as a transfer station. Centennial Park Stadium, a 3,500 seat capacity stadium that is used for athletics, soccer. Centennial Park Arena 2 pads In the mid to late 1970s there was a Motocross track at Centennial park, open for riding, mike Austins MRAC Motorcycle Racing Association of Canada ran the races
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Christie Pits
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The park has an area of 21.9 acres, about half of which is grassed picnic areas, the rest being various sports fields. The sides of the pits are highly sloped, as a result of which most of the area of the park sits well below street level, the slopes are used in winter for tobogganing and related activities. Garrison Creek runs under the park, converted to a sewer at the turn of the 20th century. The park was named after the Christie Sand Pits which were on the location until the early 1900s. The sand pits had been named after Christie Street, which was named after William Mellis Christie, co-founder of the Christie & Brown Cookie Company, now known simply as Mr. Christie. The official name of the park, Willowvale Park, never caught on, there are three baseball fields at the Pits. The large and main venue is in the northeast corner of the park, the field has limited seating capacity with bench seats along the first and third bases with most spectators sitting along the grass hills. A wood broadcast booth is located at the top of the northeast corner, there are no change rooms at this field, players change in the washrooms near the concession stand beyond centre field. The park hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs of Intercounty Baseball, the High Park Juniors of the Toronto Baseball Association, a smaller baseball diamond is located next to the washroom facilities. On February 2,2010 it was announced that the ballpark at Christie Pits would be named Dominico Field in honor of longtime owners of the IBL Maple Leafs, Jack. There was a ceremony during a Maple Leafs home game May 9,2010 to make it official, one of the baseball diamonds was being used for a series of softball games between two local amateur teams, one of which predominantly consisted of Jewish players. Two nights earlier, at the first game of the series, there had been a display of a swastika and those warnings were ignored, and after the second game, a blanket with a large swastika painted on it was displayed by members of the Pit Gang. The Jewish youths at the game responded to the display, supporters of both sides poured in from the streets and a riot ensued. Scores were injured, many requiring medical and hospital attention…, a Heritage Toronto plaque was installed at Christie Pits Park on the 75th anniversary of the riot in August 2008. In August 2007 a Friends of Christie Pits Park group was formed and it is currently active in organizing events and advocating on behalf of the Park. Media related to Christie Pits at Wikimedia Commons
42.
Downsview Park
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Downsview Park is a federally owned and managed park located in the Downsview area of North York, Toronto. The park was first home to de Havilland Canada, an aircraft manufacturer, in 1999, the Government of Canada declared it as Canadas first urban national park. As of 2014, little development took place, and the remains mostly untouched. The area was first used in 1929 by de Havilland Canada, the manufacturing plant was used to make aircraft during World War II. After the war, the Department of National Defence needed space to station Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons in the area, in 1947, the federal government acquired and consolidated 270 properties in Downsview surrounding the manufacturing plant. In 1999, the government announced, to great fanfare. Downsview Park announced an International Design Competition, in 2000, Bruce Mau and Rem Koolhaas submitted the winning design scheme, known as Tree City. In the years followed, little development took place. The initial phase of the construction of Downsview Park began in 2005, a major feature of this initial work was the development of the Canada Forest, which was started with a partnership with Natural Resources Canada and its 2020 Fast Forest initiative. Several residential developers expressed interest in Stanley Greene, Urbancorp was chosen as the first residential developer by Parc Downsview Park after an extensive due diligence process. The first residential development phase at Downsview Park will comprise over 1000 homes, Urbancorp is the largest landowner and developer of residential communities in King West Village and the Queen Street West Triangle area in downtown Toronto. Construction of the new community “Neighbourhood of Downsview Park” is expected to begin in fall of 2012, in 2013, Mattamy Homes, Canadas largest homebuilder, entered into a joint partnership with Urbancorp, a real estate developer to begin construction on the first residential community in the park. Local councillor Maria Augimeri said that the development was unlikely to appease residents who had expected a park to be developed on the land. In 2014, the City of Toronto once again attempted to control of the park. The federal government rejected the proposal, saying it would not consider transferring responsibility over the park to the city, the Toronto Star obtained a memo that indicating that the government did not want to consider transferring the park because of its immense value. Edgefest returned to the park in 2011 and will be an event again in 2012. Since 2012 the Veld Music Festival has been held at the park, the Tragically Hip performed to a crowd of approximately 30,000 on Canada Day 2011. On 16 June 2012, the stage lighting collapsed an hour before gates opened for a scheduled sold-out Radiohead concert, killing one person, in 2012 the Junior Caribana festival was moved to the park
43.
Edwards Gardens
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Edwards Gardens is a botanical garden located on the southwest corner of Leslie Street and Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is also the site of the Toronto Botanical Garden, a private not-for profit organization called the Civic Garden Centre. It is an estate garden featuring annuals, roses and wildflowers. It is located on Wilket Creek, one of the tributaries of the Don River West Branch, the estates title was once held by Alexander Milne, a Scottish weaver who settled there after the War of 1812 and left in 1832. Although the property remained in the Milne family, it was left in neglect, the land and the woollen/saw mills were bought by Rupert E. Edwards in 1944 and he created a magnificent garden there. He sold the property to the Municipality of Metro Toronto in 1955 to become a public park, Toronto Botanical Garden relocated into the Milne home on the site in 1959. Edwards Gardens is one of parks located along Torontos ravines, many of which are connected by hiking and cycling trails. The parks manicured lawns and flower beds make it a destination for wedding parties to take photographs. In 2013, Edwards Gardens won an Award of Excellence under the Regional Citation category from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects for their sustainably designed parking lot
44.
Grange Park (Toronto)
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The Park lends its name to the Grange Park neighbourhood in the vicinity of the park. Grange Park features a pool, childrens playground, and numerous trees. Historically, it was the backyard of The Grange that eventually was expanded and these hours are shortened towards the end of the summer and closed in the winter. Because of the drain, the drain is usually opened a couple of hours prior to closing. The wading pool features sloped beach style zero-depth entry along some directions, recently the large curved cement steps have been dotted with metal spikes and blocks to discourage use by skateboarders. Unfortunately, these create a trip hazard to users of the wading pool. During the winter, Grange residents usually operate an ice rink. Grange Park is officially owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario, the late Harriet Boulton, also known as Mrs. Goldwin Smith, provided in will that the Grange and annexed lands which was her home would be gifted to the Art Museum of Toronto. The land to the south of the Grange were to be available for use as a park in perpetuity. Title to the Grange and the Park are vested in the Art Gallery of Ontario, an agreement between the City of Toronto and the Art Museum of Toronto was made on January 20,1911 regarding Grange Park. One of the current issues and debates is whether to open up the fence between Grange Park and the adjoining Butterfield Park into one contiguous park. This would improve access to Grange Park by OCAD students, and these discussions resulted in a proposal to establish the Grange Park Advisory Committee, a proposal which was discussed at a bi-lingual community meeting held on May 21,2008. The proposal was approved by the Board of Trustees of the Art Gallery of Ontario, gPACs co-chairs are Councilor Adam Vaughan and Rupert Duchesne a trustee of the AGO. The current focus of GPAC in October 2008 is to undertake an examination of the health of the park. Grange Community Association, established in 2008 City of Toronto, Parks and Recreation Homepage Grange Community Association Grange Park Advisory Committee
45.
Harbour Square Park
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Harbour Square Park is a park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada right on the Toronto harbour. It is next to the Harbour Square condos, the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and it is south of Queens Quay and right at the Queens Quay streetcar station. It contains a boardwalk and a permanent public art installation, the park is where the ferry terminal used to be before it was shifted to the east side of the park for this redevelopment. This complex and park, a predecessor to the Harbourfront project, was one of the first redevelopments of the waterfront, development of the site was governed by a tripartite agreement between Campeau Corporation, the Toronto Harbour Commission and the City of Toronto. The development evoked vociferous criticism, based on size and isolation of the waters edge, in 2014, trees were planted in memory of the victims of the Khojaly massacre. The Sundial Folly is a sphere that you can go inside. The park is located near the foot of Bay Street, just south of Queens Quay
