Faculty of Arts & Science

Digital Futures

Leanna Barwick

Grange Park Promenade and Inclusive Co-Design Practices - Contemporary Design Theories

Grange Park is a two-hectare green space in downtown Toronto (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2.). The park underwent a major transformation following a period of decline, to embody the inclusive and accessible vision of the community and address the depreciating beauty and health of the park. In 2017 the revitalized Grange Park re-opened to the public, after ongoing engagement that focused on restoration and regenerative practices, held between local community members, the City of Toronto, the AGO, and neighbouring organizations (Grange Park Website). According to authors of Health Design Thinking : Creating Products and Services for Better Health (2020) “Codesign is a collaborative process that actively seeks knowledge and ideas from end users. Each member of a design team has deep knowledge about their own life experience. Codesign directly injects this expertise into the design process.” (Ku and Lupton 24) The Grange Park revitalization project is an example of successful historical public-private sector partnership, that through its community guided co-design practices continues to thrive and nurture the park’s multiple users. This paper will look more closely at the Grange Park Promenade (Fig. 3.); the path that leads from the southern entrance into Grange Park from Stephanie Street, a prominent feature of the park that includes inscribed paving stones along this walkway. As part of the Grange Park revitalization project, the local community submitted proposed quotations and voted on the final selection of words from Canadian or Canada-based personalities relating to the theme of nature or to the diversity of our community; authors, poets and civic minded activists that reflect the history and diversity within the Grange Park community (Grange Park Website).