Faculty of Design

Environmental Design

Anisha .

Cooksville - Urban Intervention | OCAD University × ENSCI Les Ateliers

Launched from a case study prepared by Toronto-based think tank OpenCity Projects, this intervention addresses Cooksville’s disjointed urban fabric by reactivating unused lands and disused infrastructure. Our interdisciplinary team—comprising students from OCAD and ENSCI—synthesized demographic mapping, community interviews, and site-specific research into a functional, walkable trail system. The proposal embeds communal programming at strategic urban voids: sensory gardens, play zones, civic rest decks, outdoor fitness, and cultural pavilions punctuate the route. Safety, wayfinding, and traffic pacing are designed into the system to create not only fluid circulation, but also spatial empathy. Cooksville offers a replicable civic typology where mobility, memory, and multicultural exchange shape the everyday life of the city.

“Cooksville reframes pedestrian infrastructure as a vessel for cultural exchange, collective rhythm, and civic integration. More than a transit network, the design transforms movement into a meaningful act—layered with spatial cues, symbolic gestures, and experiential thresholds. In a city marked by fragmentation, the project proposes walkability not only as physical access but as emotional legibility. Disconnected land is reimagined as connective tissue, where pacing, rest, and interaction coalesce into a living civic commons. Cultural symbolism is not aestheticized—it is felt, moved through, and shared.”